Kerry hints White House run in his future

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Defeated Democrat John Kerry, who has hinted he may run again for president in 2008, vowed to continue fighting for the issues he campaigned on as his party`s presidential candidate.
"We need to be unified and we have a very clear agenda, and I`m going to be fighting for that agenda with all of the energy that I have, and all of the passion that I brought to the campaign," Kerry told reporters one week after the election that saw him beaten by US President George W. Bush.
Kerry made his comments after dropping recent hints that he intends to play a key leadership role in his party, and may even run for president again in 2008, despite last week`s Republican sweep of elections for the White House and US Congress.
One week before Congress reconvenes for a brief "lame duck" session to tie up unresolved legislative matters, Kerry noted that millions of Americans supported his candidacy, along with the platform he campaigned on.
"Fifty-four plus million Americans voted for healthcare. They voted for energy independence," he said. "They voted for stem cell research. They voted for protecting social security," the Massachusetts senator said.
US press reports quoted Kerry as having privately expressed at a post-election gathering held in Washington on Saturday that he is interested in launching a new White House bid in 2008, despite last week`s Republican sweep of White House and congressional elections.
"Sometimes God tests you," an aide to the Massachusetts senator quoted Kerry as telling friends and supporters, the Washington Post reported.
"I`m a fighter and I`ve come back before."
Kerry supporters said that nearly two-year-long presidential campaign made the Massachusetts senator the de facto leader of Democrats, and he would play an active role in opposing the Republican-led Congress and White House.
Kerry`s younger brother Cameron told the Boston Globe newspaper the senator was "profoundly disappointed" about narrowly losing last week`s election to President George W. Bush, and deems another attempt fully possible.
"I think it`s too early to assess. But I think that he is going to continue to fight on for the values, ideals and issues this campaign is about," he added.
"He`s in a position of national leadership," Cameron Kerry told the Globe.
Meanwhile, John Kerry`s role in the party became the subject of intense speculation Tuesday, as Democrats try to chart their future following last week`s demoralizing losses at the polls.
Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives were holding a day long strategy meeting, while top officials with the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, a network of some of the party`s top movers and shakers, held a forum to discuss the way forward.
Most DLC speakers, while not ruling out a future Kerry presidential bid, seemed unenthused at the prospect.
"He has a seat at the table ... but he doesn`t own all of the chairs around the table," said Donna Brazile, campaign manager for Gore`s 2000 White House campaign, said her party lost last week`s election in part because Democrats missed some key opportunities.
"Our party did what it should have done in 2004 in terms of money and the ground game. What we did not have was an effective message and the candidates capable of delivering a consistent message at all levels," she said.
"We need candidates at all levels who connect, head-to-heart, with voters," she said.
Many analysts have criticized Kerry`s perceived aloofness as being one reason his campaign never caught fire with some voters. Louisiana US Senator John Breaux also seemed disinclined toward having Kerry at the top of another presidential ticket
"You have to have the right message, but you also have to be able to deliver it," told CNN television this week, hinting that Kerry lacked the pizzazz to appeal to a broad-based public.
Still, Kerry`s campaign seemed to make the case for his role as de facto party chieftain, issuing a recent statement touting the inroads made by his campaign.
"John Kerry has built a solid foundation for the Democratic party to build on -- in voters, in resources and in substance," the statement read.
"The party would be well advised to build on the foundation and not turn our back on it."

11/10/2004 - 05:39 GMT - AFP