September 16-22, 2004

city beat

Kerry-ing Favor

on point: McAuliffe says John Kerry has learned that "as soon as they punch you, you punch them back harder." Photo By: Michael T. Regan

The DNC's boss talks about playing hardball as Election Day approaches.

by Deborah Bolling

On Monday, Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, promised a large group of University of Pennsylvania students that, if elected, John Kerry would ensure the brightness of their futures. The applause was so thunderous that the floor and windows shook with approval.

With less than 50 days remaining until Election Day, the DNC has embarked on an eight-campus tour to colleges and universities in the crucial battleground states. Here, at Annenberg Hall, in a room festooned with Kerry-Edwards placards and dripping with political adrenaline, McAuliffe stayed on-message: The Democratic nominee is the clear and absolute choice for president. He pushed the requisite hot-topic buttons, such as Iraq and the economy, and confidently responded to a rigorous round of questions. Just before disappearing into his sleek, black van to hit the campaign trail again, City Paper asked him about a few more things.

City Paper: In 1996, John Kerry was credited with making an impressive comeback in his senatorial run against [former Massachusetts Governor] William Weld. How did he do it?

Terry McAuliffe: He stayed consistent, he stayed tough, he had his message out there, what he was going to do for the voters of Massachusetts, never took his eye off the ball and aggressively went out there and delivered his message — and that's exactly what he's doing right now.

CP: Does John Kerry get energized when he's behind? Does he like the pressure?

TM: He does. I had a long conversation with him on Saturday night after the Congressional Black Caucus dinner, and he is so fired up now. Listen, we had our convention; they had theirs. We're now off to the general election and he is fighting as hard as he can.

CP: Many would agree that August was a tough month for Mr. Kerry. What lessons were learned?

TM: As soon as they punch you, you punch them back harder.

CP: OK, which leads to my next question: When John Sasso [the latest addition to the Kerry campaign] was running Michael Dukakis' 1988 presidential campaign, he produced an ad that was seen as so vicious that Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

TM: I don't think it was all that vicious — all he did was use Joe Biden's own words … and compared it with what someone else had said. But today, that wouldn't even get any news.

CP: But Sasso does have a reputation for being a real hardball player …

TM: John Sasso is a hardball player — and that's just what this party needs. … There are millions of people counting on this party to win this election; millions of people who've lost their jobs, lost their unemployment benefits; 45 million Americans with no health insurance at all. George Bush is underfunding education by millions of dollars. You bet we need to be tough, 'cause we're representing those people and they want us to fight — and John Sasso is a fighter.

CP: Sasso was affiliated with Dukakis, who lost. He was affiliated with Geraldine Ferraro in her 1984 vice-presidential candidacy, and she lost. He was also affiliated with Al Gore in 2000 — and he lost. Why him?

TM: Why John? Because he's a very talented political operative in the Democratic Party and he's a great street fighter, and that's what we need, and I'm proud that he's part of this campaign.

CP: President Bush has been accused of being overly simplistic when he's talking about very complex issues, while John Kerry has been accused of meandering when he's answering a similar question. Do you consider that a problem?

TM: I just think that it's great that our presidential candidate knows these issues inside and out. George Bush doesn't spend a long time delving into the issues, because I don't think he spends any time thinking about them. No offense on the president, that's just how he likes to have his leadership style. John Kerry knows these things inside and out, and I think ultimately when the voters go to the polls, they're going to want a president who, like Bill Clinton, had intellectual curiosity on so many issues and looked at these issues.

CP: But my question is really about the simplicity of the message. Are people not getting Kerry's message because he's more "intellectually" inclined?

TM: The only thing I gotta tell you is that John Kerry swept the primary field. We had 10 candidates running. We went through the most unified … convention that we've ever had in the history of our party. So I think John Kerry's done very well. We are right now tied running against an incumbent president, while at war, who has spent unlimited amounts of money attacking him. And you know what? These undecided voters, they've seen Bush, they've decided they don't like him. We gotta close the sale on him, and I know that. John Kerry, over the next 50 days, will come up with a message. He's got one. He's just gonna keep talking about it and it will work and Americans will vote for him and this country will be better off because of it.

CP: For the undecided voters, what will they see in the debates that will make them decide?

TM: What they will see … is John Kerry standing up there talking about the issues against George Bush. George Bush has got to defend himself. He has the worst economic record of any president in 75 years; underfunded education; done nothing on health care and made a mess out of our foreign policy. George Bush has to defend that. John Kerry's message will be [that] he's gonna provide 10 million new jobs his first term in office; a tax cut of $225 billion to 99 percent of the taxpayers in this country; fully fund leave-no-child-behind; a $4,000 tax credit to send your children to college; a $1,000 reduction on your health care premiums. Those are the issues — and he's gonna talk about how we get respect in the world again. Right now our allies are pulling out of Iraq, they don't want anything to do with us. John Kerry will bring people together so we get the target off the backs of our troops and we get other international soldiers over there so we can reduce our troop levels and, at some point, get democracy in Iraq.