Bostonist saw John Kerry mingling with the functionaries at Mayor Menino's State of the City in Dorchester a couple of weeks ago, and we realized we had forgotten a couple of things about him. One, he's damn tall. Two, he's an elected politician.
The nature of American incumbency makes it difficult to dislodge any Senator once they're in power, but Massachusetts has it particularly bad. Our duo in Washington has a combined 70 years in office. This can be good (they understand the system and can bring home a lot of pork for the commonwealth) or bad (they've become so entrenched in Washington status quo politics that they're desensitized to our needs.)
Either way, though they're both living liberal institutions, there's something undemocratic about how permanent their positions seem.
Read about Kerry's challengers after the jump!
The Globe has a piece today about Jim Ogonowski, who is going to campaign for Kerry's Senate seat this fall. Ogonowski is retired Air Force, and the other Republican in the field so far--Jeff Beatty--is former Army/FBI/CIA/every military-type position possible.
Could even the most rabid Swift Boater be interested in spending another campaign obsessing over Senator Kerry's military record? Let's hope not.
The Globe piece is doubtful about Ogonowski's chances against Kerry, but quotes a UMass Lowell political scientist who suggests that a "strong statewide campaign could serve as a springboard for a run for the governor's office in 2010." In other words, Ogonowski--who lost in a bid last year for Marty Meehan's abandoned office--could use a loss against Kerry to build momentum to face Governor Deval Patrick. The logic of gaining name recognition makes sense, but losing your way to the top is a tough way to live (remember the Celtics last season?)
In other news, the Massachusetts presidential primary is a week from tomorrow, and Kerry, Kennedy, and Patrick have all endorsed Senator Barack Obama. The only poll we've seen was one comissioned by WBZ-TV that showed a huge 37 point advantage for Senator Hillary Clinton. But that was on January 24, before Obama's landslide in South Carolina and before Kennedy (and his niece Caroline) got involved.
The Kennedys have spoken--is anyone still listening?
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