Candidate Kerry Faces ‘Hardball’ at Harvard

Senator John F. Kerry, D-Mass., came out firing against President Bush’s handling of the war in Iraq on “Hardball: Battle for the Whitehouse,” which aired live to tens of millions of viewers from the John F. Kennedy, Jr. Forum last night.

Kerry continued to straddle pro-war and anti-war camps, saying Bush failed to exhaust his diplomacy options before declaring war but also insisting that countries like Iraq, Iran and North Korea must be aggressively contained.

Throughout the nationally-televised appearance, he stressed his willingness to be tough, frequently referencing his status as a decorated Vietnam veteran.

Many observers said they felt Kerry’s sometimes jovial, sometimes pugnacious demeanor in the interview helped combat criticism that he is aloof and tends to give vague, political answers.

Famously blunt “Hardball” host Chris Matthews sharply questioned Kerry about his middle-of-the-road stance on the war, but Kerry stood by his answers.

Despite intermittent sparring with Matthews, the senator was amiable and outgoing throughout his appearance.

Kerry worked his way through the crowd shaking hands before the interview began, chatted with audience members during commercial breaks and joked frequently with Matthews off-air.

Kerry said he would aggressively battle both his Democratic rivals and Bush, telling the audience that he could win as a Massachusetts liberal.

Referencing the failed 1988 presidential bid of former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, Kerry asserted that Dukakis lost because he didn’t “fight back,” not because of a voter bias against liberal northeastern candidate “The labels are not what are important,” he said. “I’m going to go right at this president and remind him that I know something about aircraft carriers.”

David R. Gergen, director of the Center of Public Leadership and an advisor to four presidents, said Kerry looked more relaxed than in previous public appearances, leading him to come off better.

Nicholas F.B. Smyth ’05, president of Students for Kerry, said Kerry’s friendly socializing with the crowd “dispelled the myths of aloofness” that have dogged him throughout the campaign so far. Smyth is also a Crimson editor.

Kerry is trying to gain ground on former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean in the polls as the presidential race heads into the New Hampshire primary.

Kerry was the frontrunner until this summer when he lost momentum to Dean, who now leads in New Hampshire with 25 percent of the voters on his side. About 19 percent of New Hampshire voters are Kerry supporters, according to a poll released yesterday by WHDH-TV and Suffolk University.

“My sense is that after a slower start than many had expected, he’s beginning to find his voice—he’s beginning to move,” Gergen said. “The issue for him is can he move fast enough to catch up in Iowa or New Hampshire or both.”

Last night’s show was the second installment in the “Battle for the White House” series, which premiered last week with Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., to 31.4 million viewers nationwide.

The standing-room-only forum was packed with many enthusiastic Kerry partisans, and was ringed with cameras, flat panel screens and production crew members who bustled through the crowd during the taping.

As the eager crowd waited for Kerry to appear, Director of the Institute of Politics Dan R. Glickman introduced the senator—and a “Hardball” stage manager told the audience how to behave on camera.

She told them to give Matthews a “rock-star walk-on” and advised them not to chew gum in case the camera zoomed in on them.

In the minutes leading up to the show, Matthews quizzed audience members on political trivia, at times stumping them.

“Are we at Parsons College or where the hell are we?” he asked. “This is a bleak night for the Crimson—you’ve established your regularness tonight.”

Kerry, who spoke with students in the Kirkland Junior Common Room before his “Hardball” taping (see story, front page), entered to Matthews’ accidental introduction of Kerry as “Senator John Kennedy.”

Taking a Stand

For the bulk of the interview, Kerry criticized the war on Iraq, arguing that war should only be a “last resort.”

He said Bush failed to pursue diplomatic avenues that might have led to a multilateral solution, but also that it is important for the U.S. to be tough on Iraq and monitor its weapons of mass destruction.

“The president of the United States should not go to war because we want to, we should go to war because we have to,” he said.

He defended his mixed record on Iraq. He voted for the original Iraq resolution authorizing the use of force, but has opposed Bush’s prosecution of the war and voted last week against Bush’s request for $87 billion to fund the reconstruction of Iraq.

“Some times in foreign policy, certain things are complicated—life is complicated,” he said.

Kerry also accused the Bush administration of “miserably, abysmally” failing to contain the nuclear threats of North Korea and Iraq.

“This has been one of the greatest abdications of foreign policy responsibility that I’ve seen in all the years I’ve been in the Senate,” he said.

Although Glickman said he feels Kerry gave straight answers to Matthews’ questions, he said Kerry would better connect with voters by shortening his answers.

But Kerry did waffle on one question posed to him by Matthews—what his favorite movie is.

“I love movies,” Kerry said, declining to pick one.

Pressed by Matthews—who replied ”This is not like ‘Are you for or against the war?’”—Kerry identified Blues Brothers and Animal House as two favorites.

—Staff writer Stephen M. Marks can be reached at marks@fas.harvard.edu.