Patrick says he would support Kerry if he seeks presidency again
Patrick says he would support Kerry if he seeks presidency againBy Glen Johnson, AP Political Writer January 7, 2007
BOSTON --Sen. Barack Obama visited Massachusetts three times last year to campaign for Deval Patrick. The husband of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, appointed Patrick to the top Justice Department civil rights post during the 1990s.
But the state's new governor says he would have to support Sen. John Kerry over Obama or Mrs. Clinton should the Massachusetts Democrat make a second run for the presidency.
"They are very, very strong people," Patrick said of his three fellow Democrats during an appearance aired Sunday on WHDH-TV's "Urban Update." "I will tell you that if my home senator runs, I've got to be with him. I love the other candidates, but we will see. I don't know that he has made a decision yet."
In October, Patrick called a similar question "premature" after Kerry campaigned for him at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown.
Obama, an Illinois Democrat still in his first term in Congress, and Clinton, a New York Democrat just sworn into her second term, are weighing campaigns in 2008, as is Kerry.
Kerry has pledged to announce a decision about a second campaign in the near future, perhaps this month. He is up for re-election in 2008, and some local Democrats are urging him to decide whether he wants to seek re-election or wage a second presidential campaign.
The senator has suggested the calendar and state election law would allow him to do both, at least until he learned the outcome of early primaries and caucuses.
Kerry's senior colleague, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., signaled impatience with his fellow senator in December, saying his support was not guaranteed and he did not want to wait "indefinitely" for a decision. Kennedy later declared he would support Kerry should he declare his candidacy "in the near term."
In 2004, Kennedy was one of Kerry's most ardent supporters, despite a close personal relationship with then-Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who also was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.
Edwards, who lost his bid but ended up being Kerry's vice presidential running mate, has already declared his candidacy for their party's 2008 presidential nomination.
© Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/01/07/patrick_says_he_would_support_kerry_if_he_seeks_presidency_again/
BOSTON --Sen. Barack Obama visited Massachusetts three times last year to campaign for Deval Patrick. The husband of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, appointed Patrick to the top Justice Department civil rights post during the 1990s.
But the state's new governor says he would have to support Sen. John Kerry over Obama or Mrs. Clinton should the Massachusetts Democrat make a second run for the presidency.
"They are very, very strong people," Patrick said of his three fellow Democrats during an appearance aired Sunday on WHDH-TV's "Urban Update." "I will tell you that if my home senator runs, I've got to be with him. I love the other candidates, but we will see. I don't know that he has made a decision yet."
In October, Patrick called a similar question "premature" after Kerry campaigned for him at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown.
Obama, an Illinois Democrat still in his first term in Congress, and Clinton, a New York Democrat just sworn into her second term, are weighing campaigns in 2008, as is Kerry.
Kerry has pledged to announce a decision about a second campaign in the near future, perhaps this month. He is up for re-election in 2008, and some local Democrats are urging him to decide whether he wants to seek re-election or wage a second presidential campaign.
The senator has suggested the calendar and state election law would allow him to do both, at least until he learned the outcome of early primaries and caucuses.
Kerry's senior colleague, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., signaled impatience with his fellow senator in December, saying his support was not guaranteed and he did not want to wait "indefinitely" for a decision. Kennedy later declared he would support Kerry should he declare his candidacy "in the near term."
In 2004, Kennedy was one of Kerry's most ardent supporters, despite a close personal relationship with then-Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who also was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.
Edwards, who lost his bid but ended up being Kerry's vice presidential running mate, has already declared his candidacy for their party's 2008 presidential nomination.
© Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/01/07/patrick_says_he_would_support_kerry_if_he_seeks_presidency_again/
posted by presgore19 at 4:23 AM
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