(5 of 5)
But Kerrey does things his way. He supports campaign-finance reform but not compulsory public funding. He accepts PAC contributions but refuses honorariums for speeches and public appearances. Despite his need for Republican votes, Kerrey is blistering in assessing the Bush presidency. On the Persian Gulf, Kerrey says, "I am profoundly uneasy about the instant deployment of over 100,000 American troops, sold to the American people on the false assertions that Saddam Hussein is Adolf Hitler, that our way of life is at clear and present danger, that we have as much at stake as we did in World War II. I believe our military action was improperly rationalized, incompletely thought out and dangerous." But his broader criticisms spring from his belief that the most serious problems plaguing the nation are domestic. "Poverty is rising, particularly among the working poor. Our schools are deteriorating. We can't go on the way we are in health care. But with Bush there is no sense of urgency, no challenge to the American people. There is no leadership. Congress can't provide it. Only the President can. It's time for him to spend some of his political capital." Inevitably, this sort of criticism is hailed by Democrats and dismissed by Republicans as the prelude to a Kerrey bid for national office. To his discomfort, Kerrey often is introduced as "the one who will regain the White House for the Democratic Party." How does he react to such talk? "I ignore it," says Kerrey. "It's flattering, but I ignore it." He seems to sense that he may not be ready. But given the Democrats' abysmal shortage of candidates who are both ready and willing, Kerrey-for-President talk may continue to resonate -- to a point that it may become increasingly difficult to ignore by 1992, impossible by 1996.