(9 of 10)
It would be easier for Kerry to put the war waffle behind him if it did not seem to support the charge that he steers by whatever political stars are shining brightest at the time. "John Kerry never met a side of an issue he didn't like," says Dean spokesman Jay Carson. And it is true that some positions have changed. Kerry now supports the death penalty for terrorists, even though in the days before 9/11 he argued that it could impede the fight against terrorism because foreign countries might not extradite suspects to the U.S. for trial. He once objected to work requirements for welfare recipients and then changed his mind after some state experiments showed their effectiveness. Three is his lucky number, and his critics will say it stands for the number of positions he takes on a given issue: pro, con and evolving. And while he vows on the campaign trail to take on special interests and their lobbyists, data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics shows that Kerry has taken in more money from paid lobbyists than any other Senator over the past 15 years.
But defenders argue that the changes and inconsistencies in Kerry's positions are signs that he has capacities valuable in a prospective President: a curious and subtle mind and the ability to see shades of gray. He runs his staff like a prosecutor cross-examining a hostile witness, pressing for the answers. Kerry doesn't mind long memos; he prefers the options up front, with more explanation and frank detail in the back if he wants to dig deeper. "He doesn't want things too disinfected," says Jonathan Winer. "If it's too disinfected, he'll say, 'This is pap,' and give it back to you."
Among the colleagues who did get annoyed by Kerry's political mutations was, of course, his fellow Massachusetts Senator, who split with Kerry most decisively over the 1996 welfare-reform bill and Kerry's flirtation with applying a means test to Medicare. The competition between the two has always been partly personal. Kennedy found Kerry to be "a bit of a phony," as a friend describes it, noting that Kennedy learned politics at his grandfather's knee. "Honey Fitz" could dine in the finest restaurants but after the meal would traipse back to the kitchen to joke with the cooks and waiters. Kennedy has perceived Kerry in the past to be a man "more at home jetting to Davos and drinking $400 bottles of wine," says the Kennedy friend. (The candidate that Kennedy is closest to personally is John Edwards. They clicked right away. Kennedy took him into the club and worked with him on the patients' bill of rights. Unlike Kerry, "Edwards is a great storyteller," says the Kennedy adviser. "That's what Kennedy loves.") Kennedy had no choice but to endorse Kerry: dissing a home-state partner would have been a devastating slight. That became even truer in November, when Kerry purged the top ranks of his campaign staff and replaced them with Kennedy veterans, including campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill, who is widely credited with producing the strategy that has worked. "Kennedy has decided that Kerry has the best chance of beating Bush," the Kennedy friend explains. "And if Kerry wins, Kennedy sees his chance to finish the Kennedy legacy."