Kerry me higher!

Chalk one more up for the rookie – 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry gave Barack Obama his endorsement this past Friday. Naturally, this will change some things.\nFirst, the divide between Hillary and Obama is one of age and experience: On one hand, we’ve got a veteran from the establishment of orthodox liberal politicians who has been playing up political know-how and experience; on the other, a young, charismatic dynamo who’s been flying high since his knockout speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Barack Obama’s likability index is simply off the charts relative to that of Hillary Clinton – but there is, of course, an implicit flip-side. The fact is that, while Hillary is viewed by many as stuffy and impersonal compared to Obama, the general understanding that she carries more experience may be drawing many Democratic voters to her side of the ballot.\nEnter John Kerry. Another member of the left-wing orthodoxy, his high points are such facets as national security and diplomacy. These are nice complements to Obama’s platform of instilling hope for change within an otherwise politically jaded America. Kerry’s endorsement might yield Obama exactly the kind of credibility he needs to step the more pragmatic aspects of his campaign up one level with Hillary.\nSecondly – and perhaps more importantly – the Kerry endorsement might end up unwittingly posing as a signal to John Edwards supporters, indicating where they should shift their support if and when Edwards drops out of the race. Again, many Edwards supporters prefer him over Obama due to the experience factor – Kerry’s support of Obama instead of Hillary could persuade them that Obama actually is a safer bet. \nAnd that’s something – Edwards snagged a solid 17 percent of the vote in New Hampshire. Perhaps the smartest thing to do for Obama and Hillary is to start figuring out why these 17 percent of Democrats are supporting John Edwards – and how they should pitch their messages in order to pick up these votes if and when they go up for grabs. Were voters just worried about Obama’s lack of experience? If that’s the case, Kerry’s endorsement sends a strong message to Edwards supporters, insisting that the young senator might not be such a bad choice.\nThere is, however, one last consideration to keep in mind: It’s John Kerry. And while he very nearly won the last election, he’s widely viewed as having drawn votes not because he was a spectacular candidate, but because a vote for Kerry was a vote against Bush. And frankly, no one’s heard much from him in four years – it’s possible that his endorsement won’t have much effect other than “Who cares?”\nSo at the very least, Kerry’s endorsement has no effect; at the most, Obama gets a sizeable swing from it. All in all, it certainly doesn’t hurt – we expect this to, in the end, turn into one more thing Obama supporters have to cheer about.