For Kerry, hometown advantage is no lock

Yet the only bumps the last two men who accepted their party's nomination in their home state got came from political 2-by-4s between the eyes.

George H.W. Bush accepted the Republican nomination in August 1992 in his home state of Texas. Bill Clinton defeated him at the polls three months later.

In 1956, Adlai E. Stevenson II, governor of Illinois from 1949 to 1953, was the last Democrat to accept his party's nomination in his home state. He was steamrolled by Dwight D. Eisenhower that fall. Stevenson also accepted the nomination in Chicago in 1952. It didn't help then, either - the country decided it liked Ike.

Still, Kerry was thrilled that Boston was selected to host the Democratic National Convention in 2004. He did not do the heavy lifting to make it happen; Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Mayor Thomas M. Menino did that. But Kerry talked up the idea as he traveled to raise money for other Democrats and established the contacts needed to make a White House run.

"It's an important opportunity to tell the story of Boston from John Adams to the first shots of the American Revolution to its legacy as a gateway city for generations of immigrants and to connect our party and our nominee to that tradition," Kerry said in a statement issued by his office.

And if Kerry himself is that nominee? "Holding the convention in Boston will be an asset for any candidate our party nominates," he said.

That is a debatable point among Democrats, many of whom worry of the image the party and its nominee could get holding the convention in Massachusetts - seen nationally as a liberal bastion despite the success Republicans have had in the state in recent years. "It certainly doesn't help the effort of Democrats in the South to convince voters the party isn't just one of Northeastern liberals," said Kevin Geddings, a political consultant based in Columbia, S.C. "But then again, it's a two- or three-day event and we can probably get through it."

Outside of residents of the host city, only political junkies care where a nominating convention is held, said Bruce Reed, president of the Democratic Leadership Council. "It's like the Super Bowl," Reed said. "You have to watch pretty closely to see where the game is being played. Most people are just watching to see who wins."

Hosting the convention in Boston could be of specific help to at least one of the men considering a run for president, Geddings said. But his name's not Kerry. It's Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, who could be buoyed by a warm embrace from Democrats outside of his region. "Having the convention in a Northeastern city would be a nice start to his campaign," Geddings said.