Time to reach out

While Senator John Kerry's parade of primary victories has been impressive and Senator John Edwards has maintained viability, the two should not ignore the appeal that their vanquished competitors had for many voters.

Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor, attracted thousands of supporters, many of them young and many of them first-time political activists, before withdrawing yesterday. Wesley Clark, the retired four-star general, also excited voters with his pledge to clean house in Washington.

Beginning in 1976, many candidates without Washington experience have attracted enthusiastic support, and four of them -- Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush -- have won.

Neither Kerry nor Edwards could run credibly as an insurgent. Edwards's entire public career consists of his one term in the Senate, and Kerry has served there for two decades. To pretend they are not Washington insiders would be as foolish as Bob Dole moving to Kansas in 1996 to seek the common touch. Still, there are ways for them to identify with the many millions of Americans who are skeptical of Washington. One example: On the night before the New Hampshire primary, Kerry was asked by a young man at Salem High School how the nation's youth, many of them alienated from politics, could be attracted to public affairs. Kerry said many young people don't trust government and won't until they are told the truth by officeholders. It was not a bad answer, but it failed in two ways. First, it was delivered with the ringing, stentorian quality that Kerry seems to give even the simplest statement, as if every remark were the beginning of his inaugural address. Second, Kerry asked nothing of the questioner, did not challenge him to become part of the solution himself.

This was Dean's greatest achievement -- not the war opposition or the Bush-bashing. It was his recognition that many people want to play a role in national affairs and are willing to work for it if they are challenged and given the opportunity.

In the last month it has become clear that Dean is not the person whom most people want to follow down that road. But they don't want to be left on the curb, either.

The Democrats have some credentials in this area. Kerry has been a leader in advancing AmeriCorps and other service programs. And Bush's top-down approach gives them an opening.

There is a limit to how far Washington insiders can take a populist message. But if Kerry and Edwards don't understand the advantage of rallying the electorate with challenges and not just their own promises, they are missing a big opportunity.