Friend leads search to fill ticket
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Senator John F. Kerry, wary of his campaign cooling now that the competition for the Democratic nomination is over, sought to capitalize on the buzz over his candidacy yesterday by naming a close friend and party operative to launch the intensive search for Kerry's 2004 running mate.
Washington businessman Jim Johnson, vice chairman of the banking firm Perseus LLC, accepted the post during a telephone conversation with Kerry yesterday morning, agreeing to head up a team that will vet and interview potential partners in secret and unearth any damaging information that might sideline aspirants.
Among those likely to get a look, Kerry advisers say, are former candidates Richard A. Gephardt -- whom Kerry had said he would have supported if he lost his 2004 bid -- and John Edwards, who ran a spirited second to Kerry in several recent primaries, as well as less visible candidates like former senators Bob Kerrey and Sam Nunn.
Campaign officials said Johnson was not operating under a strict timetable, but they left open the possibility that Kerry would name a running mate by late spring to spark excitement for the ticket and deepen the two Democrats' relationship by the time they appear in prime time at the Democratic National Convention, when the full ticket is usually unveiled, this July.
Johnson, a former top aide to Vice President Walter Mondale, is making a return to big-time politics by leading the search. In 1984, he served as chairman of Mondale's presidential campaign. It marked his fifth failed White House run, starting with Eugene McCarthy's campaign in 1968, which also drew a young John Kerry into elective politics shortly before he left for Vietnam. Johnson also worked for Edmund Muskie, George McGovern, and Jimmy Carter.
Johnson is a close friend of Kerry's, which in itself says much, political analysts said: Kerry is seen as a loner in Washington, seldomly socializing out on the town and keeping most acquaintances as just that. By contrast, Johnson and Kerry are contemporaries -- born three weeks apart -- who have gone hiking together in Idaho, where Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, have a home, and they and their wives are regular dining companions. The men became friends after Kerry arrived in the Senate in 1985.
Johnson could not be reached for comment yesterday but said in a statement released by the campaign: "Kerry's swift action in beginning this process to select a running mate indicates what type of president the nation can expect -- decisive, focused, and ready to lead."
Mark Gearan, who helped vet Al Gore in 1992 and became legendary among political operatives for booking a hotel suite under his wife's name to shroud candidates, predicted that Johnson would use the time before the convention to plan ways to avoid the "excessive secrecy" of 1992. He also said too much openness, such as the high-profile appearances of candidates walking up Mondale's driveway in 1984 that left some bruised egos, should be avoided.
In just 12 hours between Tuesday night and yesterday morning, Kerry switched from denying much thought about the number two spot to appointing the man who will plug that hole, offering the clearest sign that Kerry's victories in nine out of 10 Super Tuesday races had transformed the 2004 race for the White House. Kerry said yesterday it was too soon for him to "have a list" of prospective running mates, and pledged to keep the process "very private" and "very personal."
He made the remarks to Florida reporters after leading a town hall meeting in this battleground state, still a cauldron for nationwide Democratic anger toward President Bush over the disputed 2000 presidential election. He promised to challenge Bush in the state, and nailed down endorsements from Senators Bob Graham and Bill Nelson (both Democrats are touted as running mate material by some political observers)
as well as the International Union of Police Associations. Earlier, on Kerry's campaign plane, Graham -- who like Kerry was considered by Gore as a running mate in 2000 and who challenged Kerry for the nomination -- made the faintest of swats when reporters floated the notion of the vice presidency to him.
"It is so important that George Bush not have another four years. I would do anything within reason -- I will not sacrifice one of my grandchildren, for example -- to elect John Kerry," said Graham, who is retiring this year from the Senate.
Kerry also confronted Bush's sizable financial advantage in the race -- the Republican incumbent had $104 million on hand at the end of January compared with the challenger's $2.1 million. After months of asking only for votes, Kerry appealed to Americans to contribute at least $10 to his campaign as well, echoing former candidate Howard Dean's appeal last year to have 2 million people each contribute $100 to match Bush's war chest. "If we get 200, you know, 2 million people, a million people, to take part in this effort -- and there are many more Democrats than that -- and they send in a little bit, we can fight back and reclaim our democracy in the United States of America," Kerry said.
The momentum from his Super Tuesday wins, which helped push Edwards out of the Democratic race yesterday, yielded the biggest day of Internet fund-raising for Kerry yet. His campaign issued a statement at 5 p.m. yesterday saying it had raised $1.2 million in the previous 24 hours, which the campaign said is the most ever raised via the Internet by a presidential candidate in that short a time.
Patrick Healy can be reached at phealy@globe.com. 
