Kerry is no Dukakis

Did everyone catch yesterday’s episode of This Week with George Stephanopoulos? If you missed it, you missed some fun behind-the-scenes footage of a day in the life of a presidential candidate. Yesterday was the first installment of what Stephanopoulos hopes will be a regular series. First up: John Kerry.

Kerry did not have the best of weekends, considering his distant second place finish to Howard Dean in a Wisconsin straw poll (see below). But despite that disappointment, Kerry must have enjoyed the Stephanopoulos profile.

Most of the segment was what you’d expect, Kerry giving a speech, Kerry meeting voters, Kerry hugging some supporters, etc. But the profile also showed some of what makes Kerry unique.

First was Kerry meeting up with several Vietnam veterans in a park in Milwaukee. As the only veteran in the race, and I’m including Bush here, Kerry has the ability to connect with veterans in a genuine way because he is a decorated war hero. These men hug and call each other “brother” because they share a common bond. Come Election Day, Kerry could do what no other Dem in the race can — take the “veteran vote” away from the GOP.

Second was footage of Kerry riding his Harley Davidson — without a helmet. Watching him on a motorcycle reminds me of one important thing: Kerry is not Michael Dukakis.

For a long time, many party leaders shied away from Kerry because he’s a Massachusetts Democrat, a label that isn’t exactly synonymous with success. The last three major Dem presidential candidates from Massachusetts were, how to I put this gently, not all that impressive. Ted Kennedy in ’80, Dukakis in ’88, Paul Tsongas in ’92. One started to get the impression that the state would churn out one unimposing liberal in every election cycle until the end of time.

Kerry, on the other hand, may be a Massachusetts Democrat, but he is not like his in-state brethren. If Ted Kennedy got on a Harley Davidson without a helmet, he’d look pretty silly. When Kerry does it, it looks real.

The guy, as Stephanopoulos put it, is an “alpha-male.” Kerry not only rides a Harley, he hunts, snowboards, windsurfs, and plays guitar. He’s 6-foot-4 and plays in an amateur ice hockey league, for goodness sake.

For lack of a better word, I’d say Kerry looks “presidential.” Of course, looks aren’t everything…