Sen. Kerry at Jack Quigley's in Portsmouth, October 10, 2003

Stumping in New Hampshire: Jack Quigley's in Portsmouth ...1 of 3 >




	Portsmouth, NH, October 10, 2003--Among those waiting for Sen. Kerry to arrive for a meet the candidate event at Jack Quigley's are supporters Martha Fuller Clark and State Senator Burt Cohen, as well as New Hampshire Chair Bill Shaheen.


	Martha Fuller Clark: I came out publicly supporting John Kerry in June. I'd been looking at him very seriously for the last six months and I felt that so many of the candidates had been so supportive of my campaign that I really wanted to take some time and listen to all of them. But I believe that John Kerry has the combination of foreign affairs experience, an understanding of diplomacy, and domestic affairs that none of the other candidates bring to the table to the same degree. And I think that he is a leader that would be respected around the world and that he would be able to rebuild our stature internationally, which has been so damaged. I'm very excited that he's running and I'm going to do everything in my power to see tht he wins in January. Question: Was that a difficult decision though? Clark: It was a difficult decision because I have a lot of respect and personal friendships with many of the individuals who are running. Frankly, the hardest person for me to choose between was Kerry and Gephardt. And yet Gephardt does not have the military background or the foreign affairs experience that I think is so essential. And I think in the election of 2002 that we really failed to understand how mucht the people in this country want someone who can lead us in world affairs. Question: It appears Dean has the better field organization, or at least more people; far more people maybe 4 to 3. Clark: The interest in Dean I think is really fascinating. I think Dean is a terrific speaker; he's a high energy guy. He worked hard with me in my campaign; I have a lot of respect for him. I think that Dean has become the candidate for everyone who is really angry about what has happened in Washington over the last 2 or 3 years. I don't however believe that you win a campaign on anger, and I'm looking at the individual who I think has the greatest capacity to replace George Bush. Sen. Burt Cohen: I've always appreciated the work of Sen. Kerry in the U.S. Senate. He's been consistently a progressive, strong, effective voice, and we need to beat George Bush. It's extremely important to beat George Bush. I mean there's some great Democrats running for president now, and no matter what happens after the primary certainly we'll all unite to get George Bush out of there; there's nothing more important than that. But I think Kerry's a strong candidate, and I think he can win.