Former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry suggested in a Sunday CBS News interview that he regrets choosing John Edwards as his vice presidential running mate during the 2004 presidential elections.
In an interview on “Face The Nation,” former secretary of state John Kerry answered in the affirmative when asked if he regretted picking then-North Carolina Democratic Sen. John Edwards as his running mate.
“I write in the book about the qualities that you are looking for when you choose a vice president and I think when you articulate those qualities and then you measure what took place against the qualities that I very much lay out there that you’re looking for, it — it didn’t measure up. It wasn’t what we had hoped for,” he told host Margaret Brennan. “So there was some disappointment in that.”
The “book” Kerry referred to is his soon-to-be released memoir: “Every Day is Extra.” The upcoming autobiography details Kerry’s life as a soldier, Vietnam War protester and subsequent political career. The subject of his life was discussed at length during his exchange with Brennan. The timing of his memoir stokes further speculation that the longtime Massachusetts senator is mulling another presidential bid — something he did not deny.
“I’m really not thinking about it,” he said when asked point-blank if will run in 2020. “Talking about 2020 right now is a total distraction and waste of time. What we need to do is focus on 2018.”
Kerry — who is living on Martha’s Vineyard for the time being — made a number of other notable comments during the interview. He said the U.S. “paid a price” for not enforcing former President Barack Obama’s infamous red line in Syria; suggested he could have contested the Ohio results in the 2004 elections; and he responded to President Donald Trump making fun of him for falling while riding a bicycle. (RELATED: John Kerry Rails Against Obama-Era Syrian Policy — US ‘Paid A Price’ For Not Enforcing Red Line)
After clinching the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, Kerry chose Edwards to be his running mate. The Democratic pair went on to lose the election to former President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. After failing in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, Edwards effectively ended his political career after the public learned of his extra-marital affair that transpired while his wife died from cancer. The former North Carolina senator was later engaged in legal trouble for allegedly using campaign funds to cover up the affair.
During his interview, Kerry made clear that he will be a presence during the 2018 midterm elections and campaign for fellow Democrats across the country.
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