Clinton, Kennedy Get Starring Roles

Former President Clinton will get the coveted prime-time speaking slot on opening day of the Democratic convention here, while hometown favorite Sen. Edward M. Kennedy will speak during prime time on Day Two.

Ben Affleck, Sean Astin, Larry David and two of the Baldwin brothers, Billy and Alec, are set to headline a sizable Hollywood cast who also will be on hand next month, helping John F. Kerry accept his party’s nomination for president.

Other major Hollywood names are still trying to rearrange their summer schedules so they can help boost network attention for the four-day coronation of the junior senator from Massachusetts.

With just under a month to go before the Democrats descend on one of the cradles of the U.S. republic, it’s a little early to figure out what the hottest ticket in town will be. Batting practice for delegates at Fenway Park? Rock the Vote’s closing-night concert? A floor pass for Kerry’s speech? Or Clinton’s?

But some things are abundantly clear. While Democratic strategists insist their convention will be Kerry’s moment to shine, it will also be Teddy’s. And Bill’s. But particularly Teddy’s.

The senior senator from the Bay State -- with the famed name and expansive personality -- lobbied his party long and hard to bring its convention to Boston. He is now faced with the delicate task of sharing the spotlight with his more buttoned-down colleague.

Kennedy “will have his role to play, and he’ll defer to Sen. Kerry by the end of the week,” one Democratic strategist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in a discussion of convention planning. “He’ll play his role and then he’ll move aside.”

That role will include attending a dedication on the convention’s first day, July 26, of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a downtown park named for the family’s matriarch; and his speech the following night, followed by a star-studded tribute during which the senator will conduct the Boston Pops.

The Democrats, said Louis DiNatale, senior fellow at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, “have to have all of their assets on display” at the convention if they hope to win back the White House in November. But they also have to manage the risks involved in showcasing the party’s biggest personalities.

“This is a minuet. You hope everyone knows their roles: Senior senator from Kennedy. Graceful ex-president from Clinton. Take-it-to-’em candidate from Kerry,” DiNatale said. “That’s the best possibility.”

And the worst? “Clinton could go in and get on the front page three days in a row, and Kerry could give you a snoozer by hitting the Washington windbag button,” he said. “That’s the Republican dream.”

Stealing the show is only one potential hazard posed by Kennedy; Republicans already have been spotlighting the liberal lion’s record and depicting Kerry as its heir.

On Saturday, the Bush campaign sent reporters an e-mail proclaiming: “Kerry’s Lifetime Liberal Vote Rating From Americans For Democratic Action [a liberal advocacy group] Is Two Points Higher Than That Of Ted Kennedy.”

Kennedy helped jump-start Kerry’s campaign in Iowa in January, when the candidate was languishing in the polls. At the convention and into the fall, his value to Kerry is to energize the party base.

Clinton comes with a different set of risks and benefits. The negatives were outlined in a recent New Yorker magazine cartoon: Clinton standing at a podium marked “Kerry” with the taller, thinner candidate peeking out from behind.

And the positives? Clinton is still popular with some swing voters who remember his administration’s eight years of peace and prosperity, said Thomas Hollihan, associate dean of the USC-Annenberg School for Communication.

“John Kerry is not as capable a speaker as either Kennedy or Clinton, but it’s kind of like the bridesmaids and the bride,” Hollihan said. “On the night that Kerry gets center stage ... they won’t overwhelm him. The party faithful are so hostile to this administration, he’ll be treated as a real hero in the hall when he gives his acceptance speech.”

The GOP also is expected to focus on the very convention venue itself -- Massachusetts is the first state to legalize gay marriage -- as part of the effort to paint Kerry as out of touch with the mainstream.

“There’s no question that the Massachusetts liberal label is a liability in some parts of the country,” said Will Marshall, president of the Progressive Policy Institute, a centrist Democratic think tank.

To counter the gay marriage issue, the Democrats plan to emphasize “the Boston heritage and how it relates to Kerry and the fact that we’ve had many presidents from Massachusetts,” said one source close to the campaign, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

One night is to be devoted to Kerry’s life story, emphasizing his combat record in Vietnam. Like the campaign itself, which has relied heavily on military veterans for its volunteer efforts, the convention will use veterans to “burnish his image as someone strong on national security,” said one Democratic Party official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

One Democratic strategist said that if the convention’s Hollywood celebrities “are used on stage, they’ll be used biographically to say who Kerry is,” rather than to perform.

In addition, they will appear at parties and other events to thank donors and get delegates and interest groups galvanized for the fall campaign.