Kerry Still Unknown to Many

Almost two months after effectively clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. John F. Kerry still faces a major task -- introducing himself and his candidacy to many American voters.

Kerry, his advisors and political analysts agree he remains unknown to large portions of the electorate, despite extensive media attention during the primaries and his regular presence on the campaign trail since his last major Democratic rival left the race in early March.

“A lot of people still don’t really know who I am,” Kerry told donors gathered at Manhattan’s 21 Club for a recent fundraiser. “The level of communication that we still need to undertake here is enormous.”

Some analysts are more pointed in their assessment, saying the Massachusetts senator should have done more already to make a compelling case for his candidacy.

“In the last month, he’s been essentially silent,” said Ed Sarpolus, an independent pollster based in Lansing, Mich. “There’s been no laying out of themes or message or anything other than going around and building up the grass roots.”

Kerry’s advisors said they chose to focus on replenishing his campaign war chest in the last month to pay for an effective challenge to President Bush. By last week, Kerry had raised about $29 million in 16 cities.

With a new round of TV advertising launched Wednesday and his increasingly personal references while campaigning, Kerry was trying to depict himself as a centrist Democrat whose character was fashioned by his wartime experience in Vietnam.

Kerry repeatedly tells audiences that he would take a moderate approach to government, despite a voting record that many view as liberal.

In a speech Friday to newspaper editors in Washington, Kerry unveiled a general theme for his specific proposals -- “Contract with America’s Middle Class.” He emphasized his commitment to national defense and labeled himself an “entrepreneurial Democrat” who wanted to ease the tax burden on middle-class families.

At the 21 Club this month, he told donors, “I am not a redistribution Democrat. Fear not. I am not somebody who wants to go back and make the mistakes of the Democratic Party of 20, 25 years ago.”

Kerry’s effort to define himself comes after he has had mixed success staying in the news since securing the Democratic nomination.

After taking a week off to vacation and recovering for a few days from shoulder surgery, he returned to the trail in early April to find that speeches on fiscal responsibility, college affordability and the environment were overshadowed by other news, such as the surge in violence in Iraq.

New polls, meanwhile, have found that about two-thirds of Kerry’s supporters back him simply because they do not like Bush; in contrast, most of the president’s supporters plan to vote for Bush because they admire him and his policies.

Political experts said Kerry could change that dynamic by getting voters to focus on his background and his vision for the country.

“He’s got to let voters know who he is,” said political consultant Doug Schoen, a leading pollster for President Clinton’s 1996 reelection campaign. “For him to get elected, [Kerry and his aides] have to do more to enhance the strength of his own persona.”

Several Democratic consultants not affiliated with the campaign described the upcoming period as essential to Kerry’s challenge to Bush, who spent more than $40 million in March on TV commercials that portrayed the senator as inconsistent and weak on defense.

A key when running against an incumbent “is painting the picture before someone paints the mustache on you,” said Democratic strategist David Doak.

Kerry aides acknowledge that they have not yet offered a fully realized picture of him to voters, but said they had to catch their breath and raise money after the hectic primary season.

“I can honestly say I understand what they’re saying,” said senior advisor Tad Devine. “But in the aftermath of Super Tuesday [on March 2], our opponent had $100 million of cash on hand and we had almost nothing. That was the choice that we made.”

Kerry’s latest two ads, which feature him speaking directly to the camera about his commitment to jobs, healthcare and a strong defense, are the start of the effort to show him as resolute, with a clear agenda for the country.

Aides said that this phase of the campaign -- which they expected to last until the Democratic National Convention in late July -- would rely heavily on Kerry’s time in Vietnam as a metaphor for his relationship with the country.

“We want [voters] to know that his has been a lifetime of service and strength, that he is someone who has demonstrated strength in many capacities in his life,” Devine said.

That theme is already in evidence on the campaign trail, as Kerry repeatedly refers to his service on a swift boat patrolling the Mekong Delta.

“I learned what it was like to be the tip of the spear of American foreign policy, to carry an M-16 in another country, to try to tell the difference between who wanted to kill you and who wanted to help you,” he told students at the University of Miami last week.

Sometimes, Kerry seems so intent on talking about Vietnam that he brings it up at seemingly incongruous moments.

After a boat tour Wednesday of a channel off the Mississippi Delta in Louisiana, where he spoke about coastal restoration, Kerry said the shoreline reminded him of Vietnam’s coastline, then discussed his friendships with the men on his boat.

Citing his experience in Vietnam is an effective way for Kerry to convey images of heroism and service to voters who know little about him, said Stuart Rothenberg, a nonpartisan elections analyst. But he noted that Republicans were trying to chip away at Kerry’s veteran’s credentials by questioning his votes on defense issues.

“They’re not going to let him run free and clear with his message,” Rothenberg said.

Meanwhile, Kerry is trying to shed the “liberal” tag that has dogged him, by speaking about his commitment to fiscal responsibility and other centrist positions. In Tampa last week, he called for environmental protection paired with economic policies that would foster growth.

Kerry also makes frequent references to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and other GOP colleagues he has aligned himself with as a legislator.

“In the 20 years I’ve been in the Senate, I’ve worked with presidents of both parties; I’ve worked with colleagues on both sides of [the] aisle,” he said at a recent fundraiser in Philadelphia. “And I know the difference between a legitimate effort to govern and an effort to try to pursue a radical ideology.”

Some critics said Kerry’s efforts to position himself as a centrist would only feed a perception that he was inconsistent.

“On the one hand, he’s got to convince voters that he’s more moderate than they were led to believe in the primaries,” said GOP consultant Dan Schnur, communications director for McCain’s failed 2000 bid for the Republican presidential nomination. “On the other hand, he’s got to convince voters he’s not a flip-flopper.”

Kerry aides say they are confident that they can demonstrate his record as a moderate Democrat, pointing to his support for increases in defense spending, a balanced budget and welfare reform.

“What we have to do,” Devine said, “is awaken in people the reality of John F. Kerry’s full record.”

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Times staff writer James Rainey contributed to this report.