John Kerry Says He Deserves Second Chance Presidential Bid 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 17, 2006
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Former presidential candidate John Kerry says Americans should give him a second chance to try to capture the presidency should he decide to run again in 2008. Kerry lost to President George W. Bush in 2004 in part because he maintained a strong position in favor of abortion and embryonic stem cell research.
Kerry says it is a basic principle of the United States that "Americans give people a second chance" — especially in politics.
He pointed to Arizona Sen. John McCain, who mostly votes pro-life, and said he lost in 2000 in the South Carolina primaries to Bush when Bush ran for president the first time around.
"He’s now their leading candidate for president," Kerry told the Associated Press.
"Richard Nixon seemed to get kicked around pretty badly both running for president and governor, turned around and came back and got elected president," Kerry added.
He also referred to Ronald Reagan, who lost in the primaries twice before securing the Republican Party’s nomination in 1980.
Kerry said he’s not certain if he will make a bid in 2008 and has not finalized a decision either way.
"I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. We’ll make that decision down the road," he told AP.
Should he run, Kerry will face a strong field of Democrats seeking to take advantage of President Bush’s low polling numbers, which could make it difficult for Republicans in 2008.
Senator Hillary Clinton of New York is considered the top contender. Other top potential candidates include senators Joe Biden of Delaware, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, former Indiana Gov. Sen. Evan Bayh, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, and Kerry’s former running mate, ex North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, are also potential candidates.
All of the Democrats strongly support abortion and embryonic stem cell research and no pro-life Democrat is thought to be a possible presidential candidate in 2008.
Top mentioned Republican candidates for president in 2008 include McCain, pro-abortion ex-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, pro-life House leader Newt Gingrich, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who votes mostly pro-life.
Other potential candidates include Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a recent pro-life convert, pro-life Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas and pro-life Sen. George Allen of Virginia.
In the 2004 presidential election, Kerry lost to President Bush in 2004 in part because of his pro-abortion views.
A 2004 Wirthlin Worldwide post-election poll found that 42 percent of voters said abortion affected the way they voted for president. Twenty-four percent of voters cast their ballots for President Bush while 15% voted for Kerry, giving Bush a 9 percent advantage on the issue of abortion.
Eight percent of voters in the Wirthlin poll indicated abortion was the "most important" issue affecting their votes and Bush won among those voters by a six to two percent margin, leading Kerry by four percentage points among the most intense abortion voters.
