More Stories From Bob Shrum: Kerry Demonstrates How To Fall Off The Veep List in 2000

From Bob Shrum’s “No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner,” page 325:
[Early in the day of the 2000 New Hampshire primary, Al Gore’s campaign had been hearing bad news – the last wave of exit polls suggested Gore would lose by 5 points to Bill Bradley…]

John Kerry unexpectedly materialized, virtually the only outsider that night to make it past the check points and the Secret Service… Like everybody else, Kerry had heard about the exit surveys – which were withheld from the public until the polls closed, but were the common currency of political insider trading all through Election Day. When Kerry arrived, Gore came out to greet him and promptly got an earful, as Kerry expounded on why Gore was losing in New Hampshire. The stump speech didn’t work; he didn’t have a clear focused message – the critique went on and on. Tipper took me aside and told me to somehow get Kerry out of here… Tipper didn’t forget that night and that moment – and when the time came, she was distinctly unenthuisastic about picking Kerry for vice president.