Trailhead: A campaign blog.

Is John Kerry the Next Pat Robertson?

Obama supporters and Clinton conspiracy theorists, relax. John Kerry is endorsing Barack Obama, but it’s not the kiss of death everybody thinks. Sure, it recalls Al Gore’s endorsement of Howard Dean in 2004, but as Chris Cillizza notes, this is a different ballgame. Nor is Kerry a Hillary Clinton plant intended to ruin Obama’s change momentum. Most likely, this will end up being a very quiet, behind-the-scenes partnership in the long run.

It’s hard to remember, but think back to Pat Robertson’s endorsement of Rudy Giuliani. We haven’t heard anything from Mr. 700 Club since. Giuliani needed Robertson to prove that his message jived with evangelicals, and then he needed Robertson to shut up. 

Kerry isn’t as big of a liability, but he is the dour face of the Democratic base that Obama is trying to transcend. (Plus, Kerry did have that nasty soldiers-are-dumb moment in 2006.) For Obama, Kerry is a gateway to the Democratic establishment that can make his change message even more legitimate and a key resource in the fund-raising battle with Hillary Clinton.

If Edwards continues to fade, the Democratic race will be a one-on-one showdown where money will play an even more important role than it did in small, retail-politics states. The candidates will be holding more rallies and fewer house parties since they need to hit multiple states before Feb. 5. That means ads are their most important surrogates—and that means money is their most important asset. 

The real worry for Obama fans is not the curse; it’s that Kerry didn’t even think the endorsement was a boon to Obama back in December. According to the New York Times, Kerry had made his support for Obama known to the campaign before Iowa’s caucuses, but everybody decided to hold off on a public announcement until after New Hampshire. Maybe they were worried about the curse, or maybe they were worried about Kerry weighing Obama’s hope message down. Either way, I doubt we’ll be hearing from Kerry too often.

It's Pat!

Rudy Giuliani made Tommy Thompson his national co-chair. He did the same for Steve Forbes. Hell, Jeb Bush Jr. is the chairman of Florida Young Professionals for Rudy. But Pat Robertson? He's title-less.

There's no doubt that today's official endorsement from televangelist Robertson is a major coup for the pro-choice Giuliani. But the campaign isn't putting Robertson front and center in Giuliani's cabal of endorsers. Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for Rudy, told me that Robertson doesn't have an official title and didn't have any plans to give him one. Today, she said, was just the first step-an opportunity to be in public talking about his support for Giuliani.

One would assume more steps will follow, but she offered no specifics. I asked her if Robertson planned to campaign on Rudy's behalf. She didn't have an answer. I asked her if he could be expected to be a Giuliani proxy on cable news. Unclear.  

That conversation, combined with today's hasty press conference-where Giuliani and Robertson seemed to have little in common besides a history of prostate cancer-makes me wonder how much Giuliani wants to associate with Robertson.

Remember, this is the same Robertson that said the U.S. should whack Hugo Chavez, that abortions caused 9/11, and that in the next month and a half there will be a "mass killing" in the U.S. Doesn't sound like somebody a frontrunner wants mouthing off on his behalf.  

Tomorrow is the first day in Giuliani's post-Robertson candidacy. Will we ever hear from Robertson again? Or will Rudy hope that today's deluge of news coverage is enough to convince the religious right that he's their guy?

Giuliani flies to Iowa tomorrow. Robertson won't be joining him.

Rudy's Terror Gamble

Pat Robertson’s decision to endorse Rudy Giuliani has some conservatives scratching their heads. Why back a candidate whose record on abortion—a supposed litmus test for evangelical support—so clearly repudiates everything you stand for?

The reason, according to Robertson: terrorism. America’s No. 1 goal right now, he said at a press conference today, should be the “defense of our people from the bloodlust of Islamic terrorists.” Beyond that, he said, the No. 2 goal should be stemming government waste and corruption. Appointing conservative judges—and thus reducing the number of abortions—is all the way down at number three. That one of America’s foremost social conservatives would rank the country’s priorities in that order is very, very good news for Rudy.

Robertson is at least the second prominent social conservative to endorse Giuliani because of his record on security. Texas Gov. Richard Perry, who threw himself behind Giuliani last month, said that picking a president is like buying a truck: He wouldn’t reject a model just because there’s one option he doesn’t like. Again, security trumps abortion. (What’s the point of keeping the child if it’s just gonna get blown up?)

Robertson’s endorsement might also diffuse talk of a James Dobson-backed third-party candidate should Giuliani win the nomination. Without the support of Robertson or Brownback or Weyrich (or Perry or Bob Jones III), it’s hard to imagine another religious-right candidate gaining much momentum.

When he decided to run for president, Giuliani took a gamble that Republican voters care more about security than they do about his record on social issues. It looks like that gamble has paid off.

Pat Robertson and Rudy Giuliani: Not Exactly BFFs

From inside the bowels of the National Press Club, Christopher Beam sent this over the wires:

Pat Robertson just announced his endorsement of Rudy Giuliani for president of the United States. Giuliani, however, seemed to have trouble fully endorsing Pat Robertson. Here's how he introduced the evangelical leader:

Pat Robertson is a very well-known leader, a person of well-deserved reputation. He has run for president of the United States. He understands what America is all about. And he has articulated the overriding issues of our time.

No friendship? No admiration? And keep in mind that his "well-deserved reputation" could mean anything …