DAVID BURNETT/CONTACT

FROM THE TIME ARCHIVE Raising the Volume A TIME guide to the suddenly fast and loud presidential race [3/22/2004]

Democrats said they thought Kerry was their most "electable" candidate. That was the result, apparently, of a process of elimination; Kerry was everyone's second choice. That was a stunning achievement; Democrats never agree on anything, not even second choices—and so the Kerry anointment was an unprecedented act of pragmatism. The Senator's strongest suit was his demeanor. He seemed very serious. So did the primary electorate. But now comes an open question: Will the rest of the nation be as smitten with solemnity as the primary voters were? The issues on the table are nothing less than war and national solvency. The contrast between complex-sentence Kerry and simple-sentence Bush could not be clearer. Kerry's burden is double: he will have to prove not only that his policies are better than the incumbent's, but also that he will be a tolerable guest in the dens and kitchens of the nation for the next four years.

April 13, 1998	Feb. 9, 2004	Aug. 8, 1960
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