The Hiller Instinct: Kennedy & Kerry

Well, they'll never be a matched pair.

Politically, Massachusetts is Kennedy country and with the democrats meeting in Boston, John Forbes Kerry, inevitably, is being compared to John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

But while they share the same initials, there's only one JFK.

John F. Kennedy
"I, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, do solemnly swear..."

Nearly a half-century after his election, John F. Kennedy remains the model for democratic presidential candidates.

Vigor was the word for JFK and it had many elements, his Harvard degree, Hollywood looks, glamorous wife, picture perfect children and, perhaps most important, his charismatic combination of wealth, style, youth and grace under pressure.

So now, as another senator from Massachusetts with the initials JFK tries to win the White House, he's compared to Kennedy.

And there are some similarities -- ivy league education, wartime service in the navy, Kennedy in PT 109 during World War II and Kerry in a swift boat during Vietnam. In his teens, Kerry even went sailing with JFK, when he was dating Jackie Kennedy's half sister.

Andy Hiller
"Do you see any J.F. Kennedy in J.F. Kerry?"

Senator Ted Kennedy (D) Massachusetts
"Well, he's his own man... John's his own man."

No one has committed more to the Kerry campaign than Senator Ted Kennedy, who can connect Kerry with JFK…

Senator Ted Kennedy (D) Massachusetts
"Senator Kerry has expressed both admiration for President Kennedy and the... same kind of high ideals for our country and I think in that sense he was inspired by my brothers."

Kerry's selection of southerner John Edwards as a running mate inspired more comparisons. When they appeared together with their families for the first time in public, the images instantly recalled Camelot, JFK greeted by a gaggle of Kennedy kids and cousins.

No democratic president played more to the JFK legacy than Bill Clinton... And it was at Clinton's inaugural after the 1996 election that Kerry and his wife were laughing off for 2000 the prize they pursue now…

Senator John Kerry (D) Massachusetts
"How about what?"

Andy Hiller
"JFK, an inaugural for you?"

Senator John Kerry (D) Massachusetts
"Keep trying."

Andy Hiller
"So how would you like to go to an inaugural for JFK in 2000, your JFK?"

Teresa Heinz Kerry
"Two thousand, you funny."

What John Kerry would like most to copy from JFK -- of course -- is his success as a presidential candidate. And if Kerry does win in November, he'll be the first senator to go straight to the White House since Kennedy did it in 1960.