For Kerrey, family came first

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Bob Kerrey was ready to make the arguments.

For controversial fixes to Social Security and Medicare. For higher taxes to balance the budget. For more national investment in research.

Kerrey said he was enthusiastic about a possible comeback bid for the U.S. Senate because it would have allowed him to return to the national debate on those important issues.

“I looked at this race and said, ‘I've got a story to tell that might be helpful,' ” said Kerrey, who left the Senate in 2001 and moved to New York City. “The issues I used to talk about have come front and center one more time.”

In the end, however, Kerrey decided to put family considerations ahead of politics. He announced Tuesday that he would not return to Nebraska to run for the Senate seat vacated by fellow Democrat Ben Nelson, who is retiring.

“I just feel very strongly it's not going to be good for my family,” Kerrey said in an interview. “It would be a lot of time away from my wife and son. It would be difficult for them. I have to be respectful of that.”

Kerrey is married to native New Yorker and screenwriter Sarah Paley. The couple have a 10-year-old son, Henry.

The former senator would have had to return to Nebraska and establish residency to run.

Kerrey had said he would not take Henry out of school in New York and enroll him in a Nebraska school for political reasons.

If he had run and been elected, Kerrey said, he would have pressed for entitlement reform — an issue he championed with little success in the 1990s. Kerrey and Sen. John Danforth, R-Mo., chaired a bipartisan commission that focused attention on the issue but did not result in changes.

“The warnings that Jack Danforth and I sounded have come true,” Kerrey said.

Kerrey said Democrats must recognize that entitlement programs cannot be made financially sound solely though higher taxes. And he said Republicans need to accept that additional taxes are needed as well.

“You can hide and you can ignore the facts all day long,” Kerrey said. “But if you ignore facts, the country's not going to survive it.”

In considering a run, Kerrey returned to Nebraska for a five-day tour, during which he often sounded like a Senate candidate as he talked about farm programs and economic development projects.

Paul Johnson, a political consultant who has run Kerrey's campaigns, said Kerrey was leaning strongly in favor of running until recently.

“He was very excited about it, very engaged,” Johnson said. “I thought we were about 99 percent there when he kind of put the brakes on the process maybe a couple weeks ago.”

Kerrey's decision appears to put an end to a political career that included four years as Nebraska governor, 12 years in the Senate and an unsuccessful run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992.

“Given the fact that I'm 68, it probably is,” Kerrey said. “The older you get, the less time you get.”

Johnson said he doesn't agree.

“You never know what happens in politics,” he said. “I just don't believe the fat lady has sung.”

Kerrey said he would have faced a tough race, although Johnson said he was “quite confident” Kerrey could have won.

“It's always up to the voters,” Kerrey said.

He said his adult daughter noted that no Nebraska voter younger than 35 had ever seen him on the ballot. Still, he said, Nebraska isn't fundamentally different than it was in the 1980s and 1990s, when he won three statewide races.

Kerrey said the political challenge didn't scare him. In fact, he said, Republican ads criticizing him as a “carpetbagger” because he currently lives in New York probably made him more inclined to run.

But it became clear he couldn't square a politician's life with his family life.

“It's a whole package,” he said. “It's the campaign. It's life as a senator. It's everything.”

When Kerrey was a governor and senator before, he was single. Now he isn't.

“For many reasons I nearly said yes,” Kerrey said in his Tuesday statement. “In the end I choose to remain a private citizen. To those who urged me to do so, I am sorry, very sorry to have disappointed you. I hope you understand that I have chosen what I believe is best for my family and me.”

World-Herald staff writer Robynn Tysver contributed to this report.

Contact the writer:
402-444-1114, paul.goodsell@owh.com

Bob Kerrey wanted to run.

As he considered a comeback bid for the U.S. Senate, Kerrey was enthusiastic about returning to the national debate over issues such as entitlement reform and budget deficits.

"I looked at this race and said, 'I've got a story to tell that might be helpful,'" said Kerrey, who left the Senate in 2001 and moved to New York City. "The issues I used to talk about have come front and center one more time."

In the end, however, Kerrey decided to put family considerations ahead of politics. He announced Tuesday that he would not return to Nebraska to run for office.

"I just feel very strongly it's not going to be good for my family," he said in an interview. "It would be a lot of time away from my wife and son. It would be difficult for them. I have to be respectful of that."

Kerrey is married to native New Yorker and screenwriter Sarah Paley. The couple have a 10-year-old son, Henry.

The former senator would have had to return to Nebraska and establish residency to run. Kerrey had said he would not take Henry out of school in New York and enroll him in a Nebraska school for political reasons.

Kerrey's decision appears to put an end to a political career that included four years as Nebraska governor, 12 years in the Senate and an unsuccessful run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992.

"Given the fact that I'm 68, it probably is," Kerrey said. "The older you get, the less time you get."

But Paul Johnson, a political consultant who has run Kerrey's campaigns, said he doesn't agree.

"You never know what happens in politics," he said. "I just don't believe the fat lady has sung."

Johnson said Kerrey was leaning strongly in favor of running until recently.

"He was very excited about it, very engaged," Johnson said. "I thought we were about 99 percent there when he kind of put the brakes on the process maybe a couple weeks ago."

In considering a run, Kerrey returned to Nebraska for a five-day tour, during which he often sounded like a Senate candidate as he talked about farm programs and economic development projects.

Kerrey said he expected a tough race and didn't take victory for granted, although Johnson said he was "quite confident" Kerrey could have won.

"It's always up to the voters," Kerrey said.

He said his daughter noted that no Nebraska voter younger than 35 had ever seen him on the ballot.

But Kerrey said the political challenge didn't keep him out of the race. Instead, he said, it became clear he couldn't square a politician's life with his family life.

"It's a whole package," he said. "It's the campaign. It's life as a senator. It's everything."

When Kerrey was a governor and senator before, he was single. Now he isn't.

"For many reasons I nearly said yes," Kerrey said in his Tuesday statement. "In the end I choose to remain a private citizen. To those who urged me to do so, I am sorry, very sorry to have disappointed you. I hope you understand that I have chosen what I believe is best for my family and me."

World-Herald staff writer Robynn Tysver contributed to this report.

Contact the writer:

402-444-1114, paul.goodsell@owh.com

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