Kerry Behind the Scenes: Restless, Multisyllabic | NYT [View All]

Kerry Behind the Scenes: Restless, Multisyllabic
By JODI WILGOREN

Published: June 13, 2004

ike a caged hamster, Senator John Kerry is restless on the road. He pokes at the perimeter of the campaign bubble that envelops him, constantly trying to break out for a walk around the block, a restaurant dinner, the latest movie.

Landing one sunny day in St. Louis, Mr. Kerry wandered off the airstrip to stroll through a grass patch, leaving his security detail trying to keep him in sight while scores of staff members, supporters, police officers and journalists waited without explanation for an hour. Another afternoon on another tarmac, he tossed a baseball, then a football, then hopped on a policeman's motorcycle for a spin, all in the space of 30 minutes. Late one evening in Harrisburg, Penn., Mr. Kerry jumped from the motorcade to greet some children on a street corner.

"Can we walk over there?" he had asked an aide earlier that day, heading for a fund-raiser after a series of radio interviews from a hotel. "I'd love to get outdoors and remember what it's like."

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