Always a contender, never a candidate

[AP photo] Reporters get a hello from Sen. Bob Graham as he picks up his newspaper. Graham plans to teach at Harvard and promote his book.

Four times, Sen. Bob Graham has been a serious contender to be a presidential running mate.

Four times, he has come up short.

But if Graham was disappointed to again be left at the altar, he didn't let his emotions show.

"I consider it to be an honor to have been one of the few people in several presidential processes who have been given that level of consideration," the Florida senator said Tuesday.

Indeed, few politicians if any have had more experience with the vice-presidential selection process than Graham. He was considered by Michael Dukakis in 1988, Bill Clinton in 1992 and Al Gore in 2000.

This time, his position as a contender didn't draw much national publicity because Graham, 67, and his aides would not publicly discuss the process. Yet behind the scenes, they provided reams of documents to John Kerry's campaign.

Kerry's attorneys examined dozens of Graham's spiral notebooks, pored over his health records and got an advance copy of his book on terrorism. Late last week, as the examination intensified, the Kerry staffers began calling Democratic activists who worked on Graham's presidential campaign.

Graham's notebooks are often considered an oddity because he uses them to chronicle trivial details about his life, such as when he changes pants. But Kerry aides reviewed a sampling of 35 notebooks and determined they would not be a serious factor in the presidential campaign.

After reviewing financial, health and other personal papers, Kerry and his aides found nothing that disqualified Graham, according to people involved in the selection. Kerry simply felt Edwards was the best choice for the ticket.

At Kerry's announcement in Pittsburgh, a few people in the crowd were waving signs that had "Kerry-Edwards" on one side and "Kerry-Graham" on the other. The campaign had printed signs in advance to cover three possible running mates: Edwards, Rep. Dick Gephardt and Graham.

For months, the Kerry campaign had been extraordinarily effective at keeping a lid on the selection process. But on Tuesday morning, the information leaked out before Graham could be notified.

He first heard about it from his wife, Adele, who said she got the news from CNN. He then got a call from his chief of staff, Buddy Menn, who had the same news. Then, finally, Kerry himself called.

Kerry was gracious and mentioned that he liked Graham's book on national security and intelligence, to be published in September. "By the comments he made, he was a perceptive reader," Graham said.

Robin Gibson, a Lake Wales lawyer and one of Graham's closest friends, said Edwards was a good choice because of his appeal in the South. But Gibson said he was disappointed for Graham.

"I think that Kerry probably missed out on the most capable and qualified person that he could have chosen," Gibson said.

Graham had already announced he was retiring from the Senate. He says he is planning to campaign for Kerry in Florida, promote his book, take a temporary teaching assignment at Harvard University and establish an academic center that will promote public service and better relations with Latin America. He has also been mentioned as a possible Cabinet secretary if Kerry wins.

"It's not like he's just going to go to Bradenton and relax," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. "He's got 10 or 15 years ahead of him of productive work."

Graham praised Edwards and said he understood Kerry's choice.

"I would have been happy to have been asked by Sen. Kerry to be his partner in this great adventure," Graham said. "I modestly think I would have made a contribution. But he had a plan of how he wants to run his administration and his campaign and Sen. Edwards fits that plan."

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