When asked what he would say to Harvard students considering a vote for a Yalie like himself, Kerry said, “We should focus on what unites us.”
Kerry, Dean, and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman—along with President George W. Bush—are all Yale graduates.
Lieberman, D-Conn., has remained stagnant in New Hampshire, although the campaign pressed journalists over the weekend to acknowledge the Connecticut senator’s slight uptick in most polls following his performance in Thursday night’s debate.
The most recent tracking poll by the American Research Group showed Lieberman with just 5 percent of the vote, while Kerry led with 38 percent. Clark, Dean and Edwards wrangled for the second position with 17, 16 and 15 percent, respectively.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Other tracking polls by Gallup and Zogby gave Kerry the lead but showed Dean in command of second place with more than 20 percent of the vote.
At the Democratic fundraiser Saturday evening Clark more or less stuck to his standard stump speech, but also spoke more frankly than ever before about his previous political affiliations.
“I have to tell you honestly, I haven’t been a member of the Democratic Party for that long,” said Clark, who has acknowledged previous votes for Richard M. Nixon and Ronald W. Reagan.
The votes and the recency of his registration with the Democratic Party have dogged Clark in debates and on the campaign trail, and members of the Dean camp have recently accused Clark of being a Republican.
But in a subdued address Saturday night, the former general attempted to display his Democratic colors.
“We Democrats have got to take out the president,” Clark said, speaking in his preferred military vernacular.
Joshua S. Gottheimer, a third-year Harvard Law student who is also Clark’s chief speechwriter, emphasized the general’s electability in the South.
Gottheimer recently revised the speech for a tour of the South to focus on a redefinition of “family values” to include issues like healthcare, jobs and education.
“We went down South, and we had a discussion of values. And we thought we should bring it up North,” Gottheimer said.
—Staff writer Zachary M. Seward can be reached at seward@fas.harvard.edu.