President Barack Obama’s campaign has tapped Sen. John Kerry to play the role of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in mock debates to prepare for this fall, the
Boston Herald reported.
The Massachusetts senator is well-versed in debates and considered a formidable debater, having gone head-to-head against Democrats in the primaries and in the general election against President George W. Bush in 2004. Before that, he aided Sen. Ted Kennedy in debates against Romney in 1994, the Herald reported. Kerry also had eight hourlong epic debates with Governor Bill Weld en route to his 1996 re-election victory.
“There is no one that has more experience or understanding of the presidential debate process than John Kerry,” Obama’s chief strategist David Axelrod said, according to the Herald.
Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh said Kerry knows Romney well, having watched him for years when Romney was governor and in his other roles. “He knows his record, he watched him run for governor. He knows (Romney) as a politician, a governor and a businessman. It gives him a unique position. I don’t think you can find a lot of people who can check all those boxes,” she told the Herald.
The first presidential debate is scheduled for Oct. 3 in Denver.
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