Bill Bradley

DENVER - U.S. Sen. John Kerry, the last Democrat to accept a presidential nomination, and his wife, Theresa Heinz, sat down with PolitickerMA.com to reflect upon their experience in 2004 and talk about what this year's nominee, Barack Obama, can expect. Kerry said the convention went by so quickly, he didn't have a moment to reflect on the significance of the event.  "Well, I wish there was time for a kind of introspection; that would be very sweet and enjoyable," Kerry said. "But frankly, you're so focused, and so it's so much a part of the continuum that you don't have time for that kind of introspection. You just don't."

DENVER - Everyone has a favorite Democratic National Convention, and for former State Democratic Party Chairman Ray Durkin and party executive director Emma Byrne, the year was 1988, when Democrats left Atlanta, Georgia with a 17-18 point lead in the polls and fully confident they would buck the GOP.

"The high we got from the convention was huge, and everyone was absolutely convinced we couldn’t lose," recalled Byrne.

"That would change, of course," said Durkin. "That was before we learned that Mike Dukakis was a nice man. He was afraid to attack, and he took a beating."

The year was important for Durkin, the Vailsburg, Newark product who lived in the same neighborhood as other Irish-American party bulwarks: the late John Cryan (father of state chairman, Joe) and Assemblyman (And former State Party Chair) Tom Giblin (D-Montclair).

Linden Mayor Richard Gerbounka has endorsed John McCain for President, but declined to say who he would support for Congress in the hotly contested seventh district race between Democrat Linda Stender and Republican Leonard Lance.  Part of Linden is in the seventh.  Gerbounka was a Democratic Councilman until launching an Independent bid to unseat longtime Mayor John Gregorio in 2006.

Back in 1984, another Democratic Mayor from Union County endorsed a GOP presidential candidate.  In a much heralded announcement, Ronald Reagan won the backing of Thomas Dunn, who spent 28 years as the Mayor of Elizabeth.  That year, Reagan beat Walter Mondale in Elizabeth by nearly 4,000 votes, 56%-44%.  Reagan carried Linden by slightly less than 2,000 votes, also 56%-44%.  In other Democratic Union County strongholds, Reagan won Rahway by almost 2,000 votes (58%-42%), but lost Plainfield by almost 7,000 votes, 72%-28%.  But Reagan had no coattails: Democrat Bill Bradley, seeking a second term in the United States Senate, carried Elizabeth, Linden, Rahway and Plainfield by wide margins.

Frank Lautenberg has hit the magic number: he’s at 51% in a new Rasmussen Reports poll released on Wednesday. That’s the first time in Lautenberg’s 26-year political career that he has hit the fifty percent mark before Labor Day. He leads Republican Dick Zimmer 51%-33%.

A former office-holder and ex-presidential candidate who is being considered for the VP nomination was at the Hatch Shell for the annual Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular over the weekend – and it wasn’t Mitt Romney.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker, backing up Senate President Richard Codey's endorsement of Obama.

Obama Campaign State Director Mark Alexander knew it would be hard to pry Sen. Hillary Clinton’s supporters loose in New Jersey after her victory in New Hampshire.

This was a fight now, and Clinton’s people were solid.

"We have an opportunity here in Hudson - Hudson, Hispanics, Hillary and history," Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) cried to a North Bergen audience of mostly Latinos with Clinton on stage.

The response was near to deafening with Clinton standing on stage with Menendez, U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (D-13) and state Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex).

But that didn’t mean there weren’t other opportunities for Obama; in fact, one big opportunity, in the form of Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex), who was at the moment glumly serving as state director for the foundering campaign of John Edwards.

Alexander knew Codey. He also knew Codey was close to former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley (D-NJ), who had come onto the Obama campaign as an advisor.

Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex) would love Barack Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex)Obama to pick Codey’s old pal, former Sen. Bill Bradley, as his running mate.

He recognizes, however, that a Northeastern, blue state vice presidential candidate on the Democrats’ ticket probably wouldn’t be in Obama's best political interest.

That leads Codey past his sentimental favorite to his second choice: retired General Wesley Clark.

"He’s got personality, he’s got a great wife, and he gives Obama age and military background.," Codey told PolitickerNJ.com.

Clark ran unsuccessfully for president in 2004, losing to Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) in the Democratic primary.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Mechanicsville) is in New Jersey today, campaigning for a congressional candidate in a fairly Republican district, Dennis Shulman. He was personally delivering a second $2,500 donation from his political action committee, AmeriPAC.

Hoyer also weighed in on some VP buzz that the Garden State's former Senator and 2000 presidential candidate Bill Bradley has been getting. He praised the former New York Knicks star, but said "I'm going to be for Senator Obama's choice."

This is the second time Hoyer has weighed on on a New Jerseyan, previously discussing former colleague and current Sen. Bob Menendez as a running-mate to Sen. Hillary Clinton.

PARAMUS - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) seems to like the idea of former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley (D-Montclair) as Barack Obama's running mate - in a very non-committal sort of way.

"I think Bill Bradley was an outstanding member of the U.S. Senate, I think he's a very decent, value-centered individual. Obviously a very distinguished scholar in his own right," said Hoyer during a campaign appearance for 5th district congressional candidate Dennis Shulman.  "There's no doubt he could be president and many supported him fro president when he ran, so I think that would be a choice the American public would certainly respond favorably to."

One sign that rumors of Bill Bradley’s name on a list of potential vice presidential candidates could be accurate: one of Barack Obama’s top advisors is Anita Dunn, who was Bradley’s Senate Chief of Staff and later as chief strategist for Bradley’s 2000 presidential campaign.  Dunn believes in the value of the Bradley brand, and her seat at the Obama table is likely to get the former three-term Senator from New Jersey at least some consideration.