Bob Kerrey | The New York Observer

This Time, The New School Dials 911

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:54:04 -0400

From a voice-mail message left at 6:16 on the morning of Good Friday: "Hey, we spoke before. Just wanted to call and give you a tip. The New School building is occupied right now. It’s on the corner of 14th Street and Fifth Avenue. Just get out here and call anyone you know from the press."

At 10:15 a.m., a handful of students—including at least one of the N.Y.U. students who helped lead the takeover...

Tomato-Splattered Bob Kerrey Agrees to (Some) Student Demands

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:07:18 -0500

Earlier this month, the senior faculty of the New School passed a vote of "no confidence" in the school's president Bob Kerrey. The faculty and students of the school have grown increasingly unhappy with the president's management style, his handling of the school budget, and the recent departure of provost Joe Westphal. (During his tenure, which began in 2001, Mr. Kerrey has run through five provosts and 12 deans.)

On the school's website, Mr. Kerrey...

Morning Memo: Judith Regan Not Thrilled With Michael Wolff; Jennifer Aniston Auditioning 'Boyfriends'; Vacancies in St. Barts

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:29:18 -0500

Volatile publisher Judith Regan on Michael Wolff and his portrayal of her in his recent The Man Who Owns the News: "He's grossly irresponsible. I'm going to sue him personally, so he'll have to spend his own money. He projects his own perverted view of the world on everyone else. He is consumed with hatred, vitriol and pathological envy." [R&M]

Mort Zuckerman and charities run by Steven Spielberg and Elie Wiesel were among those...

Waverly High School, Class of 2013!

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:25:15 -0400

When Daily Transom first broke the story about the opening of Greenwich Village High School—a new private school founded by Vanity Fair deputy editor, Aimee Bell—little information was available other than an earnest slogan: "Work Hard, Be Kind, Take Risks."

But in today's Times piece about the high school, we learned that Ms. Bell's little project happens to be backed by some important names including her boss, Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter,...

A Skeptic's Take on Biden's Chances

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:50:02 -0400

I can’t help but think of Bob Kerrey right now. In 1992, the then-Nebraska senator (and current New School president) was one of Bill Clinton’s two vice-presidential finalists, and conventional wisdom strongly suggested Kerrey would get the nod.

The reason was simple: Clinton was an inexperienced small-state governor whose Vietnam draft avoidance would be a major issue in the fall – especially since he...

What's Bill Clinton So Mad About?

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:02:50 -0400

It’s long been obvious that Bill Clinton believes he was wronged in this year’s Democratic primary campaign, his words and actions deliberately twisted and distorted by his enemies and their accomplices in the press to turn him into someone and something he is not.

Two months after his wife formally conceded to Barack Obama, the former president is still pouting in full public view. In an interview with ABC News last weekend, he was noticeably...

Kerrey: Senator Clinton Will Be More Powerful Than Ever

Wed, 28 May 2008 12:06:42 -0400

Eliot Brown asked the New School's president (and former senator), Bob Kerrey, yesterday about Hillary Clinton's standing when, assuming she doesn't end up on the Democratic ticket this year, she returns to the Senate. In Kerrey's assessment, "She will be immeasurably more capable and more powerful.”

Here's some of Kerrey's explanation:

“Here’s what she’s going to have going back in. She’s campaigned in all 50 states plus Puerto Rico—nobody in the Senate will have that...

Kerrey: Clinton Will Know When to Go, But Won't Be Pushed

Wed, 07 May 2008 15:08:31 -0400

Bob Kerrey, the onetime Clinton family antagonist who now supports Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, believes that “if things stay the way they are now” his candidate will withdraw from the race sometime between now and June 3, when the primary season concludes in Montana and South Dakota.

He did say that there was no reason for Clinton to yield to pressure to get out of the race before then, even as a famous South Dakotan,...

Why Is New School President Endorsing an Old Foe?

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:37:55 -0500

The news that New School president and former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey plans to endorse Hillary Clinton and campaign on her behalf in Iowa is probably most noteworthy for its irony. Perhaps no Democrat in the 1990’s was as persistent a thorn in both Clintons’ sides as Kerrey was.

Here’s a brief recap of their relationship:

• In 1991 and 1992, both Mr. Kerrey and...

New School President Endorses Old Foe Hillary Clinton

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 13:16:10 -0500

The news that New School president and former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey plans to endorse Hillary Clinton and campaign on her behalf in Iowa is noteworthy for its irony. Perhaps no Democrat in the 1990’s was as persistent a thorn in both Clintons' sides as Kerrey was. A brief rehistory:

* In 1991/92, both Kerrey and Bill Clinton seek the Democratic nomination. A decorated Vietnam combat veteran, Kerrey is initially deemed the front-runner, but...

More on Imus

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:27:14 -0500

Some more comments on Don Imus' return to radio that didn't make it into the print story...

Bob Kerrey, New School president and former U.S. senator, told The Observer he'd go back on the show. "Look he apologized and he paid the price. Did Isiah Thomas apologize yet?"

Democratic political consultant Paul Begala said he'd go back too. "I shoot my mouth off all the time. If there was a death penalty...

A Final False Start for Bob Kerrey

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:33:29 -0400

Bob Kerrey had a rare chance to play hero to his party and to reclaim a prominent spot on the national political stage.

The 64-year-old, the president of the New School in New York City since 2001, could easily have returned to Nebraska to run for the Senate seat of the retiring Chuck Hagel, and he likely would have won: In three prior elections (for governor in 1982, and the Senate in 1988 and...

Kerrey Explains Not Running, Sees "Tough" Task for Dems in Nebraska

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 16:21:23 -0400

Bob Kerrey thinks boosting the Democrats' chances of increasing their Senate majority is not a good enough reason for him to leave his job and run for office.

Talking about his decision, made public today, not to seek the Nebraska Senate seat vacated by retiring Republican senator Chuck Hagel, Kerrey told me a few minutes ago that he was less worried about the Democratic majority than he...

Redemption in Lowell

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 08:22:17 -0400

There was a certain generic familiarity to the proceedings at the jam-packed city auditorium in Lowell, Mass., on Sunday night: With Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best” blaring and more than 2,500 Democrats screaming and stomping their feet in delight, Bill Clinton strolled onto the stage arm in arm with his party’s candidate for Congress. Like running mates at a national convention, they beamed and raised their clasped arms, soaking up the affection of the...

Time for a Next New School President Pool? George Mitchell, Anyone?

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 12:46:36 -0400

It looks like Bob Kerrey, the New School’s President since 2001, has backed off just a little from his earlier statements that he wouldn’t head back to Nebraska to run for the Senate next year.

This means several things:

1) Chuck Hagel is not running for re-election: Kerrey, who represented Nebraska with his fellow Vietnam veteran in the late ‘90s, had promised to write Hagel a check...

Kerrey on School Shootings, Gay Marriage

Wed, 02 May 2007 14:24:55 -0400

Some other interesting bits from my interview with New School president and former Senator Bob Kerrey that didn't make it into today's paper...

Kerrey, a Democrat, thinks that the Virginia Tech shootings do not directly raise the question of gun control, but rather of mental health on American campuses.

"This is a largely a university problem, not a gun control problem," he said....

Kerrey, Unbound, Rates Dems and Blasts Giuliani

Tue, 01 May 2007 21:14:08 -0400

As a former Presidential candidate now long out of politics, Bob Kerrey has become the unleashed id of the current Democratic candidates for President.

In response to Rudy Giuliani’s recent remarks doubting the ability of Democrats to keep America safe from terrorism, the Vietnam veteran and former Navy SEAL questioned whether the former Mayor is himself qualified for the job.

“It’s an outrageous statement,” Mr. Kerrey said about...

Events for September 27, 2006

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 14:00:00 -0400

Bob Kerrey moderates a discussion of the Roberts Supreme Court at the New School. Joe Bruno will address delegates at CSEA's Annual Delegates Meeting at the Sheraton Hotel. David Weprin calls on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage and hosts Volunteer Emergency Services Day at City Hall. Stonewall Dems hold their monthly meeting at the LGBT Center featuring Leecia Eve, Jonathan Bing, Peter Hatch of the Working Families Party and a representative from the campaign of...

Nice Gingrich

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 07:30:58 -0400

Former House Speaker and potential presidential contender Newt Gingrich showed his compassionate side last night at the New School, discussing educational opportunity for poor people and ways to close the income gap. "I am very concerned about the disparity of income in America between top and bottom," he said. "The difference is I think it's mostly a function of productivity." Despite a couple of disturbances -- protesters were escorted out and a fire alarm was tripped...

Kerrey for Lieberman

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 13:56:25 -0400

While most of Joe Lieberman's Democratic colleagues flock to his opponent, at least one prominent former senator is rallying to him. Word from the campaign is that Bob Kerrey has offered to stump for Lieberman in the fall, which should, if nothing else, allow Lieberman to paint his coalition of political supporters as Republicans -- whose professions of admiration Lieberman can't seem to get away from -- and "independent-minded" Democrats. -- Josh...

Gingrich's Turn

Wed, 02 Aug 2006 07:56:13 -0400

You'd think that after all the heckling John McCain endured at the New School back in May, conservative Republicans with Presidential ambitions might be a little wary of accepting Bob Kerrey's invitations. But not Newt Gingrich. He is scheduled to give a political talk about the "American Dream" at the liberal school on September 13. Apparently the spirit of ideological cooperation extends even to the sponsors: The Milano School for Management and Urban Policy...

Worse

Fri, 19 May 2006 12:30:57 -0400

So it gets a lot worse. According to Jason, McCain could barely get through his speech - which was nearly identical to the one he gave this week at Columbia -- for all the catcalls, heckling and jeering from the graduating students. When he got to the part about believing "rightly or wrongly" in his stance on the war, they screamed "wrongly!" About 100 students stood up and waved the now-familiar "McCain does not speak for us"...

I Got Your Civility Right Here...

Fri, 19 May 2006 11:47:13 -0400

Things got off to an interesting start at the New School graduation ceremony at Madison Square Garden, where John McCain is set to give an address. Jason Horowitz just called in to say that a student who was scheduled to perform a song and give a short speech departed from her prepared remarks at the beginning of the event to deliver a somewhat ruder introduction than school officials were expecting. After finishing her song - it...

Biden at New School

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 12:16:11 -0400

After the New School's announcement that Sen. John McCain would be giving next month's commencement speech caused an angry backlash, Bob Kerrey will tonight play host to a politician (and presidential candidate) more amenable to the left of center school. Delaware's Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will speak at the school tonight, though he is expected to steer clear of presidential politics. The topic for discussion, economic issues concerning India and China, is not...

Honored and Gratified

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 10:48:22 -0400

The endorsements wheel keeps churning, churning... Attorney General candidates Mark Green and Andrew Cuomo both picked up endorsements today. Green was "gratified" to receive the support of former Nebraska Senator and current New School chief Bob Kerrey (what his campaign called a "major endorsement), while Cuomo was "honored" to accept the support of former City Council Speaker Peter Vallone. We congratulate both candidates on the new names they can add to their mailings, but we've...

Still Deep

Sun, 05 Jun 2005 20:00:00 -0400

Was it enough for Vanity Fair to reveal that former F.B.I. official W. Mark Felt was Deep Throat?

Indeed, Tuesday was a dizzying parade of disclosure: The Felt family came forward and, finally, The Washington Post's Watergate reporting duo, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, followed suit. Messrs. Woodward and Bernstein, in a gesture of bewildering chivalry, initially decided not to finger Mr. Felt, even though the former G-man-now 91 years old, retired and living in...

Arianna for Mayor!

Mon, 16 May 2005 09:23:00 -0400

Arianna Huffington will be trying on Freddy Ferrer's old platform as the guest of honor (along with Harry Belafonte) at the Drum Major Institute's annual benefit on June 8. Testing the waters, perhaps? That blog isn't working out so well... (Yes, Monday is the day on which we float improbable rumors. And Bob Kerrey was...

Weld, Considering

Mon, 25 Apr 2005 08:02:00 -0400

The general feeling among GOP types we spoke to about Bill Weld over the weekend was more Bob Kerrey, less Bobby Kennedy. But the news did put us in mind of a conversation we had with Weld during the Republican National Convention, where we found him leaning up against a wall during a Republican Majority for Choice event: "I can't talk about it until after the election," he was saying, "But I've been out of office...

A Troubling Choice: The Pope With a Past

Sun, 24 Apr 2005 20:00:00 -0400

In speedy fashion, the princes of the Catholic Church have chosen the German-born Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to fill the shoes of John Paul II. The contrast is startling: As a young man, John Paul defied the Nazi occupiers of his native Poland, choosing to go underground rather than collaborate by his silence. But the young Joseph Ratzinger made a different choice: When he was 14, he joined the Hitler Youth movement.

Granted, membership in that...

Classic Kerrey

Mon, 18 Apr 2005 06:28:00 -0400

Today's headline in the Omaha World-Herald: "Contradictory musings 'classic Bob...

Kerrey, Considering

Mon, 18 Apr 2005 04:25:00 -0400

We in no way mean to throw cold water on the Times's excellent scoop that ex-Senator Bob Kerrey is thinking about running for Mayor, a story which brightened our Sunday. (Though we don't blog on Sundays. Sorry!) But we did do a quick Nexis search of "Kerrey" and "considering," and it gave us some caution. First of all, Kerrey was widely reported to be considering a 2004 presidential bid -- until the New York Times Magazine...

Bob Kerrey Says 9/11 Group Meets With Condoleezza

Sun, 08 Feb 2004 19:00:00 -0500

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice has agreed to be interviewed by the bipartisan 9/11 commission on Feb. 7, after weeks of resistance from the White House to the bipartisan panel's requests, The Observer has learned.

In a Feb. 3 interview the newly minted commission member Bob Kerrey, the former Senator from Nebraska, now the president of the New School University, said that Ms. Rice's interview will not be held under oath, and the results of...

Kerrey Hatches a Memo to Train Political Elite

Sun, 06 Oct 2002 20:00:00 -0400

Bob Kerrey, the two-term former Senator and governor of Nebraska, is considering a proposal to start an elite training ground for policy-makers at the New School University, where he became president in January 2001.

Mr. Kerrey-who said upon taking the New School post that he wanted to teach a government class himself-commissioned an investigation into the history of legal scholarship at the school. Two months ago, Mr. Kerrey got the results, and, sources at the...

Kerrey's Terrible Story Shows Journalism Split

Sun, 13 May 2001 20:00:00 -0400

In recent days, the conventional wisdom has hardened on the

Bob Kerrey story: Who are we to judge? Many of the people saying this are the old antiwar crowd. The New School University trustees say soberly, "War is hell. Traumatic events take place." Newsweek calls the story the "terrible wages of war." And there is 60 Minutes , which on May 6 turned on its offspring, 60 Minutes II , which had broadcast the Kerrey story the previous week, with two...

Bob Kerrey Faces His New Enemy: From Mekong Delta to 12th Street

Sun, 06 May 2001 20:00:00 -0400

Bob Kerrey's moment in the confessional box included the

penitential ritual that we have come to expect and perhaps even demand: He said some good might come of his disclosures. "I hope my words today can convey something useful," Mr. Kerrey said at his televised news conference on April 26. This was, of course, the kind of language the television audience has come to expect in afternoon fare, and it is certainly what every cornered politician of recent memory has...

Media Twits Flay Kerrey, but Dine With Kissinger

Sun, 06 May 2001 20:00:00 -0400

During a press conference the other day, one of the twerps

in attendance asked Bob Kerrey if he thought that he ought to return the Bronze Star awarded him after the action at Thanh Phong, Vietnam, at which a dozen or so civilians were killed. I was sorry that Mr. Kerrey, now the president of the New School here, didn't answer that he would return it when he was given back the leg he lost in action a few...

Bob Kerrey Goes on New York's A List

Sun, 27 Feb 2000 19:00:00 -0500

For all its blowhards, highbrows and mega tuition bills, New York City academia doesn't necessarily light up the sky these days with star power. The days when Dwight D. Eisenhower would accept the presidency of Columbia University as the waiting room for the Presidency of the United States are long past. And besides the occasional Kenneth Starr sighting at New York University, big shots in New York's higher-ed universe barely register a blip with...

Ironists Can't Bear Bradley's Truth-Telling

Sun, 27 Feb 2000 19:00:00 -0500

The contempt heaped upon Bill Bradley in recent weeks is a sure sign that he is a decent human being who shares the public's alienation from the Beltway hacks, pundits and lobbyists who talk to each other on political television shows. Those professional ironists who find Mr. Bradley's sincerity off-putting seem relieved that the once-formidable Bradley candidacy seems to have lost its way. The press has crowned John McCain as this campaign's last insurgent...

Explaining Clinton: He Feels Our Guilt-And Plays Off It

Sun, 24 Jan 1999 19:00:00 -0500

(1) In Which Your Correspondent Makes an Unseemly Approach to Supreme Impeachment Manager Henry Hyde Over Breakfast

Henry Hyde was not in a particularly good mood that morning at breakfast in the lobby of the Capitol Hill Hyatt Hotel, and I don't think my approach made it any better. I know he wasn't in a good mood to start because I could overhear him grumbling to a top aide on the other side of the...