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| Home Front: Politix |
| Kerry’s Chief of Staff |
| 2004-04-28 |
| Originally from the NY Times Heads up from that rascally Hannity YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio The man who would be president takes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches - on whole wheat, strawberry jelly preferred to grape - twice a day on the campaign trail. He wears $15 reading glasses, off the rack at a CVS drug store. Before bedtime, he starts but rarely finishes movies like "Seabiscuit" and "The Blues Brothers" in his hotel suite. Come morning, he leaves $20 for the maid. "I’ll get that back when I raise her taxes", he says . Voters do not learn these tidbits about Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the all-but-crowned Democratic nominee for president, from his campaign Web site, his public speeches or his television advertisements. These and other details are the portfolio of the man literally behind the man, ready with a uncapped bottle of water whenever Kerry’s throat runs dry. What ever Johnny wants, Johnny gets . Meet Marvin Nicholson Jr., Chief of Stuff. . "I can’t help with policy, I don’t do press," said Nicholson, 32, a former bartender and caddie who never voted before meeting Kerry in 1998. "When he wants that peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I’m ready." Well peanut butter and jelly sandwich served on a Scooby-Doo plate . So Nicholson crisscrosses the country with a loaf of bread in his bag. He makes most of the sandwiches himself, sometimes supplementing with room service.To spend a day in Nicholson’s shadow is to see the personal side of a candidate entering an increasingly scripted and sheltered phase of the campaign. Kerry, 59, is comfortable being catered to. He has his moods, and his myriad personal needs. A social loner, he iscontent to hang out with an aide half his age. A social loner? Middle-aged social loners. All kinds of problems . Nicholson rouses Kerry each morning with a phone call.Then, after a few minutes, he heads down the hall, picks up the newspapers outside Kerry’s door and brings them to him. He orders and delivers all of Kerry’s meals. . He keeps little black books filled with the names and numbers of people Kerry meets, dials many of his telephone calls, helps select his neckties (and opening one-liners), collects gifts from well-wishers and transports Kerry’s leather briefcase, three hunter-green duffels and two navy suit bags.At night, he often stays by Kerry’s side until he is ready to turn in. Helps him put on the jammies, I bet. I thought that was Nurse Fuzzy-Wuzzy’s job! . If he sounds like a glorified valet, Nicholson is also Kerry’s ambassador, spreading smiles and remembering names for a candidate known to fumble them, reading his reactions for other aides. And, in an entourage of politicos and policy wonks, Nicholson is Kerry’s buddy, going long to catch the football whenever he feels like tossing it. Kerry has some one who won’t complain if he doesn’t throw straight. . Every modern presidential candidate has a factotum, known as the "body man." They are typically ambitious Washington junkies, overqualified to schlep bags but eager to shake the high-powered hands in between. . . . . . . Nicholson, who earned a geography degree at the University of Western Ontario, and who aspired to the Weather Channel, seems a different breed. . Rearedon Vancouver Island in Canada and in Toronto by an American mother - his father died when he was 9 - Nicholson carries dual citizenship. He befriended Kerry, a customer, while working at a windsurfing shop in Cambridge, Massachusetts, then caddied for him two summers on Nantucket. Not even an American. I see! No American would put up with this BS . He postponed Kerry’s offer of a Senate internship to caddie at Augusta National, home of the Masters, then landed in Washington the week before the 2000 election. By New Year’s, he had become Kerry’s driver. They hit the campaign trail together last winter. . Nicholson’s role has evolved with the campaign. He is no longer the guy who gets the toothpaste. Instead, Nicholson, who earned $45,000 last year, is the guy who asks the guy to get the toothpaste. There are plenty of people around, now, to help lug Kerry’s Spanish guitar to his room at night and tote his fancy Serotta racing bicycle on and off the plane. . But it is the towering Nicholson who anticipates Kerry’s needs as they make eye contact across the crowds. It is Nicholson who is ready with a fresh shirt after a rally in intense heat. When Kerry stays overnight at supporters’ homes, it is Nicholson who accompanies him. When Kerry’s wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, joins him on the road, Nicholson’s routine hardly changes. My Gawd Senator Pampered. Senator removed from real world. . And it is Nicholson who decides what and when Kerry eats, no longer needing to ask about his cravings. I won’t comment on this. . "Can I have that prepared dry with peanut butter on the side?" he asked the other morning in Tampa, Florida, as he ordered two eggs over easy, bacon, whole-wheat toast and apple juice from room service. . "Do you guys have any yogurt? Raspberry yogurt? Is it in, like, little containers? Could I get two containers?" . For lunch and dinner, while the staff scarfs sandwiches and chips, Nicholson finds hot food for Kerry - a local specialty is nice, but a standby is soup and half chicken with three sides (corn, green beans, mashed potatoes). . "Marvin takes care of everything," Milton Ferrell, Kerry’s Florida fundraiser, said as he introduced him to a donor at a reception that afternoon. I have too much information . |
| Posted by:BigEd |
| #23 ouch! LOL - 11A5S! Burnsexual? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-04-28 11:40:05 PM |
| #22 They don't call him chief of staff for nothing. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2004-04-28 11:35:27 PM |
| #21 Exxxcellent |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-04-28 10:05:24 PM |
| #20 Nickname? Smithers, of course. |
| Posted by: Dude 2004-04-28 9:47:46 PM |
| #19 Kerry, 59, is comfortable being catered to. And that, ladies and gents, is what John Kerry is all about. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-04-28 9:16:49 PM |
| #18 AF Lady - The leaders would be in those "Little Black Books". Remember? He meets the leaders in the NY restaurants, and Nicholson would thus be jotting down the names. He makin' a list Checkin' it twice Gonna' find out Who's naughty and nice. Bad boy Blair. Good boy Chirac. |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-04-28 7:17:24 PM |
| #17 He keeps little black books filled with the names and numbers of people Kerry meets I wonder if someone could get ahold of these little black books? We might find out the names of those foreign leaders then! Or maybe find out there weren't any. |
| Posted by: AF Lady 2004-04-28 7:12:20 PM |
| #16 Yes, Sarge, Andy Card is a jack-of-all-trades, but it just strikes me funny. If I were to become super-rich, I might have to hire a personal sandwich maker, but for now I can make sandwiches myself, and occasionally the wife will make me a sandwich, as I do for her. The life of us regular folks. |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-04-28 6:50:55 PM |
| #15 Maybe they alternate pitching and catching...not that there's anything wrong with that. |
| Posted by: Sgt.DT 2004-04-28 6:34:00 PM |
| #14 My bad. But isn't that what Card does too? He schedules things for the Prez and makes sure that all runs smoothly? I doubt he is slathering skippy for George but I be he does many of theings described in the article. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2004-04-28 6:33:13 PM |
| #13 I wonder if he takes care of Teresa as well? |
| Posted by: 12B6T 2004-04-28 6:31:04 PM |
| #12 Was the Times perhaps hinting at something when it mentioned Nicholson going long to catch Kerry's throws? Enquiring minds want to know. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2004-04-28 6:12:06 PM |
| #11 Sarge; respectfully - I don't hate him. But this makes me think he acts like a spoilt child. I also don't visualize Andrew Card smearing the Skippy on the whole wheat for the president. This Nicholson is more of a valet than a chief of staff. |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-04-28 5:40:23 PM |
| #10 Dude, the article says "Chief of Stuff", not "Chief of Staff". It's a stupid pun. The guy isn't a Chief of Staff, he's a gofer. In The West Wing terms, he's not Leo, he's Charlie. A gentleman's gentleman, as it were. They even use the v-word in the article - valet. Wonder whether we'll get a profile of the much-speculated-upon butler as well? Did I mention recently how much I despise the nobility? Bah. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2004-04-28 5:36:31 PM |
| #9 I'll guarantee you that he rigs Kerry's windsurfer before they go sailing. If Kerry is elected (please, no, not that), this guy could be the windsurfing Secret Service agent Teresa says they will need. Must be nice to have a valet. |
| Posted by: remote man 2004-04-28 5:32:49 PM |
| #8 Bush has a Chief of Staff too (Andrew H. Card, Jr) and he pretty much does what this guy is doing. It says this guy has DUAL citizenship. Nothing news worthy here. However he did Caddie at the racists Augusta Nationals! Please don't go the way of DU: "We hate him and everything about him." I find it an interesting glimpse into Kerry's world but nothing that makes me like OR hate him personally. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2004-04-28 5:29:13 PM |
| #7 Just wondering if cinderfella here has to tap senator lurchs unit when he has had a nice tinkle. |
| Posted by: wills 2004-04-28 5:25:21 PM |
| #6 Shipman - I was wondering if the corn was on the cob or creamed. That answer would say a lot. |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-04-28 5:15:55 PM |
| #5 I mean SENATOR GOTTA EAT! |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-04-28 5:15:26 PM |
| #4 For lunch and dinner, while the staff scarfs sandwiches and chips, Nicholson finds hot food for Kerry - a local specialty is nice, but a standby is soup and half chicken with three sides (corn, green beans, mashed potatoes). I'm going to give points for food taste. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-04-28 5:14:17 PM |
| #3 Does he sleep outside SKerrys door on the floor? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-04-28 5:12:10 PM |
| #2 Wow. Was that supposed to be a sympathetic piece? I would imagine so, since it's from the Times. But it paints Kerry as a huge asshole. |
| Posted by: growler 2004-04-28 5:12:04 PM |
| #1 Not even an American. I see! No American would put up with this BS I should have said, not raised in America. . . He is a dual citizen |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-04-28 5:04:38 PM |