Bob Kerrey
Encyclopedia
Joseph Robert "Bob" Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) was the 35th Governor of Nebraska
from 1983 to 1987 and a U.S. Senator
from Nebraska
(1989–2001). Having served in the Vietnam War
, earning the Medal of Honor
for his actions, he moved into politics. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic
presidential nomination in 1992. From 2001 to 2010, Kerrey served as president of The New School
, a university in New York City
. In May 2010, he was selected to become the head of the Motion Picture Association of America
. But in July 2010, both Kerrey and the MPAA could not reach an agreement so he is no longer slated to be their president.
where he attended the public schools, graduating from Lincoln Northeast High School
. He credits Bob Reese, his chemistry teacher, for inspiring his pursuit of a career in the sciences. He went on to earn a degree in pharmacy
from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1966. Kerrey pledged Phi Gamma Delta
fraternity, and during his senior year he was tackled into the Society of Innocents
, the chancellor's senior honorary society of spirit boosters.
as a SEAL
from 1966 to 1969 during the Vietnam War
. He lost the lower part of one leg in combat, and received the Medal of Honor
, for action near, Nha Trang Bay, Republic of Vietnam, 14 March 1969.
citation reads:
carried reports on an incident that occurred during Kerrey's Vietnam War
service. On February 25, 1969, he led a Swift Boat
raid on the isolated peasant village of Thanh Phong, Vietnam
, targeting a Viet Cong leader that intelligence suggested would be present. The village was considered part of a free-fire zone
by the U.S. military.
Kerrey's SEAL team first encountered a peasant house, or hooch, and killed the people inside with knives. While Kerrey says he did not go inside the hooch and did not participate in the killings, another member of the team, Gerhard Klann, said that the people killed there were an elderly man and woman and three children under 12, and that Kerrey helped kill the man. Despite the differing recollections about who actually stabbed these people, Kerrey accepts responsibility as the team leader for their deaths: "Standard operating procedure was to dispose of the people we made contact with," he told the New York Times Magazine.
Later, according to Kerrey, the team was shot at from the village and returned fire, only to find after the battle that all the dead were women and children, clustered together in the center of the village. "The thing that I will remember until the day I die is walking in and finding, I don't know, 14 or so, I don't even know what the number was, women and children who were dead," Kerrey said in 1998. "I was expecting to find Vietcong soldiers with weapons, dead. Instead I found women and children."
Klann, and a Vietnamese woman, Pham Tri Lanh, who says she witnessed the assault, gave a different account, saying that the SEALs rounded up the inhabitants of the village and shot them.
Regardless of what actually occurred that night, Kerrey expressed anguish and guilt over the incident:
Kerrey was awarded a Bronze Star
for the raid on Thanh Phong. The citation for the medal reads, "The net result of his patrol was 21 Viet Cong killed, two hooches destroyed and two enemy weapons captured."
in the 1982 election for Governor of Nebraska
. He served in that office from 1983 to 1987. In 1986 Kerrey served as the Chairman of the Midwestern Governors Association
. He declined to run for re-election in 1986, but in 1988, ran for the Senate against appointed incumbent David Karnes
and defeated him by 15 points. He was reelected to the Senate in 1994 and served as the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
for the 104th Congress before retiring in 2001.
In September 1991, Kerrey announced his candidacy for the 1992 Democratic nomination for president. In a small field of five second tier candidates devoid of an early frontrunner, Kerrey was seen as the early favorite. However, his performance on the campaign trail often seemed lackluster, especially in comparison to the dynamic Arkansas Governor, Bill Clinton. A weak performance at a Chicago Democratic gathering in November 1991, combined with a lesbian joke that he told Clinton that was overheard on an open mike, diminished the initial positive press coverage Kerrey had enjoyed. Most damaging of all, though, was the revelation that few workers at Kerrey's restaurants and fitness clubs received health insurance, this despite the fact that Kerrey emphasized universal health care as one of his primary campaign themes. Kerrey finished a weak third in the New Hampshire primary in February 1992
, despite spending heavily on TV advertising. He briefly rebounded after winning the South Dakota primary, but soon dropped out of the race after finishing fourth in the Colorado primary. Kerrey was on Clinton's "short list" for vice president, but Tennessee Senator Al Gore received the nod instead.
As a Senator representing one of the more conservative states in the country, Kerrey took arguably liberal positions on some hot-button, conservative issues. For example, he was one of only 14 senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act
of 1996. Kerrey also led the opposition in the Senate to the proposed flag burning amendment, which failed to get the necessary two-thirds majority needed for passage. His record on economic issues was mixed but generally liberal. He voted for the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
which repealed the Glass–Steagall Act in 1999, defending his position against opposition by stating, "The concerns that we will have a meltdown like 1929 are dramatically overblown,". He voted against phasing out many farm subsidy programs, lawsuit reform measures such as the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
, and he was one of the twelve senators to vote against the initial version of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act
, a welfare reform bill vetoed by President Bill Clinton. Kerrey also voted against the revised version of the legislation that was signed into law by Clinton in August 1996. Kerrey's record on environmental issues and taxation was more moderate, and he was a strong supporter of free trade
and limiting the size of the federal government. The Senator pushed for a more aggressive foreign policy, helping to author the Iraq Liberation Act
of 1998. He was a member of the New Democrat Coalition
.
Kerrey was a member of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (popularly known as the "9/11
Commission"), where he accused Madeleine Albright
, William Cohen
, and Donald Rumsfeld
of pursuing U.S. interests with insufficient aggression.
. At the school, Kerrey initially opposed the efforts of the United Auto Workers
to unionize the adjunct (part-time) faculty, agreeing to negotiate with them only after several rulings against the administration by the National Labor Relations Board
. A threatened strike of adjunct faculty was averted by the approval of a labor contract just before the strike deadline of October 31, 2005.
Kerrey presided over an ambitious program of reorganization at the university. He overhauled several divisions and brought in the respected Arjun Appadurai
as Provost in 2005. Appadurai resigned this post in 2006. On April 14, 2005, Kerrey announced that the university was changing its name from New School University to The New School, and rebranding its eight divisions as specialized, separate entities serving different constituencies.
On December 10, 2008 it was announced that Kerrey had received a vote of no confidence from the University's senior faculty. This is perceived to have come as a response to his management style, his handling of a University budget crisis, and his controversial decision, since retracted, to act as temporary Provost with the departure of Joseph W. Westphal
. Kerrey has had five provosts in his 8-year tenure, something the faculty believes is the result of his inability to reconcile with the academic nature of a University and has prevented the growth and development of academic life at the school. Ironically, one of his vocal critics is Arjun Appadurai
. This no-confidence vote is largely a symbolic gesture and the Board of Trustees, themselves under fire from the students for questionable investment of school money and connections to the defense industry, have thus far stood by Kerrey.
On December 16, 2008, dozens of students took over the cafeteria in the 65 5th Avenue building; as the occupation continued, the group grew into hundreds of students from the New School, other New York City based universities, labor union members, and other supporters. This evolved into a 30-hour occupation involving hundreds of students, and dozens of police and New School officials. The occupation ended when students accepted a treaty; Kerrey agreed to amnesty, more student space, and more student power in school communications, investments, and decision making.
The following spring semester, students contended that the concessions from the December occupation were being buried in red tape. Early in the morning of April 10, 2009, 19 students took over the entire 65 5th Avenue building, erecting an anarchist flag and demanding once again that Kerrey resign. A few hours later, police in riot gear swarmed the same building, arresting 22 students (including 3 who were not inside) and ending the occupation after five hours.
On May 7, 2009 Kerrey announced that he will leave New School when his current contract expires on July 1, 2011. However, he ended up resigning earlier than planned, and was succeeded by David E. Van Zandt
on January 1, 2011.
reported that Kerrey was interested in becoming a Democratic candidate for Mayor
of New York City, joining such candidates as Fernando Ferrer
and C. Virginia Fields in opposing the re-election of Mayor Michael Bloomberg
. After much speculation over the potential ramifications of his entry into the race, Kerrey eventually withdrew his interest in the 2005 mayoral race.
Following the announcement that Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning would challenge incumbent Senator Chuck Hagel
in the Republican Primary, Kerrey began to show interest in returning to the Senate. Kerrey had endorsed Hagel had the Senator chosen to run again. On August 23, Kerrey said he believed that Sen. Hagel would retire, and he contacted the board of directors at The New School to inform them of the possibility that he might announce a return to Nebraska to run for the open seat. On September 8, 2007, Republican officials confirmed that Hagel would not run for a third term, heightening speculation that Kerrey would run.
On October 24, 2007 Kerrey announced through a news release that he would not run for the Senate because his family decided that it was "not the time for me to re-enter politics as a candidate".
: "I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim. [...] There's a billion people on the planet that are Muslims, and I think that experience is a big deal." Some took this as an attack and Kerrey later wrote a letter of apology to Obama, saying: "I answered a question about your qualifications to be president in a way that has been interpreted as a backhanded insult of you. I assure you I meant to do just the opposite." Obama has said that he accepted Kerrey's apology.
Kerrey made negative comments about John Edwards
while speaking of his Hillary Clinton endorsement in January 2008:
"Even before John Edwards was chasing ambulances in North Carolina and Barack was voting ‘present’ in the Illinois state senate, Senator Clinton was involved in major policy initiatives."
while the latter was in Lincoln filming Terms of Endearment
(part of which is set in Nebraska), which won the 1983 Oscar
for Best Picture. When confronted with intense questioning by the press over the nature of the relationship, Kerrey famously replied; "What can I say she swept me off my foot," alluding to the fact that the lower part of one of his legs was amputated due to injuries sustained in his Medal of Honor action in Vietnam.
He is married to Sarah Paley and lives in New York City. Their son Henry was born a day before the September 11 attacks in 2001. His children from his previous marriage are named Ben and Lindsey.
Kerrey is friends with fellow Vietnam veteran
James H. Webb. In 2006 he became involved in convincing Webb to run for the US Senate. Webb entered the Virginia Democratic Primary, and Kerrey volunteered to serve as Webb's National Finance Chair. Webb went on to win the extremely close election in Virginia, defeating George Allen
. Kerrey has also endorsed, and appeared at campaign events for, Al Franken
in his bid
for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota
.
with Council Bluffs, Iowa
was named in his honor by the Omaha City Council.
Governor of Nebraska
The Governor of Nebraska holds the "supreme executive power" of the State of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Nebraska Constitution. The current Governor is Dave Heineman, a Republican, who assumed office on January 20, 2005 upon the resignation of Mike Johanns . He won a full...
from 1983 to 1987 and a U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
(1989–2001). Having served in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, earning the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for his actions, he moved into politics. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
presidential nomination in 1992. From 2001 to 2010, Kerrey served as president of The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
, a university in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In May 2010, he was selected to become the head of the Motion Picture Association of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
. But in July 2010, both Kerrey and the MPAA could not reach an agreement so he is no longer slated to be their president.
Early life and education
Kerrey was born in Lincoln, NebraskaLincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
where he attended the public schools, graduating from Lincoln Northeast High School
Lincoln Northeast High School
Lincoln Northeast High School is a public secondary school located in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. It is part of the Lincoln Public Schools school district. Lincoln Northeast was founded on September 9, 1941 when three rival schools were combined into one...
. He credits Bob Reese, his chemistry teacher, for inspiring his pursuit of a career in the sciences. He went on to earn a degree in pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1966. Kerrey pledged Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta
The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...
fraternity, and during his senior year he was tackled into the Society of Innocents
Society of Innocents
The Innocents Society is the Chancellor's senior honorary society at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, composed of 13 men and women who apply during the spring of their junior year and are selected on the basis of academic excellence, unparalleled leadership, and selfless service to the...
, the chancellor's senior honorary society of spirit boosters.
Military service
Kerrey served in the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as a SEAL
United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
from 1966 to 1969 during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. He lost the lower part of one leg in combat, and received the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
, for action near, Nha Trang Bay, Republic of Vietnam, 14 March 1969.
Medal of Honor citation
His Medal of HonorMedal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
citation reads:
- For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a SEAL team leader during action against enemy aggressor (Viet Cong) forces. Acting in response to reliable intelligence, Lt. (j.g.) Kerrey led his SEAL team on a mission to capture important members of the enemy's area political cadre known to be located on an island in the bay of Nha Trang. In order to surprise the enemy, he and his team scaled a 350-foot sheer cliff to place themselves above the ledge on which the enemy was located. Splitting his team in 2 elements and coordinating both, Lt. (jg.) Kerrey led his men in the treacherous downward descent to the enemy's camp. Just as they neared the end of their descent, intense enemy fire was directed at them, and Lt. (jg.) Kerrey received massive injuries from a grenade that exploded at his feet and threw him backward onto the jagged rocks. Although bleeding profusely and suffering great pain, he displayed outstanding courage and presence of mind in immediately directing his element's fire into the heart of the enemy camp. Utilizing his radio, Lt. (jg.) Kerrey called in the second element's fire support, which caught the confused Viet Cong in a devastating crossfire. After successfully suppressing the enemy's fire, and although immobilized by his multiple wounds, he continued to maintain calm, superlative control as he ordered his team to secure and defend an extraction site. Lt. (jg.) Kerrey resolutely directed his men, despite his near unconscious state, until he was eventually evacuated by helicopter. The havoc brought to the enemy by this very successful mission cannot be over-estimated. The enemy soldiers who were captured provided critical intelligence to the allied effort. Lt. (jg.) Kerrey's courageous and inspiring leadership, valiant fighting spirit, and tenacious devotion to duty in the face of almost overwhelming opposition sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
Thanh Phong Massacre
In 2001, the New York Times Magazine and 60 Minutes II60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
carried reports on an incident that occurred during Kerrey's Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
service. On February 25, 1969, he led a Swift Boat
Fast Patrol Craft
Patrol Craft Fast , also known as Swift Boats, were all-aluminum, long, shallow-draft vessels operated by the U.S. Navy, initially to patrol the coastal areas and later for work in the interior waterways as part of the Brown Water Navy to interdict Vietcong movement of arms and munitions,...
raid on the isolated peasant village of Thanh Phong, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, targeting a Viet Cong leader that intelligence suggested would be present. The village was considered part of a free-fire zone
Free-fire zone
A free-fire zone in U.S. military parlance is a fire control measure, used for coordination between adjacent combat units. The definition used in the Vietnam war by US troops may be found in field manual FM 6-20:- Free-fire zones in the Vietnam War :...
by the U.S. military.
Kerrey's SEAL team first encountered a peasant house, or hooch, and killed the people inside with knives. While Kerrey says he did not go inside the hooch and did not participate in the killings, another member of the team, Gerhard Klann, said that the people killed there were an elderly man and woman and three children under 12, and that Kerrey helped kill the man. Despite the differing recollections about who actually stabbed these people, Kerrey accepts responsibility as the team leader for their deaths: "Standard operating procedure was to dispose of the people we made contact with," he told the New York Times Magazine.
Later, according to Kerrey, the team was shot at from the village and returned fire, only to find after the battle that all the dead were women and children, clustered together in the center of the village. "The thing that I will remember until the day I die is walking in and finding, I don't know, 14 or so, I don't even know what the number was, women and children who were dead," Kerrey said in 1998. "I was expecting to find Vietcong soldiers with weapons, dead. Instead I found women and children."
Klann, and a Vietnamese woman, Pham Tri Lanh, who says she witnessed the assault, gave a different account, saying that the SEALs rounded up the inhabitants of the village and shot them.
Regardless of what actually occurred that night, Kerrey expressed anguish and guilt over the incident:
- You can never, can never get away from it. It darkens your day. I thought dying for your country was the worst thing that could happen to you, and I don't think it is. I think killing for your country can be a lot worse.
Kerrey was awarded a Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
for the raid on Thanh Phong. The citation for the medal reads, "The net result of his patrol was 21 Viet Cong killed, two hooches destroyed and two enemy weapons captured."
Political career
Returning to Nebraska, he operated a chain of restaurants and fitness centers from 1972 to 1982 before narrowly defeating Charles ThoneCharles Thone
Charles Thone is an American Republican politician.-Biography:Charles Thone was born in Hartington, Nebraska. He has three brothers, including John Jr. He graduated from Holy Trinity High School . During World War II, he served in the Infantry of the United States Army...
in the 1982 election for Governor of Nebraska
Governor of Nebraska
The Governor of Nebraska holds the "supreme executive power" of the State of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Nebraska Constitution. The current Governor is Dave Heineman, a Republican, who assumed office on January 20, 2005 upon the resignation of Mike Johanns . He won a full...
. He served in that office from 1983 to 1987. In 1986 Kerrey served as the Chairman of the Midwestern Governors Association
Midwestern Governors Association
The Midwestern Governors Association is a 501 nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that brings together the Midwestern governors of states to work cooperatively on public policy issues of significance to the region. The MGA was created in December 1962 in Chicago, when articles of organization were...
. He declined to run for re-election in 1986, but in 1988, ran for the Senate against appointed incumbent David Karnes
David Karnes
David Kemp Karnes was a United States Senator from Nebraska. He is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Fairmont Group Incorporated, a merchant banking/consulting company with offices in Omaha and Washington. Karnes also serves in an “of counsel” capacity to the national law firm of Kutak...
and defeated him by 15 points. He was reelected to the Senate in 1994 and served as the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States Senate. It is the only organization solely dedicated to electing Democrats to the United States Senate. The DSCC's current chair is Sen. Patty Murray, who succeeded Sen. Robert Menendez following...
for the 104th Congress before retiring in 2001.
In September 1991, Kerrey announced his candidacy for the 1992 Democratic nomination for president. In a small field of five second tier candidates devoid of an early frontrunner, Kerrey was seen as the early favorite. However, his performance on the campaign trail often seemed lackluster, especially in comparison to the dynamic Arkansas Governor, Bill Clinton. A weak performance at a Chicago Democratic gathering in November 1991, combined with a lesbian joke that he told Clinton that was overheard on an open mike, diminished the initial positive press coverage Kerrey had enjoyed. Most damaging of all, though, was the revelation that few workers at Kerrey's restaurants and fitness clubs received health insurance, this despite the fact that Kerrey emphasized universal health care as one of his primary campaign themes. Kerrey finished a weak third in the New Hampshire primary in February 1992
New Hampshire Democratic primary, 1992
The 1992 New Hampshire Democratic primary was won by Paul Tsongas, but is known for the insurgent campaign of Bill Clinton, who managed a surprising second place finish.The Iowa caucus, the first contest of the 1992 Democratic primaries, was not contested...
, despite spending heavily on TV advertising. He briefly rebounded after winning the South Dakota primary, but soon dropped out of the race after finishing fourth in the Colorado primary. Kerrey was on Clinton's "short list" for vice president, but Tennessee Senator Al Gore received the nod instead.
As a Senator representing one of the more conservative states in the country, Kerrey took arguably liberal positions on some hot-button, conservative issues. For example, he was one of only 14 senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act
Defense of Marriage Act
The Defense of Marriage Act is a United States federal law whereby the federal government defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. Under the law, no U.S. state may be required to recognize as a marriage a same-sex relationship considered a marriage in another state...
of 1996. Kerrey also led the opposition in the Senate to the proposed flag burning amendment, which failed to get the necessary two-thirds majority needed for passage. His record on economic issues was mixed but generally liberal. He voted for the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
The Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act , also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, is an act of the 106th United States Congress...
which repealed the Glass–Steagall Act in 1999, defending his position against opposition by stating, "The concerns that we will have a meltdown like 1929 are dramatically overblown,". He voted against phasing out many farm subsidy programs, lawsuit reform measures such as the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
The United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-67, 109 Stat. 737 implemented several substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation, and...
, and he was one of the twelve senators to vote against the initial version of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 is a United States federal law considered to be a fundamental shift in both the method and goal of federal cash assistance to the poor. The bill added a workforce development component to welfare legislation, encouraging...
, a welfare reform bill vetoed by President Bill Clinton. Kerrey also voted against the revised version of the legislation that was signed into law by Clinton in August 1996. Kerrey's record on environmental issues and taxation was more moderate, and he was a strong supporter of free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
and limiting the size of the federal government. The Senator pushed for a more aggressive foreign policy, helping to author the Iraq Liberation Act
Iraq Liberation Act
The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 is a United States Congressional statement of policy calling for regime change in Iraq. It was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, and states that it is the policy of the United States to support democratic movements within Iraq...
of 1998. He was a member of the New Democrat Coalition
New Democrat Coalition
The New Democrat Coalition is a Congressional Member Organization within the United States Congress made up of Democrats who support an agenda that the organization describes as moderate and pro-growth. A July 2009 Press release described the organization as "the largest moderate coalition in the U.S...
.
Kerrey was a member of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (popularly known as the "9/11
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
Commission"), where he accused Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...
, William Cohen
William Cohen
William Sebastian Cohen is an author and American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A Republican, Cohen served as Secretary of Defense under Democratic President Bill Clinton.-Early life and education:...
, and Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
of pursuing U.S. interests with insufficient aggression.
The New School
In 2001 Kerrey left the Senate to become President of The New SchoolThe New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
. At the school, Kerrey initially opposed the efforts of the United Auto Workers
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
to unionize the adjunct (part-time) faculty, agreeing to negotiate with them only after several rulings against the administration by the National Labor Relations Board
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
. A threatened strike of adjunct faculty was averted by the approval of a labor contract just before the strike deadline of October 31, 2005.
Kerrey presided over an ambitious program of reorganization at the university. He overhauled several divisions and brought in the respected Arjun Appadurai
Arjun Appadurai
Arjun Appadurai is a contemporary social-cultural anthropologist focusing on modernity and globalization, based in New York.Appadurai was born in Mumbai , India and educated in India before coming to the United States. He graduated from St...
as Provost in 2005. Appadurai resigned this post in 2006. On April 14, 2005, Kerrey announced that the university was changing its name from New School University to The New School, and rebranding its eight divisions as specialized, separate entities serving different constituencies.
On December 10, 2008 it was announced that Kerrey had received a vote of no confidence from the University's senior faculty. This is perceived to have come as a response to his management style, his handling of a University budget crisis, and his controversial decision, since retracted, to act as temporary Provost with the departure of Joseph W. Westphal
Joseph W. Westphal
Joseph W. Westphal is the United States Under Secretary of the Army in the United States Department of the Army.Westphal was born in Santiago, Chile. Joseph Westphal served as Chancellor of the University of Maine System and Professor of Political Science at the University of Maine...
. Kerrey has had five provosts in his 8-year tenure, something the faculty believes is the result of his inability to reconcile with the academic nature of a University and has prevented the growth and development of academic life at the school. Ironically, one of his vocal critics is Arjun Appadurai
Arjun Appadurai
Arjun Appadurai is a contemporary social-cultural anthropologist focusing on modernity and globalization, based in New York.Appadurai was born in Mumbai , India and educated in India before coming to the United States. He graduated from St...
. This no-confidence vote is largely a symbolic gesture and the Board of Trustees, themselves under fire from the students for questionable investment of school money and connections to the defense industry, have thus far stood by Kerrey.
On December 16, 2008, dozens of students took over the cafeteria in the 65 5th Avenue building; as the occupation continued, the group grew into hundreds of students from the New School, other New York City based universities, labor union members, and other supporters. This evolved into a 30-hour occupation involving hundreds of students, and dozens of police and New School officials. The occupation ended when students accepted a treaty; Kerrey agreed to amnesty, more student space, and more student power in school communications, investments, and decision making.
The following spring semester, students contended that the concessions from the December occupation were being buried in red tape. Early in the morning of April 10, 2009, 19 students took over the entire 65 5th Avenue building, erecting an anarchist flag and demanding once again that Kerrey resign. A few hours later, police in riot gear swarmed the same building, arresting 22 students (including 3 who were not inside) and ending the occupation after five hours.
On May 7, 2009 Kerrey announced that he will leave New School when his current contract expires on July 1, 2011. However, he ended up resigning earlier than planned, and was succeeded by David E. Van Zandt
David E. Van Zandt
David E. Van Zandt is President of The New School. He is the former Dean of Northwestern University School of Law. He has taught courses in international financial markets, business associations, property, practical issues in business law, and legal realism...
on January 1, 2011.
Possible return to politics
On April 17, 2005, The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported that Kerrey was interested in becoming a Democratic candidate for Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of New York City, joining such candidates as Fernando Ferrer
Fernando Ferrer
Fernando James "Freddy" Ferrer was the Borough President of The Bronx from 1987 to 2001, and was a candidate for Mayor of New York in 2001 and the Democratic Party nominee for Mayor in 2005.- Background :...
and C. Virginia Fields in opposing the re-election of Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
. After much speculation over the potential ramifications of his entry into the race, Kerrey eventually withdrew his interest in the 2005 mayoral race.
Following the announcement that Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning would challenge incumbent Senator Chuck Hagel
Chuck Hagel
Charles Timothy "Chuck" Hagel is a former United States Senator from Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 1996 and was reelected in 2002...
in the Republican Primary, Kerrey began to show interest in returning to the Senate. Kerrey had endorsed Hagel had the Senator chosen to run again. On August 23, Kerrey said he believed that Sen. Hagel would retire, and he contacted the board of directors at The New School to inform them of the possibility that he might announce a return to Nebraska to run for the open seat. On September 8, 2007, Republican officials confirmed that Hagel would not run for a third term, heightening speculation that Kerrey would run.
On October 24, 2007 Kerrey announced through a news release that he would not run for the Senate because his family decided that it was "not the time for me to re-enter politics as a candidate".
Endorsement of Hillary Clinton
On December 19, 2007, Kerrey endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Presidential nomination. In doing so, he stated that about Senator Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
: "I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim. [...] There's a billion people on the planet that are Muslims, and I think that experience is a big deal." Some took this as an attack and Kerrey later wrote a letter of apology to Obama, saying: "I answered a question about your qualifications to be president in a way that has been interpreted as a backhanded insult of you. I assure you I meant to do just the opposite." Obama has said that he accepted Kerrey's apology.
Kerrey made negative comments about John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
while speaking of his Hillary Clinton endorsement in January 2008:
"Even before John Edwards was chasing ambulances in North Carolina and Barack was voting ‘present’ in the Illinois state senate, Senator Clinton was involved in major policy initiatives."
Personal life
While he was Governor of Nebraska, Kerrey dated actress Debra WingerDebra Winger
Mary Debra Winger is an American actress. Three-times an Oscar nominee, she received awards for acting in Terms of Endearment, for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress in 1983, and in A Dangerous Woman, for which she won the Tokyo International Film Festival...
while the latter was in Lincoln filming Terms of Endearment
Terms of Endearment
Terms of Endearment is a 1983 romantic comedy-drama film adapted by James L. Brooks from the novel by Larry McMurtry and starring Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, and Jack Nicholson...
(part of which is set in Nebraska), which won the 1983 Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Picture. When confronted with intense questioning by the press over the nature of the relationship, Kerrey famously replied; "What can I say she swept me off my foot," alluding to the fact that the lower part of one of his legs was amputated due to injuries sustained in his Medal of Honor action in Vietnam.
He is married to Sarah Paley and lives in New York City. Their son Henry was born a day before the September 11 attacks in 2001. His children from his previous marriage are named Ben and Lindsey.
Kerrey is friends with fellow Vietnam veteran
Vietnam veteran
Vietnam veteran is a phrase used to describe someone who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War.The term has been used to describe veterans who were in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States armed forces, and countries allied to them, whether or...
James H. Webb. In 2006 he became involved in convincing Webb to run for the US Senate. Webb entered the Virginia Democratic Primary, and Kerrey volunteered to serve as Webb's National Finance Chair. Webb went on to win the extremely close election in Virginia, defeating George Allen
George Allen (U.S. politician)
George Felix Allen is a former United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the son of former NFL head coach George Allen. Allen served Virginia in the state legislature, as the 67th Governor, and in both bodies of the U.S. Congress, winning election to the Senate in 2000...
. Kerrey has also endorsed, and appeared at campaign events for, Al Franken
Al Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
in his bid
United States Senate election in Minnesota, 2008
The 2008 United States Senate election in Minnesota took place on November 4, 2008. After a legal battle lasting over eight months, Al Franken from the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party defeated Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in one of the closest elections in the history of the Senate...
for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
.
Honors and awards
On September 9, 2008, a pedestrian bridge connecting Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
with Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across...
was named in his honor by the Omaha City Council.
Military awards
 |
||
 |
||
| Special Warfare insignia | ||
| Naval Parachutist Insignia Parachutist Badge (United States) The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings" or "Snow Cone", is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces awarded to members of the United States Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy... |
||
| Medal of Honor Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her... > |
Bronze Star Medal Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the... |
Purple Heart Medal |
See also
- List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam War
- Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge
Further reading
- Kerrey, Robert. When I Was a Young Man: A Memoir. New York: Harcourt, Inc., 2002.
- Vistica, Gregory L. The Education of Lieutenant Kerrey. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2003.