Bob Shrum
Biography and Quotes

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Democratic strategist Bob Shrum writes in his memoir to be published in June that he regrets advising Edwards to give President Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq. He said if Edwards had followed his instincts instead of the advice of political professionals, he would have been a stronger presidential candidate in 2004.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007 7:25 a.m. EDT
John Edwards on Iraq: My Advisers Made Me Do It
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/3/14/72645.shtml

Authored by best-selling author Richard Poe, the report reveals that Ted Kennedy is the driving force behind the Kerry campaign and that Kennedy operatives – including Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill and political adviser Bob Shrum – are calling the shots.
Saturday, Sept. 25, 2004 2:07 p.m. EDT
Kerry Taps Controversial Elian Attorney
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/25/141047.shtml

The Kerry campaign was full of unbelievably smart people, led by Mary Beth Cahill, and John Sasso, and Bob Shrum, and Mike McCurry, and Tad Devine, and Dr. Susan Rice. I could go on and on. If more young people had voted, if turnout had been higher in Ohio, if the exit polls had been right, those people would be geniuses today, and for 3 million votes, Karl Rove would be a mere mortal.

Democrats Risk Becoming Merely 'Opposition Party'
Susan Estrich Friday, Nov. 5, 2004
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/11/5/82129.shtml

Kerry’s Consigliere
Bob Shrum was only thirty-two years old when he first caused a stir in a Democratic campaign. The year was 1976, and the young speechwriter, a former collegiate debating champion who already had a reputation as a brilliant wordsmith, marched into a Philadelphia hotel and left a theatrical resignation letter in the mailboxes of two senior aides to Jimmy Carter. "Governor Carter," he had written in disgust, "I have decided that in light of my own convictions and in fairness to you, I should leave the campaign without delay." Shrum had worked for Carter for exactly nine days.

Carter was Shrum's third try. Shrum's purist liberalism—and flair for drama—ended it. Carter, he had come to believe, wanted to increase defense spending, would not divert highway funds to mass transit, and opposed better benefits for victims of black-lung disease. Perhaps worst of all, he had mocked Shrum's revered McGovern. While his Democratic peers scrambled to join the campaign, Shrum was preparing to jump ship. "I am not sure what you truly believe in, other than yourself," he lectured the future President, according to a richly detailed account in Jules Witcover's Marathon: The Pursuit of the Presidency 1972-1976. "I have examined my reactions closely. I have attempted to justify a different conclusion. But I cannot rationalize one." The very day Shrum left the campaign, Carter won the Pennsylvania primary, cinching the nomination.

Over the years, Shrum has become the most sought-after consultant in Democratic politics. He has helped to elect numerous governors and congressmen. Nearly a third of the Democrats in the Senate won their jobs with his help. He has ghostwritten many of the most significant speeches of the past decades, earning him a reputation as what one Clinton veteran calls the "dean of Democratic speechwriters." Shrum is so powerful that he sometimes eclipses the very politicians who are his clients. Every four years presidential hopefuls compete in what has become known as "The Shrum Primary" for the honor of hiring him. Last year John Edwards seemed to have won—until, in February, John Kerry wooed Shrum away. Today he finds himself in a situation almost identical to the one he faced in 1976. His candidate is again within reach of the presidency. Only this time even Shrum must recognize the significance. One victory has eluded him throughout his storied career, ever since his early exit from Carter's campaign: Shrum has never worked on a winning presidential campaign. Kerry's improbable rise has given him one more chance.

For the legendary strategist Bob Shrum, a lifetime in Democratic politics comes down to John Kerry and a final shot at the White House
by Ryan Lizza
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200405/lizza