Pundit: Kerry should spend time in monastery, let scrutiny be on Bush

Published: 2004-02-27

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Syndicated columnist and television commentator Mark Shields has a suggestion for Sen. John Kerry as the Massachusetts Democrat presumably becomes his party's nominee for president: He should spend the next six months in a Benedictine monastery. It's not that Shields is particularly worried about Kerry's spiritual health or is trying to get rid of him. Rather, he told an audience of Catholic social ministry workers, it may be Kerry's best hope for winning the election because it would leave President Bush as the only visible candidate on whom attention could focus. "If the election becomes a referendum on Bush, Kerry can win," Shields said. "If it's a referendum on Kerry, Bush can win." Shields and his sparring partner from the PBS program "News Hour," The New York Times columnist David Brooks, were part of a "pundits panel" at the Feb. 25 closing session of the annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in Washington.

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