WASHINGTON - Edward M. Kennedy's voice, more monster-truck rally announcer than Boston Brahmin senator, booms through a packed hotel ballroom here as he warms up a crowd of donors for John Kerry.
"There's a wave that's coming across this country," roars Kennedy. "You give John Kerry the opportunity to get his message across to the American people, he'll give America back the White House."
It is a pitch Kennedy delivered loudly and often as a prominent figure in Kerry's campaign for the Democratic nomination. But while Kennedy may elicit cheers from partisan audiences, he is also a lightning rod capable of turning off swing voters in key states where the fall election will be fought out.
For months, Kennedy has staged rallies and raised money for Kerry, whose persona has always hewed closely to the Kennedy family's - from the initials he shares with John F. Kennedy to the aristocratic accent and turns of phrase in his speeches.
As he campaigns for Kerry, Kennedy has also been making speeches attacking Bush for his handling of the war in Iraq, which Kennedy called "George Bush's Vietnam" last week.
When Kerry's campaign foundered, Kennedy offered up his chief of staff, Mary Beth Cahill, to salvage it. Kerry's operation is now led by an inner circle peopled in large part by strategists who came to prominence working for Kennedy, including Robert Shrum, a key adviser.
Some Democrats worry that Kerry's decision to tether himself to Kennedy could hurt Kerry's efforts to appeal to undecided voters in more conservative areas of the country where Kennedy is unpopular.
"Kennedy is very helpful in solidifying and motivating the base. But independents are looking for ways to identify Kerry as a moderate- to middle-of-the-road type of Democrat, and Senator Kennedy is not going to help with that," says Sen. John B. Breaux of Louisiana.
Comparing Kerry to Kennedy is a favorite pastime of Republicans. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas said Kennedy's presence in the campaign only emphasizes how liberal Kerry is.
"The more Ted Kennedy is on the campaign trail, the better," DeLay says.
Bush campaign officials say Kerry doesn't need Kennedy to make him look left of center.
"Obviously, Kerry has appointed Ted Kennedy to be his political hatchet man," says Terry Holt, a Bush spokesman. "But Kerry is a very divisive figure himself."
