John Kerry in Cambridge, 1996

by Jason Ong

[caption id="attachment1679" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="http://bostonlocaltv.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/johnkerryoutsidecctv.png"> John Kerry outside CCTV, 1996. Courtesy of CCTV[/caption]

John Kerry has just been appointed as the United States Secretary of State, after 28 years of representing Massachusetts in the United States Senate. He was well-known during his time as a Senator, from his service on the Foreign Relations Committee, and of course, his 2004 Presidential run against George W. Bush.

Kerry's longtime interest in foreign affairs led many to speculate that he would be President Obama's eventual choice to replace Hillary Clinton. The Secretary of State occupies the most prestigious position in the Cabinet and is perceived as an official representative of the United States in any foreign country.

In 1996, Cambridge celebrated their 150th Anniversary with a parade, which was covered by CCTV. During the parade, then-Senator Kerry walked by to shake hands with spectators along the route. When asked to pause and speak for our camera, he greeted the audience with a few words of Spanish, remarked on the diversity and creativity of the Cambridge community, and then had to continue on to catch up with other parade walkers. His speech lasted only a minute, but it was interesting to see this now-nationally prominent figure right outside our familiar CCTV studio.