Senator John Kerry made national headlines this week by launching the beginning stages of his presidential campaign. In a lengthy appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press with Tim Russert, he announced his decision to form a presidential exploratory committee, and in a major speech in Cleveland, he criticized President George Bush’s handling of the economy. But Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, also made a point of applying one of the foreign-policy lessons he so often talks about to the home front: namely, don’t forget to guard your rear.

Kerry took two measures to shore up things here in Massachusetts on Monday. First, he engaged in a relatively freeform question-and-answer session with local journalists, including Janet Wu of WCVB-TV (Channel 5), Byron Barnett of WHDH-TV (Channel 7), and Jon Keller of WB56. The highlight came not during Kerry’s smooth handling of questioners (who were relatively easy compared to Russert — despite Keller’s attempt to derail Kerry with a query about the desires of New Hampshire voters), but afterwards. In something of a novel move, the senator took time out to speak privately, one-on-one, with several of the reporters present, including Keller and me, to ask about their Thanksgiving holidays and bond with them. (Kerry, like most politicians, generally goes back up the elevator to his office after making statements to the press.)

Second, just as Kerry took pains to leave no bruised egos among the local media, he also wooed the local political class. He invited roughly 75 operatives, mostly long-time Kerry loyalists — including former Shannon O’Brien campaign manager Dwight Robson, political consultant John Martilla, and his own former aide Larry Carpman — to his Louisburg Square home. Both Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz, addressed the gathering, and the senator gave his perspective on the prospects of running.

"It was an opportunity to thank local political talent for their hard work on behalf of the Democratic ticket in the last election and to share with some old friends some thoughts on a possible national run," says Kerry spokesperson Kyle Sullivan.

Both events were about ramping up the local media and activists in support of a presidential run — and also about minimizing any flak from Massachusetts that might plague such an effort. Nobody in the Kerry camp wants to experience what Michael Dukakis faced in 1988 — local troubles that included the establishment of a group called "Mass Citizens Against Dukakis," an embarrassing endorsement for George H.W. Bush by the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, and relentless hammering on radio station WRKO by host Jerry Williams (who is back on the air on WROL 950-AM in the afternoons and for whom the young Kerry once guest-hosted).

So far, Kerry has received a mixed reception from the media. He passed the Joe Klein test, winning a generally positive assessment from the political writer in the December 2 issue of the New Yorker, but was handled less warmly by Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post in a December 3 column headlined EARLY REVIEWS NOT GOOD FOR KERRY. But for now all is peaceful on the home front, at least.