Marty Meehan touted as best successor for Kerry.

Warren Tolman, a candidate for lieutenant governor and governor in 1998 and 2002, respectively, said Meehan would be a "serious" candidate based on his war chest.

Tolman, now a lawyer at Holland & Knight in Boston, said the Republican would likely be Brown, again. But Tolman, paused, and added: "You've to have the fire in the belly and he's been through two tough races in as many years. But the Republican bench is not that strong." Tolman does agree that Kerry's days as senator could be dwindling down.

"The tea leaves certainly appear to be pointing that way," said Tolman. "But it's up to one man, and that's President Obama. He will decide where Kerry is most important to him: as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee or as secretary of state."

The two men have developed a close personal relationship in recent times. In 2004 when Kerry was the Democratic nominee for president, Obama, then an Illinois senator, delivered a keynote address during the Democratic National Convention, giving him needed exposure.


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