KERRY PLAYS IT COOL FOR DEMS

December 8, 2006 -- SEN. JOHN Kerry didn't have nice things to say about Sen. Hillary Clinton or his former running mate, John Edwards, on Tuesday night. But he didn't say anything bad about them either, according to witnesses.

Kerry, who desperately wants to run again for president, had a dozen big-bucks Democrats to his Georgetown townhouse for pot roast and butternut squash.

According to a source who knows one of the attendees, Kerry started off by asking guests if he should run or not: "When no one answered, he launched into a speech about why he was the best candidate."

But four guests interviewed by Page Six denied that source's claim that Kerry went negative on Clinton and Edwards. The dinner guests swear Kerry never even mentioned his potential rivals for the Democratic nomination in 2008.

New Orleans lawyer Calvin Fayard told us Kerry was preaching to the choir. "Most of the people in the room believe he is not only the best candidate for 2008, but was also the best candidate in 2004," Fayard said, adding, "The primary focus of the conversation wasn't his possible candidacy for president." The group discussed the recent midterm elections, the change in leadership on Capitol Hill, and the Middle East.

Rodney Margol, a lawyer from Jacksonville, Fla., characterized the evening as "a thank-you event" for "those of us who have been supportive friends over the years."

"I hope he will run," Margol said. "I think the country has a serious case of buyer's remorse in light of what has happened under George Bush." Kerry's finance director, Jackson Dunn, called it "a casual sit-down dinner, no speeches . . . There is no agenda."

Bob Crowe, the CEO of Wolfblock Public Strategies, reports, "There was no discussion of other candidates . . . It was about him and what he's doing. It was clear from the evening that he hasn't decided."

Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz, wasn't feeling good and didn't stay with the group very long. Hopefully, she'll recover in time to accompany Kerry on his next trip to Iraq. That's what wives do when their husbands are running for president.