Buffett Downplays Role as Adviser to Kerry

George Soros isn't the only multibillionaire investor trying to help Sen. John Kerry defeat President Bush, but Warren Buffett is pooh-poohing the value of his own advice.

"I think the election will be a referendum on George Bush," Buffett said at the close of Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting in Omaha, Neb. "The Kerry campaign is quite unimportant compared to how people feel about Bush when they go into the voting booth."

According to Buffett, a Democrat who has denounced the president's tax relief and who has advised Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California as well as former Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., even Bush could have his advice.

"It's fairly likely that I will hear from a few people at some point. I'm available if anybody wants my opinion on anything," he said.

He said he had had only one talk with Kerry, who asked him three weeks ago to work on an "economic council" with Clintonista former Treasury secretaries Robert Rubin and Roger Altman.

But don't expect him to endorse calls for protectionism by Kerry, who is flip-flopping on trade after voting for NAFTA and other trade accords.

"Nothing I would do is geared towards protecting any industry or jobs," the tycoon said. "I just don't think [a deficit this big] is sustainable. I am not aiming for perfect balance, but something will happen if it goes on like this."

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