Eisenhower's son endorses Kerry [View All]

[Ruffhowse]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/09/30/kerry.eisenhower.ap/

TRAPPE, Maryland (AP) -- John Eisenhower, son of Republican President Eisenhower, said in a newspaper column this week that he will vote for Democratic Sen. John Kerry for president on November 2.

In a rare public announcement, Eisenhower said he switched his party affiliation from Republican to independent after 50 years after losing confidence in his former party. He said Kerry has demonstrated courage, competence and a concern for tackling the "widening socio-economic gap in this country."

"There are times when we must break with the past, and I believe this is one of them," Eisenhower wrote in the opinion column published Tuesday in The Union Leader of Manchester, New Hampshire.

The column assails President Bush and the GOP for federal budget deficits, for "unilaterally" invading Iraq and for infringing on personal liberties.