How is everyone feeling about Kerry as a candidate now?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

I know this topic comes up a lot.

I favored Clark in the primaries. Was not overly disappointed in JK winning, but a little concerned about his personality attributes winning people over.

I have been feeling recently (even before the convention) that Kerry is almost the best possible candidate we could have had for this race. With the possible exception of if he looked like a graying Brad Pitt and had been a Super Bowl winning quarterback a few times.

I say this because I feel the first and foremost thing our candidate must accomplish (assuming they show no warning signs of being a fascist like shrubya, and I do not see that in JK), is to WIN. I was dismayed by the IWR vote (and I have significant problems with this, even more with Edwards' positions on this than JK), but I disagree with those who post on DU that the positions put forth by Kerry prove that he would pursue the same agenda as shrubco. I seriously doubt that even most Repub administrations would have pursued such a radical agenda, but that is a tale for another thread.

Kerry looks like winning is something he REALLY knows how to do. Whether it's politics, sports, or war. He is tough, and a competitor, and has not only fought in war but in tough political campaigns prior to this. Since the primaries, I see an almost mistake free campaign being run and a masterful convention that has hit all the right notes, almost perfect, with an excellent speech by Kerry.

I suspect that if Kerry plays chess he is a damned difficult opponent, who may not always win via the boldest attack (but may surprise you by doing it sometime) but will play a solid game start to finish and is much more likely to capitalize on a mistake by you than you on his mistake. To me this speaks well of the stewardship he is likely to provide as president also.

At this time, I feel that no matter what happens in NOV, even if the unthinkable occurs, I don't have to have heartburn that we had a poorly or stupidly run campaign and lost all the opportunities, like I felt after Dukakis, and to some degree in 2000. I welcome the reflections of others.

[proud patriot]

1. I feel Great

former Deaniac here . I find myself walking around with
a smile ....:D

[Cha]

21. Yeah! Ain't it great how time has evolved this whole situation?

I'm so grateful to Dean and all that he has done to start this process and now it's in the final stages..Finally!

And I thought I would be bummed after waiting four years to oust bush not to be for someone but only against bush..but that has all changed over the last months..and I am so happy about that!

[Birthmark]

2. I think that it's a great idea.

We should nomina...oh, done that.

Kerry 55, Bush 43

[clydefrand]

3. I have always admired Kerry

for his brain. His hair is ok, too, but I like what's under it better. :-) I've been watching him for years on TV interviews. I was very impressed with him each time and I'm more impressed now. I think he will do a wonderful job of restoring our standing in the world community. People who say he is aloof, cold, distant...I've never seen it. But then I appreciate someone who can speak coherent sentences without notes, someone who really thinks deeply. I love people who are curious about everything and I think he is what his daughter said he was. They weren't too shabby themselves, were they. I loved the hamster story! I don't give a flying flip what the critics say about that cute story. I got a big chuckle out of it, too. Wonder what the chimp's sweet young'uns can say about their daddy??? He gave mouth-to-mouth to lots of women???

[CaTeacher]

5. He is doing great!

I was nervous at first (around here people have given him a nickname that I hate--they call him "the undertaker"), but he has by far exceeded my expectations! We are going to win by a landslide!

[Booster]

20. I like undertaker better than Lurch.

I, too, was skeptical about Kerry mainly because I had never really heard him give a speech before - just quick glimpses and sound bites. He was dynamic at the convention and even made me stop reading DU to watch and listen to his every word. He and Edwards are the best team we could possibly have at this time, and they have given me optimistic hope that we can pull this off and become a great country again.

[Catholic Sensation]

4. If only because I enjoy being right

I decided on Kerry after it was evident that Gore wasn't going to run this time around.

But I'm ecstatic because here's a guy who gets excellent ratings from groups like the LCV, NARAL, etc. That and he actually wants to fight the "war on terror" against terrorists and not lunatic dictators like Hussein.

[yardwork]

6. The more I learn about Kerry the better I like him

The hamster story totally won me over.

The things I find most appealing about Kerry:

1. He is obviously thoughtful and intelligent.

2. His history shows that he is a courageous fighter.

3. He likes extreme sports and he's good at them. (My kids love this).

4. I like his appearance - I don't like pretty boys.

5. He's kind and a good father and husband (the hamster story).

6. He sticks to his principles even when he knows the opponent will point fingers and criticize (the supposed flip-flops).

7. He makes a point of using inclusive language and I think he means it.

He's a pretty good man if you ask me.

[soothsayer]

7. He rocks! I didn't like any of them before except maybe Edwards and

Dean and Kucinich cuz they seemed more like outsiders to politics, and Kerry seemed ingrained in the system and it would be the same policies, different administration. But I sure like the way he's sounding---like there is a world of difference! Huzzah!

[SOS]

8. Happy with Kerry/Edwards

Very unhappy about black box voting machines.

[SammyWinstonJack]

9. I just watched his acceptance speech again

It was a great speech. It made me feel there is hope, a feeling I have not felt these past three+ years. I really like him and more then that, I respect and admire him. I think he and Edwards can and will win this election and no amount of dirty tricks by Smirk Boy and Team Smirk will stop them.

[Eloriel]

10. I'm feeling better about him, but to be honest

for some reason a fawning, severely overblown post like this turns my stomach and, worse, reminds me of how much I loathed him until real recently, and all the faults and failings and self-serving decisions he's made that are still there under the surface.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

11. Taken into consideration. n/t

[Feanorcurufinwe]

17. I want you to think seriously about this...

We have in Kerry the person who will have to carry all our hopes. So do you want to imbue him with your hopes -- or your fears? Will your energy be more likely to work towards fulfilling your hopes if you are hopeful, or fearful? I do not suggest unthinking or uninformed support -- simply the benefit of the doubt during the election period.

[glarius]

12. Why are you worried about Kerry's personality?

I did not go beyond your statement that you are "concerned about his personality attributes winning people over" before I started to get steamed. I have to say something here. This is such BULLSHIT!....I have been watching Kerry on TV interacting with the American public. Every time they show him, he is shaking hands, laughing, relaxed and obviously enjoying himself!..I have seen NOTHING of the supposed cold, stiff, "patrician" (whatever that means), unapproachable person being portrayed by TV talking heads. What he shows on television is an open, thoughtful, empathetic person....Why have the Dems allowed this negative image of Kerry to be set in the minds of Americans?....:loveya:

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

15. I think his personality is fine. I think I just bought into the media

stereotyping of him to some degree, earlier. I'm not living in New England these days and have little or no exposure to him prior to the primaries.

[imax2268]

13. I feel fantastic...

I feel that our chances are very very very good to take back the White House...

[shrike]

14. John could have read the phone book at the convention

and gotten my vote. But what I heard, I liked.

[squidbro]

16. Kerry is impressive

I have been and still am a Dean supporter. He had the courage to stand up to the Bush war policies.

I am still grateful for what Dean did in re-energizing the party.

But, in retrospect, it was not Dean's time. I can see that now. Dean is simply too much of a novice to take on Bush, Rove and their scorched earth policies.

Kerry was elected as the man who was felt the candidate most likely able to win. It is easy to see now.

Kerry has my respect and I am truly optimistic. The recent DNC was brilliantly run.

As someone who was quite depressed after Kerry's easy victories in New Hampshire and Iowa, I am truly impressed with Kerry.

At this point, Kerry's inauguration seems like a lock.

Now the real work is seeing whether we can take back Congress. Hopefully, Kerry's campaigning will influence the congressional races and get a few more Democrats into office.

[lostnfound]

18. Conflicting thoughts but mostly grateful

Your comment -
"I feel that no matter what happens in NOV, even if the unthinkable occurs, I don't have to have heartburn that we had a poorly or stupidly run campaign and lost all the opportunities, like I felt after Dukakis, and to some degree in 2000."
- is very well put, and I agree. Kerry seems to be running a smart, careful strategy.

One of many things about Kerry that might come in handy is his lifelong ambition to be president. While in some respects I think that's a "personality disorder" ;) , I am really glad that -- if it comes down to possible riots in Miami, hanging chads, disenfranchised black voters, and Supreme court decisions -- he will DEFINITELY not give up easy.

On the other hand, http://www.kpfa.org/cgi-bin/gen-mpegurl.m3u?server=209.81.10.18&port=80&mount=/data/20040730-Fri1700.mp3">a discussion on Flashpoints last night returned me to a harsher perspective. Maybe the comments therein were too harsh. But I wonder what will become of Venezuela? Iraq? What's his plan for all of those extra special ops soldiers? Will they really be used to fight terror and not simply to enforce corporate-globalization or subvert left-leaning democracies?

How important is militarismcompared to everything else? Well, if we had a president who was great on jobs, civil rights, the environment but had a small habit of massively bombing and occupying one of our major cities -- Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, whatever -- with an army every 2-3 years, how can I pretend to be satisfied with him as a candidate?

I am hopeful, but I want lasting peace. I like Kerry/Edwards but I feel a bit like a victim of bait and switch. But I also recognize that he might actually be the best among those that the current power structure (wealth + media) would allow to occupy the office. And also that it's possible he will work very hard to create peace, but just can't emphasize that right now and still get elected.

Will the energies of the left dissipate once Kerry is in office? Will people who worked hard because of their own specific domestic and social issues care about the incredible brutality of our foreign policy?

[Cha]

19. Much Better! Starting Sunday before the convention ..and

all the days leading up to Kerry's Speech! I ordered Kerry/Edwards buttons.."For A Stronger America" on Tuesday night and they got here last night(Friday) and I wore my first K/E button today at work and all kinds of sweet reactions even from repubs!

So yeah, I'm feeling good about Kerry/Edwards!

[west michigan]

22. Fantastic.

He is not fitting the media stereotype of dull personality. He opened up for his acceptance speech and did just fine. Just saw him on CBS and his answers were clear and well thought out. Amazing that a president could once again speak in cohereant sentances that are longer than seven or eight words.

[Gloria]

23. I'm fine with Kerry, but I want to see the campaign OBLITERATE this

flip-flop crap for once and for all!!! I don't want to be Gored this time!

[Cha]

28. The media was sharpening their Goring tools as the Dem

convention was in progress. It is my view that the media will try and Gore Kerry and Edwards even if they wouldn't give them any reason.

Thankfully a lot of People are catching on to the media..I just hope there is someway to get the message out to more. Good sign that show many are showing up for the K/E rallies.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

31. I thought the convention was particularly genius in the way the message

was laid out.

"Reporting for duty." Positive, accentuates the military service. But it's a dig at the same time, the best kind.

I was REALLY WORRIED that all this "don't bash the president" would make it a smarmy crappy weak convention. It is sad that the way the wolfpack corporatist media has their fangs sharpened for the Democrats now that it can be seen as necessary to avoid giving this media machine (and by extension the Repubs) ammunition. But there it is.

I really liked the way JK addressed Bush directly towards the end of his speech and called for a higher, non-bashing debate (sadly, knowing full well that no such thing will ever happen). Very classy, and essentially saying, Well? Ball's in your court!

It was handled well and the message effectively delivered anyway, IMHO.

[alarimer]

24. pretty good

I liked the speech a lot. I saw a sign here the other day that made me angry. It was aparently homemade (looked Photoshopped). It had a picture of Kerry in front of a French flag and was captioned "Kerry for President...of FRANCE". Now what is the deal with that? something to do with the whole kerry looks French meme (which makes no sense to me- if he looks French because he has french ancestry then I guess I must look french too...whatever).

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

25. Yeah that's that whole France bashing thing that the shrubya campaign

is actually using. It makes me laugh, to me anyone who would buy into that shows what a ridiculous redneck xenophobe they are, shows how bankrupt the Republican campaign is. That is all they got baybee!

The "he looks French" or bashing him for speaking French thing is actually quite old, I remember an "anonymous" shrub White House source floating the "he looks too French" thing, reading that in the Washington Post back when the Democratic primary race was just about to start (can't remember if JK candidacy was even announced yet). They are obviously very pleased with themselves to come up with something so clever. The people who are pleased with this sort of thing are undoubtedly already shrubya voters though, and it turns everyone else off.

It just shows that the Rove machine really has a limited bag of tricks. Smears, race/gay/xenophobia, etc. They actually work on their selected audience, and when you have a low turnout, but when you're responsible for starting a war that everyone is concluding sucks, that limited bag of tricks will not do.

[TowelBoy]

26. Damn good

And hopeful

[Selwynn]

27. I fee the same as I ever did - Kerry is the alternative to Bush

I feel a little more excitement after the conversion, and a little more hope that we might have a shot (I am one who does not believe a democratic win is a shoe-in, or even likely) but a Kerry win only stops the current freefall we're in. He continues to remain the spokesperson for a new democrat centrist platform, and I don't say that with venom in my voice - I'm just stating the fact. So the most important thing about electing Kerry is that democrats are better than this horrific administration. But they are not where I believe we ultimately need to be ideologically. It's a starting point, a step in the right direction possibly, a raft in the middle of the ocean for a drowning man - but as the title of the book says, the raft is not the shore. We're not home yet - not by a long shot - but its possible that the election of Kerry might pave the way for good supreme court appointees and the take back of congress and ultimately, more progressive national representation.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

29. Former Dean supporter here...

At first, I was worried about the Iraq war thing.
I don't worry anymore. I am behind Kerry 100%
Add that to the fact that he is married to wonderful Theresa and seems to adore her and respect her. He didn't choose a Stepford wife or woman half his age and to me, that speaks volumes about Kerry's character.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

30. DAMN GOOD

and I've been talking Kerry up even more than EVER. I am PROUD of that sticker on my bumper and I DARE anyone to say he's not a total badass and going to be an awesome president! (Ok I don't really go up and dare people that! But I am so freaking on board...)

[MODemocrat]

32. He's my president though I still love Howard Dean

I taped the whole convention, but taped John Kerry's acceptance speech separately. I have played it twice, and have cried both times.
He really made a believer out of me, and think he will be a great president. Love his choice for Vice President too.
:toast: :thumbsup: :hi: