AP: Kerry to Show Soft Side Before Convention

[DrFunkenstein]

DENVER - As John Kerry winds his way across the country and ultimately to Boston to accept the Democratic presidential nomination next week, he'll be talking more about something he hasn't discussed much in his campaign — John Kerry.

Kerry's campaign has been more about what President Bush has done wrong and which policies Kerry would implement to do better. Kerry does not typically open up about himself personally, and it's part of the reason Americans don't know much about him.

"My father helped me understand at an early age that we are all put on this earth for something greater than ourselves, and that's something my mother taught me too," Kerry said in remarks prepared for delivery Friday. "Through the power of their example, they both taught me that one of the most fundamental values in life is service to others. That's why I'm here, that's why I'm running for president and that's how together we're going to build a stronger America."

Both of his parents are now dead. Kerry choked up when ABC News anchor Peter Jennings asked him in an interview Thursday if he wished they could be there to see him get the nomination next week.

This is an emotional side of Kerry that he rarely shows publicly. At campaign stops he often asks voters personal questions about their health, their age and even their income, but he doesn't reveal much about his own feelings or share personal stories. He usually leaves that duty to people who campaign with him, including his children, his wife and his former Navy crewmates from the Vietnam.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&e=4&u=/ap/kerry_getting_personal

[JohnKleeb]

1. Read about the values his parents taught him in A Call To Service

Seems like the young Kerry visited Omaha Beach at a young age and it was a very important moment. He admires the generation that came before him a lot.