I was amazed tonight. At a dinner with some fervent and active Dems

[saracat]

as well as some former Kerry staff, I was presented with a consensus that no one really liked Kerry! They also were of the opinion that they didn't want him to run again and if he did that he would lose. I was irritated beyong words. I said it might be a tough call for Kerry but that there were people who were excited by Kerry( they disagreed) and Isaid I felt if he continued to carry the mantle of leader the way he has, and particularly if he persued DSM and did some damage to Bush, I thought he could be elected. Not one person agreed with me. I was very disappointed. In addition, most thought DSM was a non issue. No wonder I am disheartened by the Dems!

[WildEyedLiberal]

1. Well with such disheartening attitudes it's hard not to

What a bunch of Debbie Downers. This is the Democratic Party's terminal problem - it refuses to be inspired. It only responds to negative stimulus. We need to stop tearing down real heroes and learn to let them light that fire inside us, or else we'll keep on losing.

In the meantime, you can come back here to the Kerry forum where the fires of idealism burn bright.

[saracat]

2. Thanks Wild. This helps keep me sane!

[paulk]

3. I was at a dinner about a month ago

and someone who's a friend started in on Kerry. The usual stuff - he didn't stand up for us after the election was stolen, he ran a lousy campaign, he supported the war and that's why he lost - the usual litany. I didn't really know what to say. The worst part of it was that the criticism was the same stuff I see constantly on DU, that is, criticism from the left. It was really discouraging.

I think WEL has it right - there's a streak of negativism that runs through Democrats - it's almost like we want to lose. We beat ourselves. I don't understand it...

[politicasista]

4. Those attitudes sound depressing

I haven't been to any outings of late, but I try to spread the word about what Kerry is up to since the election ended via online. Some responses were positive, but as far as Kerry running again, it's has been a hard sell.

I been a little sad the last few days because * and Congress are doing so much damage by appointing these ultra-conservative judges and destroying our image abroad. It's really pathetic that he has gotten away with starting and illegal, worthless war to bamboozling people with his insane SS plan and the media and no one is outraged or asks for accountability.

Kerry and others tried to tell and warn people that this was the most important election of our lifetime, but no, people bought into the vicious, hateful media character spins about him and Momma T.

Although I think the election may have been stolen, it's really sad that we have been cheated out of two men who would have made fine presidents. I remember the last two months before the election thinking that America was going to be America again, now I don't know if I will ever have that same feeling anymore.

I agree with you guys, all this constant griping and complaining is why Dems will continue to lose elections. They can blame the candidate all they want, but it won't change anything.

We were asking for another four years of * anyway!

[saracat]

5. It makes me wonder why anyone would want to run as a Dem, especially for

President. We seem to treat all our candidates so poorly. It seems a miracle when a word of praise passes a Dems lips for any of our front people.
I admit I have been less than pleased with the phrasing of some of Deans's comments but that doesn't mean I can support some of his efforts. I really liked most of our field of candidates and to listen to so many proceed from jumping Dean to defending Dean by trashing everyone else for making exceptions to Dean's word choice is unbelievable.The division into camps is worse than the primary. You aren't allowed to like one person if you object to the comment of another. It is like a schoolyard!

As far as Kerry goes. Someone must have liked him. He got the nomination! And got more votes than any other Dem candidate. He didn't do shabbily at all in spite of probable voter fraud. Yet, like all losing Dem candidates before him, we proceed to eviscerate him! What really burns me up are the campaign staffers that dump on him. I guess that they feel that exonerates them!

Our lack of gratitude as a party is amazing. I feel we should be thankful that we had so many wonderful people run for office, and they should be thanked, not kicked to the side like debris. We need to learn from experience. If we keep discarding candidates that haven't lived up to some ideal of perfection, we may soon feel the dearth of any capable persons. Maybe we won't deserve a "real" Democrat! JMHO.

[sandnsea]

6. sour grapes

I'm not surprised at all. Afraid losing rubs off.

Of course, alot of Bush voters are saying the same thing. That's part of the stupidity of our party. At the exact moment Bush is going down in flames and we should be saying "told ya' you should have voted for Kerry", we're cowering in the corner, afraid somebody might make fun of us for voting for "that loser". WE are spinless, not our leaders.

[WildEyedLiberal]

7. Hit the nail on the head

The spinlessness I see comes from these so-called "grassroots" who can't seem to find it in them to back up the leaders of our party, but instead bitch endlessly when their every whims haven't been catered to.

God it drives me mad.

[wisteria]

9. Agree with you! n/t

[wisteria]

8. Not winning does not equal loser.

Dems have to learn,as you have mentioned, to support their candidates during and after the campaign. We are all to quick to play the blame game. Why do we expect our candidates to be perfect. It's easy now for people to claim they didn't like Kerry. They are afraid to be ridiculed for still supporting a losing candidate. If he would have won, I bet these same people would be talking about how wonderful he is. These people strike me as being followers who don't have any original thoughts.
There is something else here at work, denial. I don't think some dems want to admit that we have major problems within the party pertaining to message and ideals and connecting to average people. Its easier to blame the candidate for not being able to deliver a win.
As far as Kerry's chances, personally I think people will warm up to Kerry again like they did during this last campaign. He has a way of growing on you the more you see him and, many people have a positive opinion of him from the last campaign. After the loss,I had many people tell me that they thought we would be hearing from Kerry again as well as many who said they would vote for him again.
I have a button I wear on my pocket book that says, "Don't blame me, I voted for Kerry", I get people commenting positively on it all the time and I live in a conservative area of my state.
I'm not going to take the opinions of your acquaintances seriously.

[Island Blue]

10. My hope is that 7 months after the election

I still see an awful lot of Kerry/Edwards bumper stickers on vehicles. After '00, the only Gore stickers I saw were the Sore/Loserman ones. I think maybe the pain of "losing" is still to fresh for a lot of folks.

I think sometimes we need to remind folks that Kerry got the second highest vote total of ANY Presidential candidate EVER, and it can certainly be argued that he actually got the highest vote total if you agree that the election was stolen. (Which I tend to.)

This is pretty damn good considering that the Republican Noise Machine (i.e. television) was whoring for Chimpy 24/7. My dad, who doesn't own a television didn't really understand this until I had him watch the movie "Outfoxed" about the Faux News Chanel. I don't watch FOX myself (ever), but after watching "Outfoxed" its a wonder that Kerry received any votes. Of course we know it wasn't just Fox and Jimmy Jeff who were pimping for Chimp. (I think that's their motto isn't it? FOX News: We Pimp for the Chimp.)

It does amaze me though that people will say, "We don't want Kerry to run again, he's a loser" but if you ask them who they would like to see run they often say Dean or Edwards or Clarke, or Gore. I see that often in GD. Can someone please explain that logic to me?

[whometense]

11. Hah.

It does amaze me though that people will say, "We don't want Kerry to run again, he's a loser" but if you ask them who they would like to see run they often say Dean or Edwards or Clarke, or Gore. I see that often in GD. Can someone please explain that logic to me?

I'll stand in line for that explanation too. Kerry beat all of them except for Gore.

There's a really creepy flesh-eating aspect to the lefty freepers.

My current mantra is: I will not bash dem candidates. Not gonna join the circular firing squad. Much as I'd love to.

The mature section of my brain does think that people are still in the throes of a terrible disappointment. Their hopes were so high last fall, and the crash was so precipitous and shocking, that it will take time to get rational again.

Whether they will get rational again in time for 2008, who knows?

Oh, and one more thing: around here there are so many Kerry bumper stickers on cars that a local jackass columnist felt called upon to write an angry column about it. Made me want to say, hey, what's the matter? Don't like to be reminded that people like him?

[CBHagman]

30. Exactly.

"Not winning does not equal loser."

If Cheney or DeLay drowned puppies on C-SPAN, the airwaves would be flooded in no time by GOP operatives and their lackey pundits saying that this was the kind of decisive leadership the American people wanted, and besides, those Democrats don't have any ideas.

I'm not against self-criticism per se by the Democratic Party, but the fact that we're nuanced shouldn't mean we eat our own.

And I have had it with this rigorous course of demoralization following every election. I have been afraid to bring up Kerry with a friend of mine because he goes ballistic about the whole "reporting for duty" thing. Yes, we could have run a better campaign, but don't pour energy into attacking the candidate after the fact.

Maybe we need a nice, loud Keith Olbermann-style "WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?" Then we should go from there.

And for what it's worth, George McGovern is still alive and apparently leading a productive life, unlike his opponent, who will be scandal-tainted for all time. Sometimes you wonder who really won.

[Mass]

12. Very depressing but do you remember in November or December 03

the same conversations gave the same type of answers.

When it came to people that are not that involved in politics, but care about their lives, they voted overwhelmingly for Kerry. And Kerry is still the second in most polls when it comes to who should run in 08, often far before Edwards.

He needs to continue doing what he does, going on the field and meet with people.

[TayTay]

13. I agree. And '08 is a long way off

The country is beginning to sour on the Rethugs in a big way. (But, it needs to be said, this could change. It is too early to tell if this is buyer's remorse from the last campaign or a real movement away from the Rethugs.)

I did look through the archives to see when Kerry really began to campaign for '04. He made a lot of visits to Iowa and NH in 2001 and 2002, but they were to party functions. (Meeting with the high muckety-mucks of the local Dem fiefdoms.) His exploratory committee launched officially on 11/10/02. (His Mom passed away that fall, he got the prostrate cancer diagnosis in late Dec of that year.)

The average American is not focused on the Pres race yet. I think there is a residual amount of goodwill for Kerry. The 'pubbies will go after that if Kerry tries to take a national stage to oppose *'s War and his policies. That could work for him in Dem circles. We shall have to see.

[whometense]

14. I will NEVER forget

November and December of '03. I felt like I was in the movie Groundhog Day, waking up every morning to the same news story about how Dean was murdering Kerry in the polls. The lowest low was the morning the story changed (slightly) from murder in the NH polls to murder in a MA poll.

Anyone who questions Kerry's grit should look back to those months and how he kept going, step by step.

[JohnKleeb]

15. It wasnt just Kerry that was being murdered by Dean, it was everyone

Ive never been that comfortable with Dean but I was accepting that he would likely be the nominee, and I was trying to like him and see what people say in him but I couldnt, I still though Kerry had a shot and what do you know he did, I wasnt a Kerry supporter back then but I was much prefering Kerry to Dean on the basis of what I knew about Kerry. I saw Kerry's comeback in January and then feared it would be all for naught when two things happened, the endorsement of Harkin for Dean, I thought Harkin was like a kingpin political official in Iowa and his support would help the candidate he gave big time and the second thing was Kerry losing his voice on the last day, I remember in GD someone actually had the nerve to taunt Kerry for this, the dude was like hahaha Kerry comes all the way back and gets lagartis. There was a battleground Iowa that I didnt read about in GD back then but only later did I read about it in books about Kerry that I had bought during my lunch breaks at work. So in the weeks leading up to the DNC, I had finally realized why Kerry won. It wasnt even a real political reason, it was just the people of Iowa saw that he was a man who really did care about this country a lot, who had a great vision, and who had a positive demeanor. Kerry has some of the most amazing toughness I ever seen, again I Remember in GD before 2004, all the people who pooed on Kerry were asking him to withdraw the primaries and blah blah and that he was done for. I always had some hope in my mind that someone who I liked a lot that wasnt Dean would pull out, I wasnt big big on Clark either, so I was hoping it would be Kerry or Gephardt, I knew my candidate Kucinich had no chance but I liked Kerry and Gephardt. I develped my admiration for Edwards during January 2004 seeing his message in Iowa.

[TayTay]

16. True dat in a big way

Mary Beth Cahill (in that Joe Klein Time article from last year) said that there was a day in December 2003 in which no money came in. She felt so bad that she wrote a $2,000 check herself and sent it downstairs. No money! Wow! Now that bad.

Then six weeks later, they won. The truth is that the media built Dean up and never really looked into his support. The media is shallow and fickle. They write things based on common and perceived wisdom. But they don't dive into the actual campaigns and check out the voters to see what they are thinking. Te problem with the Dean supporters was that they were not a fit for a place like Iowa. And they talked to voters about what Howard had meant to them. (It's never about you, it's about the voters.) No one in Iowa really cared what Howard had meant to some volunteer who had slipped into Iowa from Vermont, or California or Oregon. Dean's support was always soft and could switch given the proper push. Gov Dean torpedoed his own campaign with his ill phrased comments about Saddam Huseein's capture, Trippi's over-sensitivity about the Bin Laden ad and with his 'Perfect Storm' of strange non-heartland volunteers. Kerry was everyone's second choice and when Dean flamed out, Kerry looked very good. (Especially after the dramatic Rassmann appearance. He humanized Kerry so much.)

It's so hard to predict. On the one hand, John Kerry is a thoughtful and deliberate man. I like him because of this. I have full faith and confidence that his decisions are based on sound logic and are well-researched. That is a good quality for someone in office to have. On the other hand, we have Kerry the maverick and risk-taker. It will be interesting to see how both sides come out in the coming months.

[sandnsea]

32. Al Sharpton

That was the lowest low, polling lower than Al Sharpton! lol.

I gave money to Al, I love Al, but still.. ugh. That was a sad day.

[whometense]

17. Inside info??

Hillary gossip from Radar Magazine

...Meanwhile, with the Battle for Barack in stalemate, Hillary has been courting another Democratic comer to add some color to her projected ticket. At a private dinner last week at Westwood One CEO Norm Pattiz’s Beverly Hills mansion, Hillary schmoozed some of L.A.’s biggest Dem donors but saved her best moves for the city’s mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa. A guest at the dinner says Clinton “gushed” over Villaraigosa and grabbed multiple photo ops with the rising Latino pol. “The fact is,” says the guest, “Hillary knows she’ll need Villaraigosa to capitalize on the Hispanic vote. She’s getting her licks in way before any of the other Dems.” Hill’s West Coast jaunt also generated some much-needed green. Combined with proceeds from a young Hollywood fundraiser earlier that evening—attended by Christina Aguilera and Lindsay Lohan—sources say Hilary walked away with a cool $1 million for her “senate re-election” campaign. The dough will most likely be put toward an exploratory committee in 2006 when Clinton is expected to officially declare her candidacy...

Interesting, no? JK and Hillary fighting for the support of Villaraigosa?

[whometense]

18. And here's the earlier item about Obama

http://www.radaronline.com/fresh-intelligence/2005/06/01/index.php#report_000928

THE BATTLE FOR BARACK

The 2008 presidential race may still be a ways off, but sources say Democratic hopefuls New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden have already clashed in their courtship of potential running mate and presumed party savior Barack Obama. The wooing began not long after Obama won his Illinois senate seat last November when an unofficial “Clinton-Obama 2008” organization began circulating bumper stickers for the possible pairing. Sensing an opening, Clinton quickly bonded with Obama, playing up their shared Chicago roots and partnership on the outré Environmental and Public Works Committee. But Clinton’s gonna have to do a lot better than that if she wants to outplay Biden, sources say. Not only was the silver-haired senator a fixture at Obama’s Chicago campaign fundraisers last year, he also managed to snag his new pal a coveted slot on the decidedly more glamorous Foreign Relations Committee, providing the two with some priceless photo ops in the battleground states of Iraq and Afghanistan. With a recent Pew Research poll showing a majority of Americans supposedly ready to vote for Hillary, the former First Lady isn’t likely to roll over and let Biden poach her hoped-for secret weapon. “Hillary practically adopted Obama, and now Joe’s stealing her baby,” says one Capitol Hill observer. “She’s definitely got a grudge against Biden.” No word on whether either would-be candidate has consulted Obama for his opinion on the matter.

Haven't seen the magazine yet, but their gossip appears to be pretty juicy, if true.

[TayTay]

19. Obama's okay but I don't think he's seasoned enough

to be seen as a party savior. I think he's smart and ambitious and very talented and a gifted natural speaker. But his tenure on the national stage is brief and I wonder why they would be fighting over him so soon. That seems odd.

Also, I wonder if Hillary did a campaign appearance for the new Mayor-elect of LA. Someone I know did.

[whometense]

20. My thought exactly.

Though I think he did it before the competition started. ;-)

Too damned muggy today.

[Island Blue]

21. I also think it's a little be too soon for Obama

even as VP in '08. I've been known to be wrong before though.

[whometense]

22. I admit I thought less of

Edwards for jumping in as quickly as he did, but that's just me. I don't get this preference a lot of people profess for governors/outsiders. I want a president who understands how DC works, inside out. That was another of Kerry's (many) positives for me.

[TayTay]

23. We may have a lot more Senators in the hunt for '08

I don't see Biden as having any traction. I have my differences with Sen. Biden, but he is a good Dem and great on Foreign Policy. He is very knowledgeable. But I just don't think he is presidential material. Bias on my part, but he just doesn't have the gravitas that Kerry has.

Gov. Warner of VA is also a nice enough guy, but all he has in his resume is one-term as Gov of VA. I don't think he has the chops to run and be taken seriously. I would not be backing Sen. Clinton initially, but she does have the experience to run and be taken seriously. (She also has some skeletons and I'm not sure I want another Restoration Presidency. I am extremely uneasy bouncing the Presidency between two families. I am even more uneasy given how close her husband is with the *ies. This reeks of monarchy and I don't like it at all. No more *es and no more Clintons. It's not very democratic.)

On the Dem side, Sen. Feingold, who is a very good guy might run. That's at least 4 Senators, including Kerry. Then we have Warner, Vilsack and I'm not sure who else as Govs. This could get interesting. (And Kusinich will run again and Rev. Al might run again as well.) Full dance card.

[whometense]

24. Only one on that list I would vote for

in the primary (besides Kerry, of course) is Feingold. But we'll see. I like Feingold. My gut instinct on him is that he's genuine; a real, intelligent, thinking person. I like that.

Biden and Clinton both give off the same vibe to me - the positioning vibe. Both can say things I really agree with, and both have a lot of experience. But I don't trust either one. I just don't.

But that's why I'm not so good at this politics stuff. I've got to go on my intuition, which shouts down wonk, party politics, everything. The quality of a person's character is so much more important to me than what they appear to be saying on any given issue. If I don't sense they mean it, they won't get my vote. And that's why if Kerry is on the ballot he automatically gets my vote. His personal integrity wins it every time.

[Island Blue]

25. I agree

I like Feingold a lot too, his positions seem to match mine on most issues.

Biden is too all over the place for me. One minute when I'm listening to him I'll say "preach it Joe" and the next minute I'm saying "Whaaaaaa?" in regard to some position he takes on any given issue.

I also don't like the idea of the Presidency bouncing around between two families. Something makes me nervous about that. I think the Repubs are really trying to set her up as the candidate to beat - at least they are good at multitasking. They can choose our candidate and run the country into the ground all at the same time. Talented they are.

[TayTay]

26. Biden and the bankruptcy bill

that was just awful. I don't understand how he could sell out working people like that. That vote alone would be enough for me to not vote for Biden, ever. And he voted for Condi and Gonzales.

I just do't get him sometimes. One day he is on fire defending the Senate from the Nukular opshun. On another day, he caves so easily on core Dem issues. I just can't trust him.

[JohnKleeb]

27. To be fair and factually accurate, Biden voted against Gonzales

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00003

[TayTay]

28. Good, I am glad to stand corrected.

I know he also voted against the bad judicial nominees. Sigh! That's the point, he skates right up to the edge of 'I love this guy' and then does something that makes me back off.

[JohnKleeb]

29. Yeah I know what you mean

I saw what you said about him voting for Gonzales and I thought that cant be right because I recalled somehow that Lieberman was the only north of the mason-dixon line to vote to confirm him. Heres the weird thing about Joe though, he voted against Ashcroft and Gale Norton 4 years ago, and I am happy to report so did Kerry. Yeah Biden can really be great one day and then bad the next, hes one of us not a DINO like the ones going for his head right now but he is very unpredictable.

[Island Blue]

31. Sometimes I really have to try to remember

that not everyone in the world is as obsessed with politics (or with John Kerry) as I am, or as everyone on DU or Kos or any other site
for that matter. As we learned from last year, APPARENTLY there were some folks - a.k.a. the infamous "Undecideds" - who didn't make up their mind until November 3. (I have a difficult time believing that by the way.)

So much can happen between now and then both good and bad, and with Boosh & Company in control I think we are unfortunately guaranteed a lot of bad. I think it seems so intense for all of us because 2008 can't get here quick enough!

[wisteria]

33. I haven't had a chance to welcome you! Welcome!

I love to see new people come into this group.We are growing and that is good news. I haven't been here too long myself.
I'm a political junkie myself and I have been known to drive my family crazy with my support for John Kerry and the Democratic Party.Especially since much of my family considers themselves to be Republicans.
I have just recently come around to actually thinking that it could be possible that things (other then disenfranchisement and intimidation) were done to sway the election towards Bush. Things are not all adding up in Ohio especially.
Your right about Bush, I was trying to come up with one thing that he has personally been responsible for and done right since he has been in office, just today, and I couldn't come up with a thing. Yet, since he has been in office, we have been attacked, been involved in two wars,seen nearly 1,700 soldiers lose their lives and a larger number of Iraqi's die, have the largest federal deficit in US history, poor job creation, stagnant wages,pensions being threaten,a health care crisis, No Child Left Behind failing,a questionable Medicare program and now he wants to sabotage the Social Security System. I could go on and on, but I get so frustrated. Why didn't and why don't people see Bush for who and what he really is and realize how much damage he has already heaped upon us all?

[kerrygoddess]

42. Interesting...

Well I didn't see Hillary rushing out here to endorse Antonio before the election. No she could not be bothered. Who did, JK! They have a longstanding friendship. When push comes to shove, I believe Antonio will stay loyal to JK. I've seen the mutual admiration and friendship between them up close and personal many, many times. Antonio is no foll, he's also no great fan of Hillary from my understanding.

Furthermore, when Kerry was here to endorse Antonio, there were a couple of big $$ fundraisers for JK that were not publicized. JK's team does not gush and coo about thier fundraisers like Hillary does. JK's fundraising team has been raising money since Nov.

[GRLMGC]

34. This is just the problem with this goddamn party

I love this party but it is full of the most awful backbiters. We're a big tent but people are so fucking selfish that if they don't get the attention they feel they deserve, then they whine and throw temper tantrums. Well guess what assholes, that just splinters the party and we fucking lose! That's right, ABB was the most bullshit thing ever. That doesn't help you win anything. You have to be for something in order for people to consider what you have to say. How is saying that you hate your candidate going to convince someone who's on the fence. Even if you do hate you candidate, suck it up and be positive. These fuckers are part of the reason we lost the election. If this party ever dies, it'll because of negative pieces of shit who can't ever be productive. Phew, that's my rant.

[WildEyedLiberal]

35. And an awesome rant it was. n/t

[Island Blue]

36. Great rant!

You are right about some folks being selfish. It's like they can't support a candidate unless he/she professes EXACTLY the same beliefs that they have about EVERY issue. Seems to me that's not very realistic. Even if you did find a candidate who shares your exact beliefs and value system, you are only one unique individual with unique thoughts and beliefs - that same candidate is then going to piss off a lot of other people because his/her ideas don't mesh with the next 200 people's beliefs. (Does that make any sense? It's early.)

I didn't understand the ABB voters either. I think part of that was simply laziness, not really wanting to take the time and effort to get to know John Kerry and how he really feels about the issues or about what kind of person he is. This requires digging a little deeper than watching a 30 sound bite on TV or even reading an article in Newsweek or wherever.

[MH1]

37. And it's worse than that.

What would it be saying to Jane and Joe Citizen (the folks who barely pay attention to politics outside of CNN and Faux soundbites) if in 2008 they are facing a choice betwen D and R and they say to themselves, "jeez, the D's even say themselves that they picked a lousy candidate in 2004. I'm sure they didn't do any better this time".

Yeah that would be helpful, huh.

Continuing to tear down Kerry is BAD for the Democratic Party. I'm not asking them to love the guy. Okay I wish they did, but I'm not asking. I just wish they'd be more into saying "we have a great TEAM! we rock!" then constantly finding ways to twist everything our last presidential candidate says to somehow make their interest group look victimized, and then claim how much they "couldn't stand him" anyway. Yeah, way to thank someone who's between 80-99% behind you on ALL your issues. (I looked for, but couldn't find, my recent dkos post where I ranted at someone to be sure to enjoy their life as a gay person when people like Kerry are replaced by republicans and ALL the gay civil rights stuff is dismantled. It was a great rant, wish I could've found it).

[saracat]

38. Welcome to DU and the Kerry group! You are right on. See my rant

at post 5! It seriously does make me wonder why anyone decent would run!

[MH1]

40. Thanks for the welcome!!

And my theory on why someone like Kerry does it: he's driven by duty, he sees a job that needs to be done and someone needs to step up. So he does. I think he's relatively impervious to the crap because he's a man on a mission. He decides something is the right thing to do and he goes and does it the best he can, despite the slings and arrows. Like in 1971, I really believe if JK was all about JK he would've turned his back on the war at the first chance he had and gone about making his career. There would have been no testimony to the F.R. Committee (at least not by someone as eloquent as him), and who knows how the ending of the war might have been further protracted with his voice missing?

I think the decision to stand up then, when he didn't have to, speaks volumes about his character, and that's the kind of character we really need in a President. Sadly, I don't think men and women like that are very common. But on the plus side, I don't think men and women like that are generally deterred from public service by the spectre of personal attacks (at least not by attacks on themselves).

Of course, no matter that they keep fighting to complete their mission, if the infighting within the party is undermining them, they - and we - will keep losing. It's really a tragedy.

[Klimmer]

39. This is what I think . . .

screw them!

I would vote for Kerry again in a heart-beat :patriot:. And I will if he runs again in 2008. He is awesome. He is a war veteran hero, investigative attorney, Senator, hard working, honest, courageous and a real fighter with moral integrity. Yes, he is human. He is not Superman or Jesus, but he is pretty darn good. Maybe he doesn't fight the way we sometimes think he should; he is much more deep and cerebral than we can imagine, his patience is endless, and he knows the evil he is facing with the Bushies and this Rethug administration (remember BCCI and Iran/Contra/CIA/Drugs scandal). They haven't stopped. The high crimes and misdemeanors go on and on.

Kerry won the election, but the Bush Crime Family and Rethug Crime Syndicate stole the election from the Democrats 2X now!!! If you don't believe this and really know this in your heart, then you haven't been paying attention. We did the right things. Stop beating ourselves with this whining.

They were going to steal this election no matter what and no matter who was running against them. They have soooo much to hide and so much on the line: 9-11, war profiteering, it is all about peak oil, and the crimes go on and on.

Stolen elections were child's play. Just wait until the proverbial doo-doo really hits the fan and impeachment gets into everyone's mind.

It is beginning too. Keep pushing it.

The truth will come out. Real investigations will occur. This nightmare will end. Truth and righteousness will prevail. And then we will be free. Hold fast people.

NGU

[saracat]

41. Thank you .What a wonderful uplifting post!

[politicasista]

43. You guys are right on the money with your comments

I feel the same way.