I am actually sad about Kerry bowing out of the 2008 race.

[MessiahRp]

I think this race more than any before is about having as many different voices to choose from as possible. Especially with the media rushing to annoint Hillary our candidate without any of us casting a single vote for her.

John Kerry, when not having his campaign overrun by DLC Clintonites, could have brought some very strong messages to the race. He is articulate, passionate and has been fighting for us especially hard since the 2004 election. He had raised a ton of money for other Democratic candidates and he has been a hard hitter against Bush and his nominees in every committee meeting he has sat in on.

It's a shame that he was told not to fight back against the swift boaters or that supposed Democrat James Carville devulged his entire Ohio legal strategy to his wife who gave it to Bush so they could get Blackwell to scam the election results there.

He should have won in 2004 and has fought hard for us ever since. Somehow though even here on Democratic Underground he was made into a worthless punching bag.

I for one will always respect Mr. Kerry. I will look back fondly at my brief meetings with him, how hard I worked for him on the campaign trail beginning in June 2003. And I will remember how hard he has fought against this Administration and for Democrats in the last primary.

I think we owe him a bit more gratitude than all the snickering going on here. Quite disrespectful, IMO.

Was I going to vote for him in 2008? I'm not sure. But it would have been nice to have his voice in the discussion.

Rp

[kimmerspixelated]

1. Exactly.

[burythehatchet]

2. Well said

I would not have supported him in the primaries but I do like him and I too felt a bit saddened.

[MADem]

3. I think he made the decision when OBAMA announced, Why not 'blame' him?

There were just too many heavyweights and charismatic types competing for money. The field was already too large. He waited too long, probably because he knew in his heart that he wasn't going to go for it. He waited to see if the inspiration came, and it just wasn't there.

When Obama announced, followed by Hillary, that was the one-two punch. He'd already been kicked in the balls with the "John Carey Eye-Rack" nonsense, that swiftboating part deux that they did to him about the 'botched joke.'

You can't win without money, and those were two major money bleeders, right there. Then, you've got Dodd, Vilsack, and so on, and it becomes tough to hang on to your donor base. All politics IS local, and donors tend to support the one from their home state if they can.

Anyone who does any snickering here is a fucking asshole. And that is the most polite thing I can think to say about people who insult JFK, frankly.

That's one fine Democrat, our John Kerry. He's got lots more to do in the Senate. Look at Ted Kennedy. He ran for President, too, badly, and it didn't end his career. In fact, his best days were ahead of him after that failed run....I think Kerry's best days are ahead of him, too.

[Stevepol]

4. I liked him a lot and I really thought he would stand against the voting machine cabal.

I can understand the pressures he was under from the likes of Chris Dodd who claimed that "We've looked into this (the voting machine fraud issue) and there's nothing to it."

I have to say I was very disappointed he didn't make a fight of it. I think he could have been one of the great heroes of American history if he'd fought tooth and nail with his lawyers and war chest to demand recounts and accounting of all the irregularities in OH and FL.

But I think it's expecting too much of him perhaps. He's very courageous in hiw way and had a very distinguished career and his heart is definitely in the right place. Having his voice in the primaries would have been a definite plus, but he's looking toward his own future I guess.

I doubt that we've heard the last of him. Maybe RFK Jr can get him to open his eyes to the voting machine scam and con game that's being played out in every election system around the country, the biggest such scam in American history and maybe world history. If he would lend his voice for this cause he could change world history.

[blue cat]

5. Me too

He is my all time favorite, since I was a little girl.

[Parche]

6. KERRY

I agree with everything you said
I am sad today because of his announcement................

[sandnsea]

7. Maybe he thinks his voice will be more credible

if he isn't running. For all the reasons you stated. I don't think he's going to ride into the sunset, I know his supporters won't. Also, he and Teresa have a great book coming out about the PEOPLE in this country who are doing great work on the environment. So that'll be a good thing too. Maybe it'll work out better in the end, if we can get just one candidate who is as altruistic as he is.

[bklyncowgirl]

8. H e's a good man who in a gentler world would have made a fine president.

I think that he was unprepared to deal with the viciousness of the opposition and as such was not prepared to deal with the political reality.

p.s. Any weirdness in this post is due to the fact that my cat is attempting to type along with me.