My vote is no longer an ABB vote, but a vote FOR Kerry

[Zuni]

I was honestly very impressed with his debate performance. He knew the facts up and down, exuded a calm and confident manner, and seemed...Presidential.

[NMDemDist2]

1. hehehe, I told ya so!

:evilgrin:

[Free2BMe]

2. I so wish we would get thousands of undvoters joining us here!!!

[wryter2000]

3. I moved away from ABB toward Kerry long ago

However, I found myself telling my husband the other night, "Oh, please, I want this man as my president." I'd never felt that strongly before. I also believe that of all the candidates he was the best one to go up against the forces of evil. As much as I still adore my guy, I don't think he could have pulled it off.

[Zuni]

6. I cannot imagine anyone else performing better in the debates

As much as I liked Dean and Clark in the primaries, Kerry did fantastic when the heat was on.
After the kind of treatment he had gotten in the press and from the Bush surrogates like SBVT---he turned the campaign around through pure skill.

[klook]

4. I'm a convert, too

The debates plus the profiles of Bush & Kerry on Frontline this past week. The guy has a truly outstanding record of public service, is hyperintelligent, and is a relentless fighter for what's right. I think we could all use a dose of that.

[Parche]

5. kerry

i was always for Kerry, for almost 2years now, I could see
it!!!!
He is the one

JOHN KERRY PRESIDENT 2004

[UrbScotty]

7. I'm no longer reluctant to support Kerry either.

Nine months ago I was like, "Howard Dean is the only candidate who can win."

Not only CAN Kerry win, I bet he will.

[Mr_Spock]

8. The first debate did that for me - he really kicked ass and took names

He IS the man for the job, not some "awe shucks" chimp-boy shrugging as he can't remember his own name.

[kwolf68]

9. Welcome to the team

I have admired this man for a long long time.

I admit and will tell people who doubt him...Just give it time, like a fine wine Senator Kerry will win you over. Acquired taste or no, its much better than Black Label Beer.

(apologies for the extremely cheasy analogy)

[Weembo]

12. Me too

I am a recent convert from the "forest that is no more" -- i.e., moderate republicans. I was not swayed by debates. I was convinced when I took the time to read the plans, to read the policies, to read the positions, and to come to the undeniable truth that the republican party, and its leader, are morally, mentally and emotionally bankrupt. Damn, my tree-hugging wife was right all along . . . .

[newyawker99]

13. Hi Weembo!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[faithnotgreed]

10. i love kerry! take that dana milbank and the rest of the media

i love john kerry, will be proud to vote for him and am sooooo looking forward to his presidency. i havent liked a "politician" this much since jimmy carter

with kerry plus his team of howard dean, robert kennedy jr, wes clark, eliot spitzer, plus some help in congress - oh do we need you to restore democracy and equality and SANITY to our country!

[pacalo]

11. If it was his debating expertise that impressed you,

you'll be even more impressed after having seen the PBS documentary about both Kerry & his running mate, the coWard. It runs again tonight at 9 pm (eastern) AND it is available online:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/choice2004/

This is a keeper!

[americanwomanone]

14. Up Until a Few Weeks Ago

I was an ABB voter too. Once I watched the debates and actually heard John Kerry I no longer was ABB. He can restore some honor to not only the citizens of this country but to the way we appear to the rest of the world. That clown in the White House now needs to go! He can ride out on his pet goat!

[Bongo Prophet]

15. I think you show good judgment.

An excerpt of a letter I wrote to Milbank and Olbermann, which expresses my personal journey...

I have followed Senator Kerry’s career a bit, being a freelance artist working at the computer, with c-span on most of the day. So I was aware of his investigatory roles in BCCI and exposure of Iran/Contra. This made me somewhat of a fan early. I also watched much of the POW hearings and the move toward reconciliation with Vietnam. Again, my admiration grew, and grading on a “politician’s curve” I would rank him up high along with the likes of Wellstone, Henry Gonzalez, etc.

So the Bush smears were of some concern to me, and I felt somewhat frustrated by the fact that his story was not given any airplay leading up to the convention. Around this time, c-span aired an old tape of Kerry vs. O’neill on the Dick Cavett show. I was stunned, as I realized I had first seen Kerry as a teenager of about 13. I remembered how proud I was of soldiers who came back to take on the government that had sent them to kill and die for ideological reasons with dubious justification. All the while using the war for power and profit. I knew he was one of a group of heroes who might save my younger age group from having to suffer through what they had suffered.
This prompted me to read Brinkley’s “Tour of Duty” and by that time I was TOTALLY sold on John Kerry.
As I went through this process and shared with various friends and web forum colleagues, I saw that it was only lack of information that was causing his tepid support. As he was improving his speaking skills, like a ball player early in the season, his base of strong support was slowly learning about a lifetime of amazing achievement and character. I saw “strong military” types admiring his service and support of Veterans, the Dean and Kucinich supporters admiring his anti-war activism, and so on. I saw the same light go off in peoples’ heads, as it did mine, when the magnitude of a life of service revealed to them just what an historical opportunity we had before us with Kerry as president. A Kennedy without the philandering, a Lincoln without the depression. And surely better secret service protection. Someone who has vision, and can fight smart and heal wounds at the same time.

Rest assured, we will never worship Kerry as the right worships their strong macho warlord. After all, democrats are much more prone to argue amongst themselves than fall in step with any leader. This is simultaneously a strength and a weakness. But in John Kerry we have a leader that more and more of us would be willing to stand up to the fiercest attacks by macho, bullying Rovian thugs, to fight for justice when (not if) the right wants to deny the legitimacy of our votes. And then, to stand together and heal the wounds caused by the belligerent attitudes raised with our rush to war in Iraq. Gone will be the crackdown on dissent, the free speech zones, the “watch what you say” clampdown. Instead we will be moving toward an energy independence, an emphasis on new technologies and scientific progress rather than stumbling toward a new dark age, where ideology trumps enquiry.