Hello, I'm new here and glad to find this group!

[holiday]

A little about myself. When it started getting close to election time and looking as though John Kerry was going to be the candidate for the democratic party I started paying attention and checking out both candidates to see who I wanted to vote for. I didn't consider myself a democrat or a republican. I never cared for Bush, to me, he just never seem qualified to be president. But I was open to voting for either.

Well the more I read about Bush the more I strongly disliked him and was shocked by what he says and does. The more I read about John Kerry the more I was amazed by him! It was clear real fast who I was voting for. I was very happy with John and the more I read the more I realized I was a democrat all the way.

Never once during election time did John Kerry ever embarass me (which really Bush supporters can't say the same kwim? Bush is always embarassing). He was always cool, intelligent, classy etc. He always made me proud. Even though he didn't "win" the election I'm still extremely proud that I voted for him. He was awesome during the debates. After awhile I started noticing how handsome he is, what a great personality he has. From all the interviews and articles about him I started sensing that he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. He really cares about world suffering. He is everything a president should be.

I hope one day I get to meet him. He is the politician I admire most! I'm so glad I found other people like me! And I love DU.

I would love for him to run again in 2008 but the gloves need to come off.. there were so many things his campaign team could have pounced on and didn't.

[JI7]

1. your story is similar to many

the more people get to know him the more they love him.

the election was so close that any small number of things could have tipped it in Kerry's favor. one of the biggest was probably the lack of advertising in conservative areas, particularly the rural areas. while Bush would probably end up winning these areas anyways i think if the campaign had put out their message they would have chipped away at some of the support Bush got. some Kerry supporters in rural areas said how the republicans were running ads saying things like Kerry will put in a government controlled health care which takes away choices from the people, or that Kerry would raise taxes so much they would not be able to afford to pay them and end up losing their property. the same old lies republicans always use.

the Kerry campaign should have done something to get out their side and advertised in places where rural voters get their news info such as talk radio or local papers.

the republicans also did things such as go out to the amish areas to get their support. most democrats just laughed at it as pathetic but it turns out the amish did come out to vote for Bush based on things like abortion and gays. if the Kerry people had gone and told them about some of the crap bush had done it would at the least have kept some of them from voting at all.

[holiday]

3. there is also

so much dirt out there about Bush I wonder why it was never exposed and brought out.

Bush administration I thought treated Kerry deplorably. Kerry is an honorable man and the stuff they pulled with the swift boat liars is just disgusting.

I give Kerry props for going back into the senate and continuing the fight. So many of the administration is lap dogs for Bush and so corrupt.

[ginnyinWI]

2. welcome, holiday!

You've come to the right place, looks like to me.

Most of us have had similar experiences--and once you "get" John Kerry you tend to be hooked! We call ourselves "Kerrycrats" in this forum, because we believe in JK all the way. You are right, he has always conducted himself with integrity, and that's why we love and trust him. We are heartbroken over his "loss" (many of us believe he would have won had the votes been counted properly).

I know the current thinking is that he could have attacked Bush more strongly during the campaign. I have tapes of speeches and rallies and was watching one from Labor Day last night--he was cleaning Bush's clock for him--remember the "W stands for wrong" thing? So I don't know. I will say that Bush had a great team to help him market his "brand", and that, along with people being scared of terrorists and war, made people not want to change presidents. But at least half of us were scared NOT to change presidents! And I'm still scared for this country now.

So welcome--what part of the country are you from, and how old are you? Most of us have shared that info. I'm from Wisconsin (duh) and am 52.

[holiday]

4. I am

29 years old... I live in *OHIO* ahhhh... And I have 3 kids and mostly stay home with them but do work about 8-15 hours a week at a jewerly store and love it.

I truly think that Kerry really won the election, if everything was counted properly and the people who wanted to vote could without having to wait 10 hours to do so. Can you imagine the amount of people that seen the long lines that wouldve voted for Kerry but left? I cried for days when Kerry "lost". I still get upset about it. I couldn't even listen to the song "Mosh" for awhile. I was so filled with hope during election time and so energized. Getting my daily Kerry fixes and seeing him on t.v. I was glued to him when he talked. His voice is awesome and so strong and what he said was so clear and intelligent. Yes I'm hooked!

[ginnyinWI]

5. yeah his voice and his eloquence

we had a thread going yesterday about his voice...very soothing, reassuring, fatherly, kind.

[Sydnie]

8. What's not to love about a man like this?

Welcome to the group holiday and to DU and to the Dem party too!

[JI7]

11. i remember that event

i watched it on cspan live . it was a "front porch" style town hall meeting . i loved the part where he picked up this baby who was the son of a muslim man who asked about religious tolerance. and Kerry was holding the baby and talking about the innocence of children of all religions. it was cute because the baby kept grabbing Kerry's tie and microphone attached to it.

there were some Bush supporters who came by and were trying to disrupt the events. when the event was over and Kerry was walking back to his car he passed by some of these Republicans and he was waving at them. the republicans looked like idiots because they probably thought Kerry would ignore them or return insults as Bush would probably do.but Kerry looked classy and presidential. and this guy in the pick looked impressed and he leaned over to shake Kerry's hand as did a few other republicans.

[ginnyinWI]

12. I saw it live, too

He was so great with that baby--knew just how to hold her and talked to her, etc. A human touch--if only more could have seen it.

The other part of that talk that I thought good was when a plane flew by and he looked up, and then joked that "all the veterans here" looked up at the same time by reflex. (I think he meant all the combat veterans.) Another window into the man.

[Sydnie]

13. I think that is the single best photo of the whole campaign

I think it sums up our man so well. The whole image and what it represents -- the hands reaching across the wall of difference... that's that I think of when I see this pic. Neither side giving in to reach farther than the other, both standing their ground yet both able to span the reach with ease and dignity and respect for each other. That is how our country should be, not torn apart and at each others throats.

If we just work to make this the reality for all of us, what a wonderful world it could be!

[whometense]

14. Welcome, holiday!!

And by the way, for those who still haven't seen a picture of Kerry's body guy Marvin and are curious, this one is great. That's him standing just to the left of JK in Sydnie's picture.

[TayTay]

18. Yup, that our Marvin

I just love the whole story about him. It's so Kerryesque to keep Marvin around. I love that whole thing; where he just started talking to the guy at the windsurfing store, found a likeminded soul and gave him a job. (Not just a job, but a job wherein you know everything that goes on in all the details. Marvin is always with Kerry. When did he go on the payroll cuz it seems like he's been there a long time. If John Kerry every does or when he does become Pres, Marvin is going to get a hell of a book deal, let me tell ya.) Marvin was the one guy Kerry immediately took back to DC with him after the loss. He's still there, figuring out what the boss needs and doing it.

Something about that just tickles me no end. It's so damn human. I know Kerry can be a bit difficult with staffers from time to time, as passionate people are wont to be, but Marvin just waits for the steam to blow over and then is just still there. That's so cool! I want a Marvin, I really do. That would be great!

Who pays his salary? I think Teresa does, as Marvin makes sure that all the little necessaries are done for JK. (Keeps him on diet, makes sure all the regular stuff gets done, etc.) Again, it's just me, but I love that he is there. Someone just found one day, then completely trusted with all that access and news and personalities. Just trusted. So human.

[elshiva]

24. Thank you for that, photo Sydnie,

Diplomacy begins at home.

[JI7]

6. i think the problem was getting the message out

Kerry himself at various rallies and other events would do a good job of going after Bush. but mostly it's the people who attend those rallies and people like us who pay attention that hear it.

but the others who aren't very much into politics usually don't hear it.

one of the things republicans do is get a few things to attack their opponents on and get almost every republican to keep repeating it.

the democrats on the other hand will criticize but it wont be a coordinated effort like republicans. some will go on to critize on something about health care, or iraq, or education etc.

what they need to do is to get all democrats to keep repeating the same few things as republicans do that way it could get into people's heads. the flip flop attack on kerry wasn't a result of just one criticism but of every asshole republican repeating it even when the issue had nothing to do with kerry they would just respond with kerry is a flip flopper.

[holiday]

9. oh i agree... republican talking points at its finest but they have

so much media in their hands to promote those talking points. unfortuantely the dems don't have as many outlets.

[ginnyinWI]

10. I think the Dems are starting to get it together now

although they are late, they'd better get coordinated if we are going to win any more elections. That, and election reform.

They (all the Dems) could have gone with the main theme that Bush is a failure--and then elaborated on that in a hundred different ways. The word "failure" should have been used consistently each time. And then some Dems actually would criticize Kerry or the campaign--not good! I couldn't believe they would do that in the middle of a campaign. Bad enough that cable news is toasting Kerry on the grill every night. And the main networks weren't giving enough coverage at all. They'd give him a 30 second clip on the nightly news. So we had negative coverage on cable, and hardly any on the networks. Cspan was the only place you could see anything in depth. People could see Bush doing things every day, even though badly. Still they felt he was a known quantity. Kerry they didn't know. Most people don't pay that much attention to politics.

[TheDonkey]

7. Welcome!

Kerry is one of my favorite politicians. I'm really proud to have been on his side during this fight, just wish the conclusion could have been better... BUT it isn't over yet.

[angrydemocrat]

15. Welcome! We Are Always Happy To Have Another Kerrycrat.

Everyone here as you can tell loves John Kerry! Kerry is a very caring, intelligent, articilate, and very knowledgable man. Kerry is a man who has a history of fighting for what he believes in, wether it was "popular" or not. While mistakes were made by his campaign, Kerry received more votes than any other Democrat in history and it was against a war time president on top of that, coming within one state of winning the Presidency.

Kerry will stay very relevent in the Democratic party and he will be the champion for all those opposed to the Bush agenda. And everyone was in total shock that a lying incompetent idiot like Bush won. But people need to also consider especially those who are so quick to bash Kerry, how difficult it is to unseat any incumbent President during war time, while American troops are engaged in ground combat overseas. It is unprecedented. In that light Kerry's performace shines. He came closer than anyone ever has under the circumstances, despite the dishonest, dishonorable campaign waged against him.

Kerry is the champion we all need and want. He will be there through good time and bad for all of us. And while he continues his fight and support for all us we have to do the same for him and as you see everyone here in the Kerry group does. Kerry is a man realizes his mistakes and learns from them. And come 2008 Kerry will have another shot and be more known to all Americans. Kerry also has the advantage as he has experienced running a large campaign along with a staff that battled all the way to the end and would be much better prepared for 2008.

Again welcome!

[sandnsea]

16. That was so insiring!

It's rare to have someone post on DU who was wide open to choose either Bush or Kerry before the election. I think JK is really a great human being too, a cut above the rest which is what the President is supposed to be. I don't know what was up with the media, but I wish they had told the story of people like you. There were alot of DUers who came around to Kerry after actually getting to know about him or seeing him speak. I just don't understand how people can miss his genuine concern for people and the world. Welcome!!

[JI7]

17. he did win over a lot of people after the debates

and after the convention also. but especially the debates since it was the first time many people saw a side by side comparison of the two candidates.

if they were able to see the candidates as they truly are such as in the debates the entire time then Kerry would have won easily.

if there were no debates then Kerry would have got much less votes than he ended up getting.

it's a shame the problem was that people could not just see Kerry as he was unless they actually took the time to learn about him or saw him for themselves.

but the election was so close that i'm upset with the campaign for not doing a few small things which would most likely have turned the election in Kerry's favor such as bringing up his work as a prosecutor and his senate investigations. and just advertising in rural areas to chip away at bush's support.

[sandnsea]

19. I agree

But the media is responsible for telling the truth too, and all they did was tow the Bush line. I got an email from one Salon reporter about a month before the election who insisted he was reporting what he was seeing and hearing. Well how come I never heard that boring, aloof, crap from peopole after I went to a Kerry event? Maybe reporters are a clique too and none of them wants to be sneered at by reporting anything different. Who knows.

[JI7]

21. yes, they really are a clique

have you ever seen their parties for publicity things like a book release or some other events. i imagine some of the liberal leaning ones feel a need to insult or be more negative on the democrats they report on just to stay on the good side of the rest of them.

just look at Dan Rather and all the crap he got. what is the name of that guy who got famous reporting the first gulf war on CNN ? he got in trouble also for saying something that goes agianst the administration line when reporting on nbc i think and they fired him.

there was a poll done on hotel and other service workers in iowa during the primary campaign and it showed that Kerry was seen as the most friendly and thankful of all the candidates.

and Mark Shields recently wrote a column called "the John Kerry i never knew" which starts off mentioning some stereotypes about Kerry such as him being too much into his looks but the rest of the article is about Kerry and his relationship with a learning disabled kid. why wasn't this reported during the campaign .

all the true stories of Kerry we know are positive. the elitist aloof crap comes from people who never even met him. the same with Bush who we hear the "wants to have a beer" crap from those who never met him but those who do have talked of him as an asshole.

[TayTay]

22. The Bushes are awful

I know people who have catered parties for them in Kennebunkport, ME and they always have trouble getting paid. Plus you feel like a low level service employee with them. The help is never supposed to talk to the Family. The help is supposed to look on them as God's friggin gift to Maine and make sure they are not seen except when absolutely necessary. I know people who will NEVER work for them again. They just hate them. A nasty, stuck-up bunch of greedy, self-involved bastards. And that is their good side. I have never heard a worker say anything nice about them, particularly Barbara, the grand dame of the Family. What a bitch.

One of my favorite things that happened during the campaign was the Maine Dems who took over a store front in Kennebunkport and renamed the town Kerrybunkport. (They had a huge sign over the store. Very in-your-face type stuff. LMAO!) A lot of Mainers hate the Family. They are so obnoxious. And they won't even acknowledge their New England roots. (We don't want to acknowledge them either.) We are from Texas. Then get the hell out and let us fumigate the place. (They can't do that. They are obsessed with their 'heritage' and 'roots' in NE. Bastards. What a bunch of phoneys.)

[TayTay]

20. Welcome, Welcome

'tis a distinct pleasure.

I did find myself wondering many times last year where the Kerry I had voted for ever since '82 was in that campaign. Presidential elections are so damn long, you would think the media would have found the time to ask a few people in MA what this guy was like, why he got elected 4 times to the Senate and such. But it never happened.

I kept hoping that at some time or another I might see a story about the human being who was running for Pres. I remember Kerry back in '84, standing near the Park Street station, thanking voters coming out of the station for voting for him. After the election. (Hard to miss him, he is so tall. Stands out in a crowd.) Where was the funny guy, who stood up to all the wiseguy commentators who gave him good-humored (and not good-humored) grief and he gave back as good as he got. Where was the passionate fighter for truth in government, that guy who was stirred to the very depths of his soul by the lying that went on in the Vietnam era and stood up and said no to it. I saw the media cutout version of a 'Massachusetts liberal,' cold, dispassionate, aloof (grrrrr) and unable to connect with ordinary voters. Tis a crock. This is one tough man, he has put up with a lot over the years. A lot.

Maybe Mark Shields column last week is the beginning of a media turnaround. Maybe somebody besides us longtime Massholes and campaign workers will come forward and say, hey, take another look. This is a good man. This is a guy who could have walked away from public life after that nasty Congressional race, but he didn't. (He had all the connections to be a successful private attorney or go into lucrative private business. But he didn't.) I hope that next time somebody asks us, asks some people who he has helped to make a few statements. We do know this guy, we have 'seen his heart' and he is a good man. He would make an outstanding President. The country would be a better place.

[elshiva]

23. Welcome, holiday, God bless you

My name is elshiva. I live in Maryland. I am a proud Derryiac (Dean and Kerry maniac). Keep posting, you're doing a fine job.

[saracat]

25. Welcome Holiday. Glad to have you.

And thank you for a great post!