John Kerry: a political hero, a brave and a decent man. THis man could have been the one to save our country, to save our freedom, to save our peace and too save countries overall well-being. It is interesting how not one person has mentioned a nice thing about this hero. And how use of dramtization has come to defend in Bush's honor. I dont think anyone reading, or writing on this woould enjoy serving four months in vietnam. He did not leave due to 3 minor injuries, thats malarky. He had no one to defend for him, and there wasnt a way for him to take a shortcut(unlike some) through this war. He had 3 wounds resulting in him having to leave. Now on to the hero part, he has earned Purple hearts, which no matter how you want to say it he earned by risking his life for some one esles, mock that how you want, but its the truth. He then came back to fight for what he had beleived in, peace and he isnt to blame after being in the war, he saw what no man should see: ruthless killing. He fought for something from his heart, and went out of his way to stop it. Once possible to run for congress he did, throughout his career he continued to fight for all those years. He did not just barely "slip" through college, he was a great student, and a leader(in college he learned to speak, also unlike some others). He is in no way a bad person and anyone willing to mock him too partisan and has to make up things to get to a point. In many of you being republicans, as I can see, dont look at someone as a bad person for what they beleive, give them a chance.

A man who has been fighting for truth for over 35 years. He is a patriot and a great American. John Kerry is a hero to many in this country but this isn't widely publicized by the media. Senator Kerry has become a grassroots hero since the election in 2004 because he has continued to fight for American civil liberties and integrity in government.

A man who has been fighting for truth for over 35 years. He is a patriot and a great American. John Kerry is a hero to many in this country but this isn't widely publicized by the media. Senator Kerry has become a grassroots hero since the election in 2004 because he has continued to fight for American civil liberties and integrity in government.

John Kerry has spent a lifetime both fighting corruption and being targeted by the corrupt.

After his service in Vietnam, Kerry took a stance against the war and Richard Nixon targeted him for his Vietnam protest activities. President Nixon, (aka Tricky Dick) can be heard in taped conversations ordering that his staff to "take down the young demagogue" (aka John Kerry). The individual they chose to lead their attack dog was another Vietnam veteran. This same individual, although unsuccessful in thwarting Kerry and the Vietnam protest in 1971, reemerged during the 2004 presidential election to once again attack Kerry, this time with a lot of conservative money behind him. Sam Fox, recent recess apointment by George W. Bush, personally gave 50K to the "swifties". The trail of the swift-boating campaign was thinly veiled and led back to the GOP and even to White House "Rasputin" Karl Rove, who sent a letter thanking the "swift-boaters" for their help during the election.

Prior to his election as Lt. Governor of Massachusetts and his election to the United States Senate, John Kerry served as Assistant District Attorney where he initiated special units to fight organized crime and white-collar crime. He was one of the first victim advocates, starting programs to council rape victims and other crime victims. Kerry put a notorious local mobster behind bars and won convictions in other important cases, including one high profile rape case. "“I always had a prosecutor’s mind and a prosecutor’s bent," Kerry was quoted as saying in a New Yorker interview.

In the Senate, Kerry continued his war on corruption, taking on an investigatory role that led to the exposé of the Iran-Contra scandal, which was a particularly nasty episode in recent history. Accused drug runners, who were shipping guns to the Nicaraguan Contras, claimed they were under orders of the National Security Council. The implication was that the administration, or at least the National Security Council, turned a blind eye to the drug running. There were attempts to derail Kerry’s investigation, but the scandal was ultimately brought to light. President Reagan's military aide, Oliver North was tried on sixteen felony counts, convicted on three and later had all charges dismissed by the Supreme Court. Today he is a conservative commentator on Fox News. The Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America, Elliott Abrams, pleaded guilty to a felony for lying about foreign funding for the Contras. He was later pardoned by the George Bush Sr. and was appointed by George W. Bush in 2005 as National Security Advisor for Global Democracy Strategy.

During the Iran-Contra investigation, Kerry pursued the financing for the South American drug cartels and the investigation led to the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), a powerful, international institution that was eventually exposed as a front for drug running, money laundering and terrorism. Kerry faced strong opposition from the Reagan and Bush administrations and also from powerful members of his own party who did not want him to pursue his investigation. The covert goal of the BCCI was to finance the destruction of Western influence and as part of its goal financed numerous Muslim terrorist organizations. There were alleged CIA connections and a vast web of BCCI corruption that may not be entirely known for generations. Kerry probed further and delved into the connection between drug trafficking and terrorism. In "The New War, the Web of Crime that Threatens America's Security", which Kerry wrote in 1997, he warned of the increasing threat from terrorists.

While Kerry did not win the presidency in 2004, he remains in the Senate, fighting with even more vigor, the corruption that has our country in a stranglehold. And the attacks on him continue as one might expect.

Truly great American. He fought for our country in the Vietnam War, and then, in 2004, fought for our country against the Sinister Monkey.

the man who should be running our country right now! he is intelligent, courageous, and compasionate. he fights for whats right and for the people.

John Kerry is one of the toughest, smartest senators in Congress. When he's not battling the narrow-minded neocon agenda in the Senate, he's holding the Bush Administration's feet to the fire, championing the rights of the average American, speaking and writing on the environment, pushing for a swift end to the war in Iraq, pushing for extended veterans benefits, social justice, world security, fair trade, worker's rights, Internet freedom, helping small business and other important issues.

Kerry is a strong and loyal Democrat and lifelong environmentalist, who was involved in the first Earth Day in 1971, and who continues to fight for our earth over the interests of big oil. With his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, the senator has just written a book entitled "This Moment on Earth" which tells the stories of ordinary folks who are making a difference by rolling up their sleeves and doing their part to clean and protect our earth.

Kerry has also been one of the first to call for a timeline to withdraw our troops from Iraq. With Senators Feingold and Boxer, he co-authored the Kerry-Feingold Bill in 2006. Kerry has been one of the most outspoken against George W. Bush's failed policy in Iraq and was the first senator to call for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation.

A man who has been fighting for truth for over 35 years. He is a patriot and a great American. John Kerry is a hero to many in this country but this isn't widely publicized by the media. Senator Kerry has become a grassroots hero since the election in 2004 because he has continued to fight for American civil liberty and integrity in government.

The Kerry detractor comments are TERRIFYING. Having just graduated from an great prep school I was lucky to be able to attend and finished two consecutive intensive US History and political science courses, these comments seem lifted straight out of everything from the Salem Witch trials to Orwell's 1984.
Someone said that Kerry is wealthier than Bush, and therefore could not legislate in any way benefiting the indigent. This seems almost too ridiculous to be sincere, but factually, all you need to do is look up pending legislation before the Senate Subcomittee on Finance and you'll see a bill Kerry has written this year called the Kids First Act which provides healthcare for children who fall below Medicaid and SCHIP cutoffs by rolling back Bush's taxcuts for people who make over 300, 000 dollars a year.
Erica says that there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Even George W admits that there aren't. You've gotta stop watching so much Fox News, Erica, but it's not just you-- 46 percent of Fox viewers believe that there is a direct link between Iraq and Al-Queda, as compared to only 9 percent of PBS viewers. Also, I don't know where you learned US Government and Policy, but obviously Senators do not have the authority to issue purple hearts to themselves or anyone else.
I'd love Boekenoogen to get back to me about Kerry receiving purple hearts for "splinters" when he gets back from a tour of duty in, say, Tel Aviv, gets shot at by insurgents, and saves a fellow soldiers life. It's not an opinion but a fact that Kerry saved a soldier’s life in the Mekong Delta under fire; his military records were released about a month ago. Yes, he should have released them during the campaign, but he didn't want to kowtow to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth who were OFFICIALLY, FACTUALLY LYING. I agree he was a poor campaigner, but didn't think it would take much to see the character and dignity behind a non-response.
The number of homophobic slurs made by Kerry's detractors speaks for itself.
Kerry does have higher education; he has a JD from BC.
For all the people who said Kerry has no stance on issues, briefly they are (as per the New York Times, the Atlantic, the New Yorker, aka not exceptionally obscure pieces of journalism) federally funded adoption of elimination of SCHIP and Medicaid cutoffs in exchange for states providing coverage for those who fall below 300 percent below the poverty level, making Iraq's borders less porous, making use of the tribal, ethnic and religious militias in Iraq like the Kurdish pesh merga by integrating them into a National-Guard esque force that secures specific provinces, leaving gay marriage up to the states, providing more security for America's borders (under Bush, 95 percent of cargo comes in uninspected), putting more cops on the streets, and paying for it all by rolling back the trillions of dollars in tax cuts Bush has given to the wealthy.
Tradesman seems to be blithely oblivious to reality. He says Kerry isn't a war veteran. Everyone but Tradesman should obviously see that as incorrect. His claim that Kerry can know nothing about fighting for the "little people" shows complete ignorance of the economic theory and applicability behind Bush and Kerry's respective economic policies.
My favorite comment is from John-John. He calls Kerry, "as stupid as they come." He also spells the word, "four" incorrectly.
I find it interesting that some said Democrats are eroding people's basic rights. The Patriot Act was a Donald Rumsfeld slice of 1984, Republicans in office all over the country have mandated teaching creationism in science classes claiming that all viewpoints must be presented, yet forbidden health classes to educate students on contraception, National Identification Cards are under proposal from a Republican Legislature..... Democrats certainly are not interested in infringing upon the factual rights presented in the Bill of Rights.
Anyone who thinks Teresa could fund her husbands campaign any more than Carlyle Group could have funded Bush's doesn't know anything about campaign finance law.
Someone called Teresa a "numbskull." I have to wonder-- do YOU know seven languages?
Radical Republican really did a good job of mocking several other conservative posters' excellent point that Democrats do need to stop mocking everyone who doesn't agree with them as illiterate, inbred rednecks, and that political allegiances shouldn't be based on petty character traits. Mocking Kerry's Boston accent? He's FROM Boston and mocking someone's geographical status completely detracts from the good points made the other Republicans. And before he gets too excited about Iraqi elections, RR should also consider that the Vietcong allowed elections in 1967.
I really like Chester though, who seems to really hate Kerry as.... president. Yep, he actually calls Kerry the president.

I'll be a freshman at Harvard in the fall, and a main reason I chose the school is because I want to work for Kerry in his Boston office. What I, an 18-year-old girl, perceive him to be is clearly different from many other Americans. But my perception is based on extensive questioning my conviction and years of intensive study on the subject of US History and Government. I pride myself on not forming political allegiances based on which candidate is the most affable to the average American voter, and not writing off a candidate because he seems Brahmin or aloof.

John Kerry is a true American who knows that ignoring nuance does not make it go away, and that "When Americans stand up to speak their mind that America can do better, that is not a challenge to patriotism, it is the heart and soul of patriotism."

I cannot think of anything more American than that statement. And to anyone who disagrees with that, I ask you to go back to your history book and look up how America freed itself from colonization and became sovereign. America was BORN of dissent, and from asking the Senate, "how do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" to championing dissent in his DNC acceptance speech, nobody understands that more than John Kerry.