John Kerry's college years

[JI7]

"Thorne and others who knew Kerry when he was at Yale from 1962 to 1966 describe a young man who was a contradictory mix of seriousness and impish risk-taking.

They remember him flying planes out of Tweed-New Haven Airport, driving his white Volkswagen on the sidewalks of New Haven to beat lines of traffic and drawing the attention of New Haven police officers when he climbed a tree on York Street to rescue his pet parakeet, Dodie N. Faustus.

But Kerry was so intent on his studies that he would regularly get up at 5 in the morning to hit the books. He was also president of the Yale Political Union and a dedicated Yale debate team member who researched the topics for many hours beforehand.
"(Then-President) John F. Kennedy was speaking on the New Haven Green," Bundy said. "I think I was heckling Kennedy about his sex life. John came over and tried to make me stop."

Kerry idolized Kennedy, whom he met when he dated Jacqueline Kennedy’s half-sister, Janet Auchincloss.

Thorne remembered that on Nov. 22, 1963, he and Kerry were playing soccer against Princeton when word filtered down to the bench that Kennedy had been assassinated.

"John was white as a sheet," Thorne said. "He went off by himself, to church."

"John spent the weekend about 4 feet away from the little black-and-white TV we had in our room," Bundy said. "He was absolutely dumbstruck."

But Kerry remained idealistic and, like many of his classmates, signed up to serve in Vietnam. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy, served in Vietnam and won a Bronze Star and a Silver Star."

http://www.newhavenregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10306604&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=6

[dkf]

1. Did you read the article from the same series on Dean?

Just curious what you thought when comparing the two.

Edit: Link

http://www.newhavenregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10306602&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=6

[DrFunkenstein]

2. A Few Thoughts

His intramural gridiron feats — Dean was an offensive lineman — also came to mind, mainly because he was game enough to take on much bigger players.

"I was impressed that he dove in there and did it because you take a beating playing football like that," said Jeffrey Knight, 53, a marketing consultant in California.

Didn't he have some crippling back problem that earned him a doctor's note for the draft board?

"He was a very, and I’m not going to say charismatic, because he wasn’t that, but a very powerful personality," Brooks said. "He had a great deal of curiosity about the world."

I'll buy that.

"He found amusement in people who pontificated and didn’t have much patience with that sort of thing," said Knight.

What a contrast to Kerry, huh?

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Dean didn't really impress me until he got out of his Prince Hal routine, cleaned up his act and became a doctor. Maybe his wife straightened him out. She seems pretty cool.

[dsc]

4. Please tell those of us with bad backs what we may and may not do

and still behave like people with bad backs should. Just so I don't offend your sensibilities and all.

[DrFunkenstein]

6. I Have A Bad Ass Condition

I can do as I please.

[Duder]

7. Both offered some good insights

Dean was the bulldog while Kerry was chasing his pet parakeet.

One comes off as being a natural leader while the other was more "reserved" and idealistic.

[DemDogs]

3. Very nice piece on Kerry

Not my candidate, but that description is one of the most human of Kerry I have heard. Thanks for sharing it.

[DrFunkenstein]

5. For The Human Side of Kerry

The article that sold me on Kerry as a person had to be the Windsurfer article. It's hard not coming away from it thinking that Kerry's a thoroughly decent, red-blooded guy. He strikes me as someone that doesn't really open up until he trusts you, and it is clear that he trusts the interviewer.

http://www.americanwindsurfer.com/mag/back/issue5.5a.html