I have to hand it to Kerry for this: He isn't just disappearing

[WI_DEM]

It is probably no secret that Kerry was not my first choice for the Dem nomination, but he is doing what I wish Al Gore had done after 2000--assuming the mantle of opposition leader. Gore won the popular vote and the electoral vote was to say mildly very much in dispute. Gore should have taken the reins of the Democratic party as the titular head of the party and established himself as the rightful opposition leader.

Kerry didn't win the popular vote, but he got the second highest number of popular votes in history--over 59 million of them and the electoral votes were very close. But to his credit he is not disappearing but using his role in the Senate to help lead the opposition to Bush. So far so good--his vote on Condi, his opposition to Gonzales and his pushing for health care for kids has been strong and correct.

I'm not saying I want Kerry as the nominee in '08, but if he does run his opponents can't say he hasn't continued to fight even in defeat.

[rndmprsn]

1. agreed n/t

[Mabus]

2. During and after the 2000 election

the MSM had a constant drumbeat for us to fall in line. Kerry echoed that sentiment by telling us to "quit crying in our teacups" and advising us "to get over it."

I'm just saying the sentiments surrounding the post-election period were very different. Therefore, the reactions from Kerry and Gore are different.

[bigendian]

9. You are right on.

The party pretty much abandoned Al. The only one's who stood up were the members of the Black Caucus.

[blm]

26. You used a quote out of context. Kerry said it in 2003 at a dem activists'

dinner where he was asked about the bitterness of the 2000 selection. He replied that the best thing anyone can do is not cry in your teacups but get active and work to defeat them. He received a standing ovation after he said this, so it seems those Dem activists attending understood him just fine.


You are using quotes that were deliberately taken out of context and used to spawn an internet LEGEND.

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[kerrygoddess]

36. Kerry is Right! Any psychologist would echo that!

The best way to get past something, anything that is upsetting in your life to work through it and get past it. The longer you carry around baggage about something the more it festers and it's not healthy.

Every Vietnam Vet I have talked with in the past couple of years who has their head on straight (and I have talked with plenty who were involved with Kerry's campaign) will tell you that you can't sit around feeling sorry for yourself.

Every time I hear the pissing and moaning here, I think how sad it is that so many here don't know how to move on and move forward.

If you want change you have to be a catalyst for change. That is what Kerry is saying.

[Mabus]

39. You're right we should just forget about voting irregularities

They happened in 2000. We did nothing.
They happened in 2004. We should do nothing.
Can't wait to see what the GOP has in store for us in 2008. But don't worry. We'll just sit back and let you white folk take care of it for us. You've done such a wonderful job so far. See, it is so much easier when you're not a minority. Are my feelings colored by my minority status. You bet. I see things from a different perspective and one more time, as a minority, I see my concerns being pushed aside.

So, let's just move on and move forward from voting irregularities. Let's forget how much credibility the Democratic party has lost in the eyes of minority voters and move on.

My next NAACP meeting is scheduled for Feb. 10th and I'll tell them what you told me, Every Vietnam Vet I have talked with in the past couple of years who has their head on straight (and I have talked with plenty who were involved with Kerry's campaign) will tell you that you can't sit around feeling sorry for yourself. but I will change it to "Every disenfranchised voter I have talked with in the past couple of years who has their head on straight (and I have talked with plenty who were involved with Kerry's campaign) will tell you that you can't sit around feeling sorry for yourself."

I'll finish it with, "It's time to quit crying in our teacups and get over it. We've just got to try to figure out how to win without our votes being counted."

Will that make you happy?

[Name removed]

41. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[kerrygoddess]

48. FYI

I'm a single mother (daughter's father is deceased)with a home business. I make bath & body products and sell wholesale and retail online (www.aromatherapygoddess.com - the other website is linked to this one!). I work from home and work my own hours. I make all my own products, maintain two websites (also I partner on political website), do the bookkeeping, shipping, etc. The Bush economy took a toll on my business in the last year, so I work a lot of hours rather than pay someone to help me! I also have a teenage daughter who is in high school, takes 2 night classes at community college and plays in the school orchestra.

You rude insinuations about what I do for work are completely uncalled for and very immature for someone who is a politically active democrat. I did not post this the last time you made this snide comment because I don't talk about my business here.

[sendero]

59. I can't see..

... how anyone could not be pissed at the systematic disnfranchisement of a class of voters. It's not a race issue, it's an American issue.

Whatever good things Kerry might be doing, his deafening silence re Ohio in the weeks after the election spoke volumes to me.

And I didn't like what they said.

And, I'd like for all of those who chided me and said "Kerry is working behind the scenes" to admit you don't know shit. :)

[blm]

56. AN INTERNET DISTORTION. The quote was repeated OUT OF CONTEXT in

various places during the primaries.

And the fact is that Kerry was one of the few Democrats who came out to speak FOR Gore during the recount when most went into hiding.

After the SC decision, Gore asked the Senators to NOT contest it any further.

YOU earned the right to tell Kerry how he should feel about Vietnam? YOU went to Vietnam and negotiated to renew relations? YOU went to Vietnam and arranged for access for those who wanted to search further for those still missing?

Seems to me there are people who think THEY have the right to demand lawmakers perform exactly as they want, with little desire to learn all the facts themselves or show any circumspection.

[CWebster]

3. Yeah, well I have been watching these Gonzales hearings

and I have seen Kennedy out there time and time again. Where the hell has Kerry been?

Give me Kennedy any day. He speaks for me and he addresses the issues of the hour.

[politicasista]

38. Why do you dislike Kerry so much?

:mad:

[The Zanti Regent]

76. Ask my dead son...

My only child, killed in Iraq because Bonesman Kerry made a deal with his fellow Bonesman...

[electropop]

4. I think the real leader is Boxer.

She is completely fearless and has spit in the faces of the fascists on every issue including the election.

[zann725]

32. Agreed! And Women are 'do-er's'...not afraid of TRUE change.

n/t

[JoshK]

45. Yeah sure. Like Condi, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Karen Hughes, & all

the harpies of the media (Paula Zahn, Ann Coulter, Judith Miller, et al). Why take an idiotically simplistic position?

[LittleClarkie]

54. Oh sure she is, until she casts a vote you don't like

she's the darling right now, but if I were her, I wouldn't count on it. Support around here hinges on ones last vote.

We do love our Barbara. But then we used to love Russ Feingold too. Now he's a traitor and a betrayer. So sayeth his vote for Condi. And his vote for Ashcroft.

I'd say his nay for Gonzolez was most significant of all, since our little maverick wouldn't normally vote against a cabinet nominee. Gonzo must be pretty damn bad for Feingold to not vote for him.

Is it too much to ask for people to look at the big picture?

[Larkspur]

5. Gore did not disappear and Kerry is no source of inspiration

Gore made a great speech on Sep. 23, 2002 against the Iraq War resolution that John Kerry voted for. That speech helped us in the anti-Iraq war movement. He also gave great speeches sponsored by MoveOn.org during 2003-2004.

After 2000, Gore had to find employment to provide for his family. He had been in government for 25 years.

Kerry meanwhile, sequestered the $10 million left over from the 2004 GE and put some of that in his senate war chest and the rest he's planning on using for seed money to start a 2008 bid.

Kerry will never get my vote again.

[bigendian]

10. You're right too.

Gore has been the voice in the wilderness. When he spoke he was always ahead of the Democratic pack. During the primaries you could count on them to echo him after every speech.

[saracat]

11. Gore disappeared for two years . Give me a break.

He never even criticized Bush. He got fat ,grew a beard , taught a little journalism, and hid. Kerry has been front and center. You may not like him but he hasn't his. He was very forceful against Condi and he is fighting. He has also been visible, here and abroad.

[maddiejoan]

16. Can I come over and sit next to you...

Cos I swear you're the only person I've seen that thinks the same way about Gore's vanishing act versus Kerry's complete in your face disdain of the Bush Administration.

[Larkspur]

65. Kerry was never front and center

He sulks in the shadows poll testing his answers to questions.

Gore wrote a great op ed published in the NY Times in Aug 2002, did a great speech in Sep 2002, and did a serious of speeches sponsored by Moveon.org in mid to late 2003.

Gore did not disappear. He wasn't in government any more and unlike Kerry, who lives in 5 mansions, Gore needed a job to help pay his bills.

[KissMeKate]

66. youre criticising Gore for gaining weight, growing a beard, and teaching?

how bizarre. These are ridiculous reasons to criticise Al Gore.

As far as teaching- he had to earn a living- or do you think money just grows on trees?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

13. *coughing* BULLSHIT *coughing*

1) One speech two years after the election? Big fucking deal.

2) Find employment?? Are you fucking kidding me? Hello, public speaking tour! Millions of dollars instantly! And Vice President Gore was certainly not poor after having all of his living expenses covered for 8 years...

3) By most rational accounts, Kerry's campaign spent about as much money as they possible could. The problem is some bitter losing candidates thought he should've used the money to run ads in losing states. I don't blame them for being bitter, but I also didn't see them clamoring for money at that time.

I wasn't a Kerry supporter in the primary, and I probably won't again either, but your post went off the charts on my bullshit meter and I had to say something.

[LittleClarkie]

33. That's exactly what Kerry said on MTP: they gave what was asked for

And it has also been said that the money Kerry has left over is at least partly earmarked for the 2005 and 2006 races. I think that sometimes folks jump to conclusions even though we really don't know exactly what is going on.

For one thing, the PAC money had to be fresh, I'm told. It couldn't be recycled campaign money. So that's one thing he's not using it for, and it could be argued that the PAC is at least partly for 2008 if he chooses to run.

Thank you for your comments Vash. I appreciate that, even though Kerry's not your guy, you have the maturity and objectivity to see bullshit and not let it pass. By the same token, I've been trying to check out those in the party I didn't support in the primaries but who appear to be taking leadership roles. Dean, for one. I really do hope he gets the DNC Chair.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

60. I'm a huge Dean for DNC guy.

And no, I didn't support him at all in the primaries (I didn't think he could keep up that pace for a year and expect to not turn most people off). I was a strong Gephardt supporter, actually.

Thanks for your comments though. :toast:

[cestpaspossible]

15. WTF?

Gore did not disappear


Gore made a great speech on Sep. 23, 2002



November 7, 2000 -- September 23, 2002 is almost two years!


Gore did not disappear -- :wtf:

[WI_DEM]

23. yes, but he did disappear for the first year

when, imo, he should have been out front. I admire Gore very much and wanted him to be our nominee in '04.

[cestpaspossible]

6. We need to support ALL our Democratic leaders

That is not to say we shouldn't let them know when we disagree with them. But I say go Kerry, go Dean, go Reid, go Pelosi, and anyone else who is willing to step up to the plate.

[Matariki]

7. Gore wasn't in the Senate though

Not to say I'm not happy what Kerry is doing though. I love what he's doing. Hopefully, he and Conyers and Boxer and Byrd and Kennedy will set an example for the rest of the Dems.

Howard Dean might be a better comparison to what Gore could have done...

[RNCPsychiatry]

8. But Kerry has a job, Gore

didn't.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

14. See post 7 re: Howard Dean.

[RNCPsychiatry]

20. well, that's true.

[quinnox]

12. Amazing, despite all the naysayers on DU

Kerry is out there still being a force! <sarcasm>

Seriously I agree with you, I'm glad he is maintaning a high profile.

[Just Me]

17. He is being VERY proactive and I am extremely grateful!!! n/t

[CWebster]

18. WRONG!!!!

Just one of Gore's speeches carries more weight and has more relevance, is more important, has more significance than the months upon months of Keryy's nuanced and cowardly positions.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

21. I see nothing but emotion in these sorts of objections to Kerry

Kerry spoke from the heart, although guardedly because he knows the price you can pay for the gaffes- and unfortunately he STILL did make some - like the 87 billion dollar one.
Gore DID disappear and he didn't have to. His hiding helped inspire those Rall cartoons...

[Joe Chi Minh]

29. Your memory seems

extraordinarily deficient.

Even on something as outrageous as the Elian Gonzales abduction, Gore's position was, to the best of my recollection, indistinguishable from Lieberman's, i.e. zippo! And wasn't he Gore's chosen vice-presidential candidate? What a choice! For goodness sake...! His support of Clinton when he was hunted by those neocon lowlifes wasn't exactly, well, perceptible, either.

[CWebster]

31. My memory is complete

Seems you forgot that while Gore took giant steps out of the dark Kerry was still trying to position himself in the shadows.

I have utmost respect for Al Gore and the man he became. I voted for Kerry and I will leave it at that.

[LittleClarkie]

47. They WOULD have relevance if anybody was covering the damn things

But alas.

Carried more weight? Once again, if anybody got to see them, maybe. Hard to carry weight when you're being semi-ignored.

Our poor former candidates get trotted out at convention time like somebody's crazy uncle. Not fair. My hope is that Kerry can at least avoid that. Having a job to go back to will probably help tons.

Until we can get some truly unbias coverage, the RW cartoon of the man will still reign supreme. I hope Gore is successful in creating a progressive media outlet. I for one would be extremely grateful. I can't even tell you what a blessing Randi Rhodes and Ed Schultz have been.

[Laurab]

49. WRONG!!!!

"Just one of Gore's speeches carries more weight and has more relevance, is more important, has more significance than the months upon months of Keryy's nuanced and cowardly positions."

HUH?? Perhaps to you, but if so, you should have added that.
Um, where IS Gore, anyway, and what has he done lately to fight the current regime?


"Nuanced and cowardly" maybe to you, as well. I see what he is doing as thoughtful and intelligent, and I think we'll see far more. Give Kerry the 4 years Gore has had - I think you'll see a hell of a lot more fight, and an effective fight too. Unfortunately for you, fortunately for me, he's not going away.

[CWebster]

55. Fighting for me, is he?

By saying he could execute the war better than Bush? Right there he gives Bush legitimacy and the blood is on Kerry's hands for all those who died for the lie he props up. I have nothing but contempt.

[THUNDER HANDS]

19. Gore left to become Glen Wonka on SNL

a great bit of acting, I might add, but not exactly what the country needed.

Kerry is not going off quietly into the night, which is probably why he didn't resign his senate seat. Maybe he knew the game was rigged.

[robbedvoter]

35. Actually that was exactly what the country needed: a cool campaign

kick - which is what Gore intended to do. But kerry/DNC took care of that and kicked him out of the race. The rest is history , as I am still crying in my teacup and Kerry declares: "we lost"

[Deep13]

22. Gore, Kerry

The advantage Kerry has over Gore following the election is that Kerry still holds office and, therefore, is still politically relevant and in-the-loop. Gore was left as an unemployed private citizen. I really cannot fault either one for their post election performances.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

24. Let's review the bidding...

Kerry has been visible in his opposition to Bush and Gore wasn't immediately after the 2000 election. True.

You say Kerry is fighting Bush hard. I would only give him a so-so grade in that regard. Iraq is the defining issue here. I saw Kerry on Meet The Press and was underwhelmed with his responses to Russert's questions on Iraq.

I'm really not interested in attacking Kerry, because we have too much of that in the party. But, you raised the point with an unflattering comparison to Gore, so I feel (as a freely self-identified Gore partisan) a need to take the comparison further with what I consider trumping arguments.

First, in mitigation, Gore started speaking out about eight months after 9/11, calling for Bush to fire his entire economic team, attacks he would quite likely have made months earlier but for September 11.

But my main point here is leadership. IMO, no Democrat who voted for the war in October 2002 is capable of leading the Democratic Party in its opposition to a war which never made any sense whatsover. So while I would support any nominee this side of Joe Lieberman in 2008, I think it is simply asking for more of the same if we do not nominate someone with a common sense approach on the war and national security.

Gore, like Dean, Kucinich, Kennedy and Byrd opposed the war when it seemed politically dangerous to do so. This is the kind of Dem who can provide real leadership and return us to victory (as in 1992, 96 and 2000). Any Dem who voted for the war either did so out of facile political considerations or is a fool, I see no other credible choices. So if you want to talk about real leadership, it's Gore in a walk, in my view.

[jswordy]

25. "assuming the mantle of opposition leader"?

Hmmm...what world do you live in? Cuz in mine, I haven't seen or heard a peep out of Kerry nationally. Not one. (Uh, except in here.) Example: Go to Google, plug in "Social Security."

It is ALL BUSH.

We're losing our asses at present. We need a coordinated, all-hand-on deck message. So where is Mr. "Assuming the Role"? I'm waiting...

[KittyWampus]

27. If You Don't Know What Kerry's Been Doing/Saying You Haven't Been

listening.

Or rather, you're probably hypnotized by the Corporate Media... and they aren't going to put ANY Democrat front and center.

Except to trash them.

[zulchzulu]

46. Hint: You're not going to see any opposition to Chimpy for 9 months

As we get more into the summer of 2005, the Chimp is going to start growing lame duck wings as well.

What an ugly mess that will be.

In order to keep up with the "unreported" stories about Kerry, Dean, Boxer and others who will be jabbing upper cuts to the Religious Wrong and other neoconofascists, you need to check out the ...um... where you are now. :->

[SammyWinstonJack]

28. Sen Kerry has an option that Gore didn't have in that he was no longer

in a position of any power, as Kerry is. The Democratic Party Leaders abandoned Gore almost immediately. I hope Sen Kerry says in bush**'s face. I hope he makes bush**'s last four years a living nightmare.

[KissMeKate]

67. Yes, the Dems abandoned Gore immediately.

Kerry is less relevent than Gore- Gore actually won.

[cindyw]

34. I don't care about '08, I want leadership now. We are getting it with

Kerry.

[kerrygoddess]

37. The Shadow President

[liberalpragmatist]

40. Agree and Disagree - I think they both used the right strategies

First off, DU'ers know I'm a pretty strong Kerry-partisan. I may or may not support him in '08 but I do think he'd make one of the great American Presidents.

I really admire Kerry's tenacity and his willingness to pull himself out of the mud and get right back to work. He's been respectful where he's had to be respectful - being present at the inauguration, etc., while acting like a leader and speaking for the 59 million who voted for him and still oppose Bush.

But I can't really fault Gore for having not done the same thing four years ago. For one thing, Gore was out of office. Second, although DU'ers may disagree now, I think Gore was right to remove himself after the Florida thing. It was a patriotic thing to do, to give Bush a chance to unify the country. Bush failed the test, but it doesn't mean Gore wasn't right to give him a chance. Had Gore been really outspoken right after the election, given the Florida situation, he would have been written off by most as a Sore Loser and nobody outside the left would've listened to him.

Moreover, Gore planned to respond more forcefully, but then Sept.11 intervened and it would have been seen as inappropriate (not to mention off the subject).

So I think Gore was right to step away for a couple years - the party leadership in Congress should have stepped up during that time and they didn't, which wasn't Gore's fault.

[muse]

42. I do love getting the emails from Kerry.

It's really quite remarkable that just these few months past the election, he has been able to continue to use the internet for activism (through the emails) and be very visible as a leader in the Senate (see the senate democratic agenda - it looks remarkably like the plan Kerry ran on.)

[kerrygoddess]

43. The democratic agenda

The democratic agenda is very much like Kerry's plan.

[cestpaspossible]

72. What's missing is energy policy

[Dr Fate]

50. I'm impressed with Kerry on that aspect too.

I think if we keep on his ass like we have been, he will continue to be a bang-up Senator.

I like how he is keeping in touch with his campaign workers & donors too- it shows he is not blowing the organization miracle we all pulled off.

[fujiyama]

51. I was thinkin that myself

but in some ways their defeats were different.

Gore's election was MUCH more highly disputed. He had won the popular vote and there went about a month of not having someone declared a winner. That too, the SC handed the win to Bush, before all the voted were counted.

Maybe he just decided he needed the time away. His election is prophetic in many ways, especially with regardds to SS. He was right about a lot.

Kerry is still right up there front and center in the senate. The party also is MUCH more lost now than in '00. Atleast the senate was near parity. Now, we're down by a lot and the VP in that campaign is getting kissed by Bush.

As much as I like Gore though, Kerry does deserve credit. His votes are more like the Kerry of old. Rather than the Kerry that voted for IWR. Good for him.

[BlueInRed]

52. I completely agree

and it is a pleasant surprise for me.

[Negatron]

53. Kerry had a lot of fair-weather friends.

Good thing he is not a fair-weather friend to us. When some people started slinging buckets of shit at him because they were unhappy with his concession, he could have easily returned the favor and said "you know what, screw this." Instead, he continues to step up to the plate on our behalf. I supported Kerry on November 2, and unlike many, I still supported him on Novemember 3. I can respect the opinion of those who feel that he folded (hey, I didn't like the way things worked out either), but I have trouble respecting some of the truly hateful attacks that have been thrown his way by people who were behind him on November 2.

For whatever reason (whether legitimate loss or fraud), we can't have Kerry as president, but we CAN have him as opposition leader. However, we can't help him be effective in that position by continuing to place him at the center of the circular firing squad.

[foreverdem]

58. I agree completely

Thanks for posting this Negatron.

[Laurab]

63. Very well said

Thanks Negatron. I have trouble understanding the truly hateful attacks, and I'm not sure they're all from people who were behind him on November 2. In any event, a "circular firing squad" is exactly what it is, and can only help the opposition party, which is the last thing we should be doing. Attacking our own accomplishes nothing.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

64. Here is an issue Kerry advocates won't answer...

I like Kerry, but I lost a lot of respect for him when he voted for the war. I supported him as nominee but not not with much enthusiasm, especially when he said late in the campaign that he wouldn't have changed his vote. Kerry is very bright, so I think the issue is not that he didn't understand that the invasion of Iraq was wrong, but rather one of political expediency.

How do you explain his position on the invasion and his unwillingness to admit his vote was wrong? I think the only reasonable explanation is that he put ambition above principle.

I am not in favor of attacking candidates after they lose. There is too much of that in our party. God knows there was plenty of it aimed at Gore. But to put forward as our party's leader someone who supported the invasion is both immoral and bad politics in my view.

[Negatron]

70. I think that Kerry believed his President.

Americans want to believe that their President is not a total incompetent and/or liar. Kerry is no different in this regard. He was told that there were WMD. He was told that Iraq was a threat. It wasn't just some drunk on the corner telling him these things, it was his President. Although he had serious reservations, he chose to believe the President, as did so many other Americans.

Whatever anyone (Kerry included) may say, I think that in his heart, he knows better now. At the time, Kerry felt that he was making the right decision, based on what the President and his administration were telling him. If he were to go back in time, without knowing what he knows now, of course he would make the same decision. But there is no going back in time, and Kerry is now wise to the real deal. He didn't oppose the war Bush misleadingly presented to him, but he DOES oppose the war REALITY has presented, now that the Bushit has come to light.

[KissMeKate]

68. Kerry had alot of anyone but bush friends.

No one should complain about his lack of support now- everyone lined up like good little democrats and supported him in the election.

[Q]

57. Kerry wasn't driven out of a leadership role by the DLCers...

...like Gore was. Kerry was their boy...so he was allowed to keep a high profile.

It's strange that so many Democrats don't seem to understand what's going on in their own party or what really happened during and after the 2000 election.

[karynnj]

61. How could the DLC force Kerry out

even if they wanted to. Kerry is a MA Senator for at least the next 4 years (more depending on MA voters - not the DLC) and he has his email list. Everything he's done since the election has been either part of what he's doing as a Senator or trying to leverage the support he had in the election. (He has to know that although part of that list supported him only as the Democratic candidate, some real part support him because of what he stood for)

Gore had no position to fall back on and I think he was hit by bad timing - He may have intended to temporarily leave the stage after the horrendous recount fight and to return as a critic after giving Bush a chance to govern. Then 911 struck.

I think at this time we need to support (or at least not knock) any democrat who is doing anything positive - we don't have the luxury to knock an action because we fear that it could increase the popularity of a candidate we prefer not to win in 2008. Think about it, if a potential candidate comes up with enough successful actions that it greatly increases his/her proponents, maybe they will deserve support in 2008. (Given the minority party status of the party this is unlikely) I just don't see putting stumbling blocks in front of people trying to do good.

[KissMeKate]

69. Besides, Kerry'/s a member of the DLC.

eom

[Negatron]

73. Look, it's a matter of the yellow dog.

I'd vote for a mangy old yellow dog before I'd vote for a Republican, and so would almost all of you (I hope). Let's quit kidding ourselves -- whether we like Kerry or not, if he gets the nomination in '08, we will be voting for him again. If you disagree, I want to hear a VERY strong argument as to why your personal dislike of Kerry is worth conceding a vote to the Repukes.

And another thing. This attitude of "Kerry vs. Gore" is just weird. I happen to support both men, because both are a damn sight better than any Repuke. It's as simple as that. Let's quit with all of this "Kerry did X right while Gore did Y wrong" and "Gore did Y right while Kerry did X wrong." Sure, politics is all about taking sides, but when we take sides against our own, we are actually taking the side of the enemy. I know that nobody here WANTS to do that, but some of us are doiung it anyway, and we need a reality check.

Yeah, I'm a noob with only a few posts. Just an open disclosure to get it out of the way. However, I've been lurking for the better part of a year, and I've seen too much of this circular firing squad activity. Good people are eating good people over a difference of opinion regarding good people. If you don't like Kerry, fine. Hey, I don't like flu shots, but they are a hell of a lot better than the flu.

I realize that everyone did their part, bit their tounge, and came together behind Kerry in November. That was awesome. What I don't understand is why after November 3, some of us feel like we don't have to continue supporting our leaders, especially when they need it most.

[robbedvoter]

62. Lucky for his fans he kept his day job! he learned one thing from Joe.

[TheOriginalAmerican]

71. That's right!

I look forward for four more years of Kerry giving Bush hell.

The Republicans wanted four more years of hell (as Theresa said).

They've got it!

When I think about him pushing for children's healthcare, I just want to get righteous and say "God bless John Kerry".

[lonestarnot]

74. You really didn't think he would disappear do you? n/t

[NVMojo]

75. I hand it to Kerry for attempting to take on the Bush cabal ...even at

personal risk and under personal attack. And it was vicious. It made me hate this country and its need to defame someone personally, especially a veteran of war who came back, after serving, to fight against the war, a right he certainly earned ...and then to be attacked by a bunch of fatasses who never served ....