A Windsurfer in the White House?

[La_Serpiente]

"It's a tough job! Somebody has gotta do it." - John Chao, editor/publisher of American Windsurfer, kept up with Senator John Kerry for a full year to bring you this extraordinary portrait in words and photographs of a man, navigating through the forces of life.

SENATOR JOHN KERRY was being pulverized by 40 knot winds. His windsurfing buddy cringed at the sight of a United States Senator being tossed around like a rag doll and splattered time and time again onto the forgiving waters of his beloved state of Massachusetts. For three hours, Kerry felt the rage of the wind and struggled to leverage his body against the gale force-finding balance briefly, only to lose it in spectacular crashes. Nevin Sayre, the windsurfer whose equipment the Senator was borrowing, was amazed at the warrior's perseverance and was worried about the Senator's safety. He could see the New York Times headline blaming him for the loss of a luminary. For even he, a former professional windsurfer, had difficulties in these overpowering conditions. "Finally," recounts Sayre, the 54-year old Senator dragged himself out of the water and, grinning from ear to ear, proclaimed the experience as . . . "OUTSTANDING!"

Senator JOHN KERRY sat at the head of a conference table. I watched from the side of the room. To his left was Governor Tom Carper of Delaware and surrounding them were lawyers, lobbyists and various representatives from Amtrak. They were gathered at Kerry's senate office to discuss issues that were holding up the passage of the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997. Kerry listened intently. I saw him pick up on the words, but more importantly I knew he heard the sounds, catching weakness in subtle hesitations or strengths from the voices of the lobbyists. When the arguments were presented, Kerry spoke with authority. His voice has a deep resonance of intelligence and weight; it's a voice that commands attention. He pinpointed the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments and in a shepherd-like manner, he masterfully synthesized the opposing arguments to a point of seamless balance. "I have never seen anyone grasp issues as quickly as this man," said Gregg Rothchild, one of Kerry's many legal aides. "It is amazing how he can bring people together to a common denominator." I watched in awe. A room full of hard core politicians and lobbyists with vested interests were brought together to a point of sensible compromise. The Amtrak bill passed a week later.

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A Windsurfer in the White House?

I am surpised to see a magazine like this go so in depth.

[sandnsea]

1. My favorite article

The spirituality part of it is the best. And the determination of the guy too. Thanks for posting, I can read it again and again!

[blm]

3. That part was my favorite. How he actually STUDIED the religions

of various regions and their cultural and political impacts on governments.

[HPLeft]

4. That section alone is a reason that every Democrat should support him

He has the kind of intellectual and spiritual curiosity to be able to think his way through the War on Terror, and find common ground in this terrible clash of civilizations.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

2. Way, dude.

Good article.

AW: It seems that all the good people won't even touch it.
JK: A lot of them don't. A lot of them don't. But you got to decide which fights are worth fighting and what you can accomplish, and I'm a fighter. I believe that these things are worth fighting for right now. These are important things. Our country is important. What happens to people is important. Where we are heading globally with respect to huge issues-proliferation, the environment, the technology revolution-these are going to require very significant levels of leadership.

When I say confrontation it is the confrontation of truth and realities. Look at what's happening to deforestation in less developed countries. Look at the lack of water facilities and the lack of transfer of technology. The current crisis in our oceans that are globally distressed because of overfishing, the lack of discipline. This is an ecosystem. It's related. It's all interrelated, and I couldn't rest with myself if I wasn't somehow engaged in trying to confront those forces and help abate them-whether it's on the larger stage of running nationally, or whether it's as a United States Senator or whether it's as a citizen. I mean, Teresa (his wife) is deeply involved in working on those issues and nobody has elected her.
You can do these things from all kinds of vantage points. I think it's absolutely vital that we now choose to do these things. I happen to be in this position today doing it through this office, but I did it before I got here and I will continue to do it after I leave.

<snip>

AW: Do you think that we are headed for more enlightened spirituality or are we doomed to crawl back to the caves?
JK: That's the test! That's exactly what the challenge of life is all about and some people find that. I mean, look at the Dalai Lama who I've spent some time with and who is absolutely intriguing. Extraordinary person. He is certainly telling us there is life from enlightenment-here and hereafter, but I think, whether or not we're going to be is the great test that all of us are struggling with. That's part of what makes life so challenging and so much fun.

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