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...for those of you here...like me...that just never get enough information... :7
Angelides Rally
When I arrived at the rally, I could hear the Senator already speaking. As I got out of my car and once I went inside, I saw that Phil Angelides was onstage with John Kerry, Art Torres and Steve Westly, the Democratic Primary challenger. While the audience was small, there was considerable local press in attendance. I’ve read some of the recent questioning on this forum about the size of the crowd, but if I were to guess, I’d say it was designed for local T.V. coverage…lots of people will see this on local news.
Pepperdine University Speech
The speech at Pepperdine University was excellent. It was about religion, and how religious belief and training fit in to how we and our country behaves in the world. As many have said, it was the story of the Senator’s very personal journey of faith, and how time and life experiences have shaped his beliefs and values.
He then took questions from a group of both Democratic and Republican students at the university. As usual, he was great…articulate, thorough, caring…all the things we here know John Kerry to be. One of the best answers he gave...I think to a question about how we get the world back on our side: " No torture.". He also talked about how he didn't do enough to prevent the Republicans from 'caricaturing' him in 2004. He seems to have decided that if the media is going to skewer him...it might as well be the REAL Kerry getting in trouble, not the caricature
In every answer Kerry gave...to any question/subject...he focused on uniting the country. This is why I believe the country needs him, whether they know it or not.
Pepperdine Young Democrats’ Reception
After the speech, we walked down to a reception held by the Pepperdine Young Democrats. It was held in a large room with a terrace and great view of the Pacific Ocean.
These students obviously loved John Kerry, and were SO excited to have him there. When the Senator entered the room, he made a few remarks and then took a few more questions from the students. Most of it was pretty routine, and Kerry did well, as usual. He talked some about public education and said K-12 schools were broken. As a public school teacher, I was very interested in what he had to say. He expressed concern about children not having the support to get them ready for school (everything from health care to child care, etc.) and said that teachers have such a struggle with 30+ kids in a class and often only 5 or 6 do their homework. I was glad to hear that he understands how it really is, and I am confident he will work to make things better.
Some of the Young Democrats at Pepperdine were quite upset with Bush policies and asked Kerry about impeachment. He essentially said we have too much on our plate that we must focus on to do that (you know, war, the economy, re-uniting the people…things like that). And besides, it would just really anger half the country and prevent us from ever moving forward. I REALLY like that he is so focused on uniting the country.
Monday was such an uplifting day for me because I came away with the sense that John Kerry has felt and understands that seismic shift that so many of us have been experiencing during the last six years. He has been addressing these concerns from the beginning. He is correct, I think, to speak out clearly on every issue that stands in conflict with our patriotic values as Democrats. He did this in every event on Monday. The theme I heard, loudly, was unity. Whether he was talking about religious issues (even abortion), war, education, impeachment, he always emphasized that anything that promotes divisiveness in our country is not good for the country. From his words it was clear, he seeks to bring us together as a nation. That is the hopeful message I took home with me on Monday evening. And I’m still floating on air !
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