Do you like Kerry?

Yeah, I started out luke warm on him, but the more I've read of his record and the more I've watched him in the debates, the more I like him. that's the honest truth.

Rove's attacks on his voting records really made me look them up. Over 20 years, he is one of the most consistent voters in the senate, and he's the 11th "most liberal" senator, which is fairly middle of the road.

I liked his work on Iran Contra, and I like that he's seen how to balance budgets. I think, contrary to all the spin, he actually sticks to his guns more than most politicians. He has a deep sense of right and wrong, and while he has some sort of faith, he clearly doesn't believe he receives messages from God.

I still wouldn't want to have a beer with him, necessarily, and he looks like Lurch (on a good day) but I like him.

 

I like him more than I did when he first got the nomination, because he has shown he can stand up and fight the Bush lie machine.

I do not support him 100% on all the issues.

Like many conservatives see Bush, I see Kerry as the lesser of two evils.

 

I don't like either of them.

 

The only people who call Kerry a douche bag around here are the conservatives. And it's usually under false pretenses. "He accused our soldiers of terrible things" Uh, he didn't accuse anybody, he just repeated what other soldiers said they themselves had done:

Anyways, yes, I like Kerry.

 

First off, about six months ago, I thought that this was what conservatives thought of Bush. He's a moron, and the utter opposite of fiscal conservative, but hey, he's our guy and I'll be damned if we have some east-coast liberal in the White House.

Seems that's really not the case, though- by a huge margin, there is a massive percentage of the pro-Kerry crowd that is anti-Bush whereas a much smaller percentage of Bush supporters are anti-Kerry.

Yeah, to be honest, I like Kerry more than I thought I would. I hated how he kept harping his 'nam service, and he is indeed a carreer politician- saying what is convenient and watching the polls. But, having spent a few hours watching the guy debate, I really warmed up to him. He's confident, patient, looks like a leader to me. I wouldn't mind hanging out with the guy.

Not that I really personally "like" any politicians. In a way, who cares? You may have professors at school that you like, but you don't learn a damn thing from them. "Like" isn't necessarily an important part of the equation- except in those very special cases where someone can teach you or lead you and you like them.

Wait- I take it back. I like McCain. This guy has backbone, he doesn't back down from anybody, he's the only one that really straddles the middle. Right now I'd probably elect the guy over anybody. (Curse you republicans!! How could Bush have possibly been nominated over McCain in 2000? If we had McCain the country would be so better of and y'all wouldn't have to worry a bit about this election.)


Oh, and there's something I've wanted to say about likeability for a long time: I think that democrats in general pander to the public too much, and are too slick in their presentation, like a product that's overmarketed. The republicans detest this, and often republicans campaign on the platform that they are straight-shooting types that tell it like it is. Strong, but likeable.

W is like the ultimate culmination of this gone wrong. We now have a guy who isn't slick, because it's impossible for him. He's too f*cking stupid to be slick. The man can't speak english. But it would appear that this actually makes him likeable to conservatives. I can't imagine that any CEO of any company, if they had to hire a man who would hold a position of leadership within his company, could ever hire Bush. How can you confidently lead when you can't talk? How can you maintain credibility or inspire confidence when your communication skills project inability and slow-wittedness? Why does everybody think that Cheney and Rummy and Rove are the power behind the throne? Because nobody thinks that Bush could possibly be smart enough to lead on his own if he had to. Enjoy your village idiot, conservatives, you voted for him.


As for Kerry, I don't love him, but I like him just fine. I'm definitley on board with his economic/healthcare reform program, he's more liberal socially and I am too. His foreign policy plan isn't that different from Bush's; the main difference there is that he wouldn't make the same stupid f*cking mistakes W did in the first place and will actually have some respectability/credibility in the world whereas Bush has none.

 

The term "like" doesn't enter for me much when it comes to political candidates because in order to reach even the level of US Representative, you have to sell your soul to some extent with the system we have in place these days.

I personally think I would have a better time conversing with Kerry because he seems far more intelligent and thoughtful than Bush does and I prefer to have discussions with intelligent, thoughtful people than people I see as dimwitted, cocky buffoons (as I see Bush these days).

Bush would be more fun to drink with, but that is only because I don't drink much and I think it would be humorous to see him even LESS able to form a coherent statement than he was during the debates (though, to his credit he did FAR better in the second debate than I thought he could).

 

Not as much as Clinton, but more than Gore.

 

I like not love Kerry. Kerry will make a solid president.

OTOH George W "Suns Rises in the West" Bush is a dimly lit bulb who I would have trouble voting for the local PTA.

[Edit: one of those days]

 

so far...nope.

too calculating. i still get the impression his comments have been vetted through too many focus groups.

But i do think his plans and hopes for the future are better than Bush's. Too much about Bush's conduct concerns me. ANd i'm politically much more aligned with Kerry's positions.

So for president....Sen Kerry.

To meet and chat....Pres Bush.

 

All politicians are lying scumbags. The trick is to vote for the one whose lying and scumbaggery will affect you the least.

That being said, after Kerry wins on November 2nd, I certainly hope that Dubya will accept the job he was born to do:

Commissioner of Major League Baseball

 

I don't have any particular affection for Kerry, no. Last election I was fairly pumped about being involved in the whole process and voted for Nader, whom I thought represented me the best. I knew I was more or less throwing my vote away, but since all Texas' electoral votes go to the winner, I knew any vote not for Bush wouldn't count, anyway. I was shocked at how Bush was able to get away with such an incredibly flubbed election.

This time around I'm just too depressed by the Bush administration and national politics as a whole to care much. It's a sad day when the best the Democrats can muster to run against freakin' Bush was John Kerry. I'm content in the knowldege that since the widespread usage of television became prevalent, the more physically attractive candidate typically wins. For this and a couple other reasons, I'm fairly confident Bush will win again.

 

Early in his career he was my favorite politician. When he was handling the Iran Contra affair, I thought he was brilliant.

At the start of the primaries I wasn't a Kerry supporter. My esteem of him has gone up lately. In the end I would to have say I do like him, not like I used to, but I do like Kerry.

 

I like him. It's been a long road. I liked him a lot before the primaries and before the war vote. I liked him as a principled vet war protestor and I liked him a lot on Iran Contra. When he started running he made me nuts. The whole thing turned around for me during the debates. By the end of the first I didn't hate him. By the end of the second I was ready to vote for him instead of against Bush. I felt, for the first time in a long time, since before Clinton, that the common sense values of middle America had a champion. There are things I don't like about him to be sure, but I'm still confident in his ability to champion those values.

I'm so ready to have an intelligent, thoughtful, intellectually curious president. I'm so ready for honesty in the president's dealings with Americans and with the world. Kerry's all that, so yeah, I like him.

I've never understood the desire to have a beer with Bush. But then, I don't much fancy frat parties or yacht clubs. I like to talk, even to talk seriously, when I drink. I prefer drinking with interesting people who can understand what I'm saying. Not only do I think I could have a more interesting conversation about politics or policy with Kerry than with Bush -- I think we could have a more interesting conversation about sports, religion or any other topic.

Nolen: I like McCain too. Here's a secret. He's voting for Kerry. Email me if you want the scoop.

 

I could see that. Move over, Mr. Selig.

 

I'm not crazy about him at all. I didn't vote for him in the primaries. What matters to me, however (and, of course!) is, will he make a better President? Absolutely. I have no doubt, whatsoever, that he will.

Sometimes, you have to bite the bullet, and vote for someone who doesn't really fit what you want in a candidate, but is just clearly better than the other person in the race. In 1972, when I had my first chance to vote for a President, I was faced with the same situation. I didn't like McGovern heading the Democratic ticket. I would have much preferred someone else. It wasn't that McGovern wasn't a decent man... he was, and still is. It's just that I knew he would have no chance of beating Nixon, unless Watergate, which I had been following closely, blew up. So I voted for George McGovern, and only regret that he didn't win. No one seriously thought that he would. I think those who voted last time for Nadir can relate to where I'm coming from.

Kerry is a much better candidate than McGovern, and he's running against a much worse President, leaving Watergate and it's coverup aside, than Nixon ever came close to being. And this is coming from a guy who actively protested against the son of a *****, and his policies. It's tough, that our nation couldn't come up with two better people to run for office during such a crucial period of our history. We've been dealt a bad hand by both parties. But they are our two choices and, like him or not, Kerry, in my opinion, is clearly the better candidate.

I don't have to like him to know how I want to vote. It's easy.


Keep D&D Civil!!

 

You may get flamed for typing that, but I absolutely believe it.

I won't go on about this, but I end up speaking with many military people in my work, and I've been shocked, absolutely shocked, by what I'm hearing about what people in active service are saying about their votes. e.g. last week, I was teleconferencing with a Washington DC military person who has voted Republican for the last SIX presidential elections, and to him there is no question: he is voting for Kerry.

It seems ultimately to come down to an anti-Bush/Rumsfeld vote, as opposed to a pro-Kerry vote. (So there, I made this vaguely relevant to the thread).

 

I'm not too scared of that. I have it from a pretty good source. And frankly I wouldn't have posted it if Bush hadn't said last night that McCain was voting for him. He isn't. When the curtain closes, he's voting Kerry. He's also probably running in 08, so he can't afford to go outside his party in this election.

 

I just saw CNN. Bush physically and aggresively collared McCain and kept his arm around him as his big buddy, while McCain looked sort of uncomfortable. McCain does not come off as a very principled guy letting himself be used that way. I wonder if this stunt by Bush is in response to the rumors Batman is hearing.

I like Kerry more as the time goes by. I think he isn't quite as dull and unemotional as he first appeared. He looks so much more presidential than Bush, who looks like a dry drunk in need of a beer or a sedative.

I think it is unrealistic to expect most presidents to be the life of the party, though Bush as seen on the internet clip, when he was at the wedding seemed genuinely funny when drinking.

It must be painful for conservatives to have to vote for such a learning disabled and communication disabled guy.

 

I can confirm this as well. From what I've heard from my D.C. relatives, Rumsfeld alone has turned many Army (waiting for bamaslammer to come in and make the usual derogatory remarks) vets into Democrats this election due to his treatment of Army officers.