Thank you
Let me begin by saying thanks. Thank you for your supportive comments. They mean so much to me, and to Teresa.
I said something the other day when I taped my video message to you. And I really mean it. I saw out on the trail this year just how much your blood, sweat and tears helped elect Jim Webb, Joe Sestak and Pat Murphy. Be proud of the things we accomplished together at Johnkerry.com, because it counted – it was real.
You were right there with me during the most difficult hours of the long campaigns and you were there at the best of times when we offered a hopeful brave alternative to the smallness of the last six years. Teresa in particular used to call me in hotel rooms and read me your posts – or some of the diaries that ended up all over the place – connecting with your heart and insight was really special.
It still is. I am posting here not only to thank you but I am asking for your help yet again.
Our work is yet to be done and I hope that you will put the same energy behind my efforts to set a deadline in Iraq. We have a moral mission here. I feel it as strongly as I have anything in my life. You will be instrumental to make sure young Americans don’t die for anyone’s mistakes. When I was a young man protesting another war people used to come up and say “My country right or wrong” and our reply was “My country right or wrong—when it’s right keep it right and when it’s wrong make it right.” Please help us get it right in Iraq – not a campaign for the presidency, a campaign for our country.
— John
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Senator Kerry, your moral compass points true north. It’s inspiring to so many of us. We’re with you all the way. You have my respect, admiration, and total support. It’s time to end this war.
Whatever you need, all you have to do is ask. I really mean that, and I know many others who feel the same way.
Dear Senator Kerry, your calls to action will always be heard by us. Our support for you goes beyond the desire to send you to the White House. Yes, you are by far the most qualified person to occupy that seat, and your opting out of a run has left us with a shadow of what we might have had.
Still; the fight goes on, and you are leading the way. Count on us to follow you wherever it takes us. The war must end, and if you can bring about that end, we will help.
Your integrity and love for our country and fellow citizens have touched our hearts and minds. This is something that nobody can take away from us as we move forward on a different, but no less important path.
I remember listening to you in 1971.
I remember listening to you in 2004.
I remember listening to you these past few days, too.
Reporting for duty, sir.
I’ve said before that I’d always have your back, and I meant it. I have been honored to fight alongside you and will continue the fight as long as it takes to make America the country it once was and could be again.
Your integrity is a bright beacon of light in a world of darkness. Shine on.
Dear Senator Kerry,
“A campaign for our country”—I like the sound of that, and I think it’s a campaign I’d like to be a part of. You have been a true inspiration these last couple of years, and I feel privileged to have been able to be a part of this community you have created.
Whatever you need, I am ready to help to the best of my abilities. I think change is in the air, and we the people are going to take our country back. We have awakened and nothing is going to stop us now.
Thank you again for all that you have done.
Beachmom
Senator Kerry,
I can’t thank you and Teresa enough for the hope you have inspired in me. In my heart I know the you made the right decision, but I also believe that you would have been one of the greatest presidents this country will ever know. While events have robbed you of that opportunity, for now, they cannot steal the hope you inspire. You are and will always be a great leader. It’s clear that you love and respect this country and value the lives of all its citizens.
There are many issues that affect us as a country, as Americans.
Thank you for your message and call to action to help to end the war in Iraq and right the wrongs of the past six years.
Senator Kerry,
We are incredibly fortunate to have you and your wife as people to lead and inspire us. In a time of darkness, both of you provide the light that gives hope that there is a way out.
Although disappointed that I can not look forward to the possibility of you becoming President in 2009, I understand that you may be the best person to lead us out of this nightmare. Your Senate speech was incredible though it made me realize how much I didn’t know about that region.
Watching the Senate hearings, it is clear that you bring a unique comination of morality, vision, knowledge and insight, and above all you see the conflict in terms of the people who are hurt rather than as a political abstraction.
I look forward to following your lead.
John and Teresa,
In this past year plus alone, I’ve seen things happen to my brother, my oldest sister, my husband and myself because each one of us, in our own way, spoke truth to power.
My husband lost his position as a university physics professor and I gave up my position as a newspaper reporter because in rural red, you don’t question the war, you don’t question creationism, you don’t call homophobia ‘discrimination’ and you don’t support federal intervention in diasters like Katrina. And if you do, you’re anti-American and a threat to society. You will be feared. You will be scapegoated. You will be marginalized and you might very well be fired. (You also might get into a loud discussion in a Walmart over why the residents of the 9th ward didn’t make it out of New Orleans.)
Anyway, the answer for my husband and me was to give up our hard-fought for dreams, move, and turn inward to the love and respect of family. My husband and I no longer have health insurance and I’m without gainful employment, but I consider it a loss not for us, but for those who couldn’t see past their own fears or their own tighly held positions of power to make room for another idea, another point of view, another defination of compassion.
The bottom line is, many don’t want to be number two, three, four or five, they want to be “number one or no one.” And moves are calculated far in advance to that end, which often results into unearned star power, power that doesn’t have diddly to so with our very real connection to universe’s stardust, something we all are born with, but sometimes I think, precious few maintain.
BUT! no one is going to tamper with my ability to love. Nobody has the power to take that away from me. Whatever it takes to protect stardust, mine, yours, the neediest citizens in our country and world and our troops in harm’s way.
I am energized, Senator Kerry, in a way I didn’t dream possible just two days ago. We WILL chart another path. You lead, I dare say I speak for many when I say we WILL follow. I don’t know about you, but I’m not used to going down the main road in any area of my life. I’d much rather take the road less traveled and let it make, “all the difference.”
Namate to you and yours,
kj aka kj4jk aka Karen Jones
“the smallness of the last six years”... THANK YOU!!
“When small boys ask why, we will be able to say “Vietnam” and not mean a desert, not a filthy obscene memory but mean instead the place where America finally turned and where soldiers like us helped it in the turning.”
First Iraq. Then America. We simply, finally, MUST TURN.
Dianne, Kerstin, Prosense, and others have stated my exact thoughts upon finishing a reading of your message, Senator. This community supports you because of all you have done and still intend to do, not just because you were running for a presidency that you earned and deserved. This is because we recognize you as a great leader, no matter what role in our government you have.
I want to restate what Dianne said above, just let us know exactly what this community can do every step of the way and I know that we will do it. If it’s Dewey Canyon IV, we’ll bring the tents and the signs to DC. If it’s door to door canvassing like an election year, we will all get extra pairs of walking shoes. If it’s a telephone bank, our voices are waiting to become your “megaphone”. Just let us know, and as you have said we will turn this “campaign for our country” into one that would rival any political campaign.
You’re very welcome, sir. It has been 100% worth it.
And thank you and Mrs Heinz Kerry for being such an inspiration to all of us, and for being among the few people in public life who DO NOT LIE. If you say you are going to stop this war, we believe you, and we will do what it takes to help you. We may not have the opportunity to follow your candidacy in the next big horse race, but we always follow the issues. And because you’ve had our collective back for the last six years, we’re not going anywhere.
As a really, really smart couple once said, we have hope for our country because you are there.
There is not much I can add to what everyone else has said. A run for the presidency pales in comparison to the mission of doing what we can to end the war in Iraq. Decency in government and policy have been seriously damaged in the Bush years.
There is this quote from film critic Alberto Lattuada about neorealism in film from the 1940’s in Europe. It’s about film not about Senator Kerry, but I like the seniment for these times in America:
” So we are in rags? Then let us show our rags to the world. So we’re defeated? Then let us contemplate our disasters. So we owe them to the Mafia? To hypocrisy? To conformism? To irresponsibility? To faulty education? Then let us pay all our debts with a fierce love of honesty, and the world will be moved to participate in this great combat with truth. The confession will throw light on our hidden virtues, our faith in life, our immense Christian brotherhood. We will meet at last with comprehension and esteem. The cinema is unequalled for revealing all the basic truths about a nation.”
“Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain—
All, all the stretch of these great green states—
And make America again!”
~Langston Hughes
Thank you to Senator Kerry and Teresa, and to all my old friends here.
Fight on.
Senator Kerry,
Thank you. Thank you for being that shining light in an oh so darkened world, and in a country where many have forgotten that special word “citizen”.
Senator Kerry I came to JohnKerry.com before it even had a blog, and quite frankly had no idea what a blog was. I came here searching for that candidate that would incapsulate everything I thought was needed to bring this country back to its moral compass. To find that special something that had been missing in our leadership for years, someone that would inspire me , someone that had the principles I had, someone that didn’t just want the job for himself or herself, but wanted to make a difference, someone who truly would listen to “we the people”. Well as you can see I found that candidate, that person, that “citizen” and it truly has made me a better person but more importantly, a much better “citizen”.
I’m still here Senator Kerry and I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon. Tomorrow I am going to Washington and marching and the sign I am bringing has on it “setadeadline.com”. Being a wife of a Vietnam Veteran , my heart aches each day that one more soldier has died for a mistake and a LIE.
Senator Kerry just say the word and as you can tell by this community we are ready and waiting. It is long pass due to head this county back to a direction of honor, integrity and the power of citizenry and truth.
I’m Carol, and I’m reporting for duty.
You are truly answering your call to service. I admire you for not running but instead acting in the best interest of the country. I am behind you 101 percent.
Let’s never back down!
Senator Kerry,
Many of us are here because it’s you who’s shown us that one person CAN make a difference. I’m glad we can post our comments of support, and take heart in the fact that you see them. Still, we can probably never fully communicate how profoundly you have inspired us to act for the betterment of our nation.
My personal example is that you have motivated me to get off my duff, go back to school after more than a decade, and work towards being a small part of the solution to our country’s difficulties. It was somewhat daunting to return to college as a thirtysomething adult, alongside kids I could have babysat for in their childhoods (and in one case, actually did). It was also a bit of a culture shock in seeing how times have changed; apparently one can wear pajamas to school now!
Still, it has been worth it. Venturing out of one’s comfort zone is a great thing, after all. I have probably learned more in the last couple of years than I did in the decade before that, and I have you to thank.
We have been, and will always be with you. God Bless you and your family.
Dear Senator Kerry:
Thank you for continuing the fight to take our country back. I am deeply troubled by the reports just now circling about the captured soldiers that were later killed in Karbala. Once again, the truth had been kept from us. Yesterday, it was very troubling to read about the high-ranking personnel in the helicopter that was downed, I believe on that same day. Yet, the MSM is silent. It is truly time to bring our brave soldiers home. Lead the way Senator, and we will follow. I have already contributed to your re-election even though I do not reside in Massachussetts and I have signed your petition. Anything you need, I’ll be happy to do for you.
Best wishes to you and Mrs. Heinz-Kerry.
YES, a campaign for our country. Exactly right. You remain our hopeful brave alternative to this wretched period in our history.
Thank you for everything you have done, and are doing, against great odds. Your moral courage is a gift to our country.I just wrote a friend today that my respect and admiration for you has only grown since 2004 (and it was about as high as it gets even then).
Another one of your crew here, reporting for duty. You can always count on my full support.
Senator Kerry, you have inspired me and touched my life, like no other politician ever has before. You say - I’ll do. I will support you 100% where ever, whenever and how ever possible.
Also Senator, I’m not sure if you realize this or not, but you have created a community of supporters who came together on the internets, and who because of you have formed deep and meaningful friendships. Thank you for that gift.
Thank you for continuing to fight the good and moral fight. No retreat - No surrender!
Dear Senator Kerry,
What’s been most horrifying to me over the last six years is watching America become something else, something George Bush’s faction is creating—not the country I grew up in (even with all its faults) at all, at all.
Senator, I follow your lead for many reasons, too many to go into here; but more than anything, because you know the way home. Ever since I first saw you, but especially since the darkness of the ‘04 election, you have had your eyes fixed on that goal.
I need a leader who carries America in his (or her) heart. I can’t follow someone who’s not going back to the America I miss so much.
Let us, indeed, bring our heroes *home.* Let America be America again.
Senatory Kerry,
We will certainly support you and your effort to end the war. Thanks for all you do and for giving all of us someone and something to believe in when so much of this government is a dissapointment.
Meg
Senator Kerry,
I’ve found it difficult to post during the last couple of days…accepting your 2008 decision has been tough. I’m sure , for you, the decision was even tougher. My sadness is that it feels like the country has lost you as it’s President without ever knowing all the efforts and sacrifices you have made in the last 3 -4 years on our behalf.
But the short answer to your request for continued support is YES…of course, sir. :) This IS a campaign for our country. We MUST get this right for our children, for our troops in Iraq, and for the future.
There is a ‘greatness’ in you, Senator, that I see…that the people in this community see…that millions of Americans saw in 2004. That greatness is still there. Where it will take you is unclear, but I have complete confidence that it continues to guide your leadership.
I have always trusted your judgement on the issues and I will continue to do so. You have inspired many of us here, me included, to be better citizens…for our country’s sake…and that has made a profound difference in my life.
Thank you for your fight on our behalf. You absolutely have my continued support.
We do need to get it right in Iraq. It is going so terribly wrong right now. We cannot win with the current strategy given the troop level.
We need to divide the nation into three and allow the Sunni and Shia and Kurds to form their own governments. Move American forces to the borders to separate the factions.
Dear Senator Kerry,
You are my hero and you have inspired me more than I can say. The contrast between the smallness you speak of and your leadership is as stark as the contrast between despair and hope.
You have my graditude and you have my support in any venture you undertake.
My John Kerry bumper sticker is still on my car. My Kerry sign is still in my window (it has never faded). They remind me daily that it was never about a political race: it was about a dream of fairness and justice. That dream is still alive because you are still fighting for truth and integrity.
Whatever I can do, sign me up and count me in.
Hello Sen. Kerry and Teresa,
Well, the shock and sadness at your announcement is finally wearing off, and I too am beginning to see rightness of your move. I have been waiting for the country to hear the real voice of John Kerry, without the distorting filter of the Repubs, the corporate media, and yes, some of your jealous democratic rivals. Now we will hear the brave, intelligent, compassionate, and thoroughly knowlegeable senator you are as you make this misguided administration accountable for all their colosal mistakes. Suddenly I feel happy that you are FREE to tell it like it is, to be your own man as never before. Let the “kids” (Hillary, etc) start their media tour early—you’ll be back in Washington where we need your strong voice and principles the most. I have joined your new organization and I’m proud to be working with you to bring about the changes you would have made had you been able to rightfully assume the presidency. (I’ll always believe that you pulled off the unthinkable in 2004—you unseated a wartime encumbent.) And you’re so right—you and your people ran an outstanding campaign. You should be proud of your efforts. I’m hoping you are the new voice in the democratic party. They all seem to come around to adopting your plans a couple years after you lay them out anyway. You and Teresa are national treasures, and soon all will know that! Thank you both for all you do.
Write in John Kerry for President in 2008!!!
In my decades of appreciation, I could always trust your judgment, because it came from the head and the heart.
While reading these messages, the tears are flowing, with hope, gratitude, and sense of mission.
They replace the calm I had been feeling yesterday, knowing your decision is the correct one for the country, as well as for you. You leave one campaign for another, which I feel gives you more opportunity for less tempered honesty, without calculation.
Let’s say you are leading a movement for the return of our country, to a better condition many here believe only you can imagine.
I don’t anticipate getting the mic (even away from Biden), lessening our corporate concerns, will be any different than a traditional campaign that meets resistance to change.
You have been taking our party to task for ceding foreign policy to the Republicans before elections, and for not being as boldly wise as you recommended. I am certain you will again present the better arguments, and we will help try to make them listen.
This just continues the shadow presidency we knew you’d earned, providing us with leadership on Iraq, that many publicly agree has been proven correct. Our own party will need as much truth to power as the GOP, whichever candidate the media leaves standing.
Although I think Bill3 has everyone in line.
My best thoughts and thanks to you and Teresa, for so very much.
I, and a few other bloggers, look forward to seeing you on your book tour in New York. Until then.
Dear Senator Kerry,
Thank you for your thoughtful message.
I owe *you* a debt of gratitude for the lessons of honesty, integrity, honor, and dignity you have taught me by your example. You say what you mean and you mean what you say. You represent the best of those in public service.
When I saw you in person in Arizona in 2004, I felt your soul’s energy. It was a very powerful message for me to trust you, appreciate you, and support your efforts to bring America back on track and respected in the world. Thank you for all you have done since then to bring us closer to that reality.
So, once again, I am “reporting for duty.” I know you are right on course for your greatest and highest good and the good of all concerned.
Respectfully,
Dotti
P.S. Not since President John Kennedy was in office have I had a photo of a president in my home. Your photo is a ray of hope and will continue to remain with me wherever I call home.
Dear Senator Kerry,
Even though you have chosen not to seek the presidency in 2008, I am glad that you will still continue to be a fine public servant for the state of MA.
I join the JK blog community and agree that you would have made a good president along with Teresa (aka Momma T) a fabulous First Lady, but the real work goes beyond the presidency. It’s about ending this illegal, immoral war and bringing our men and women home.
It is unfortunate that people never got to know the real JK and Teresa, only through the corporate media spin, and buying into the line that only a Clinton or a Clinton-like politician is electable. It is also very sad that elections have turned into a popularity contest and are all about style and less substance.
I also want to thank you for continuing to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina through actions and not rhetoric, as well as focusing on Kids First and election reform.
Best wishes to you, Teresa, and your family. You will have our continued support.
“Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.”
—Rosa Parks
Senator:
I look sometimes at my own two kids and wonder what kind of a country I am bringing them up in. I wonder who will inspire them to go out and do things for the greater good and inspire them to make the needed sacrifices for this nation.
We will. As some one else once said, we are the people we have been waiting for to take action. I believe that. It would be an honor to continue helping you turn this country around. Thank you so much for all that you have done and for all that I know you will do.
I ain’t going nowhere. This fight goes on.
Sir, you bowing out of the ‘08 race truly represents your true colors. You are simply a great man, a man of your word and a man who actually cares about people, who doesn’t need an established title to get your points and actions across.
Yes, I will ABSOLUTELY continue to have your back, the most full of ways, just as I’ve done since 2004, when I was first introduced to your amazing leadership.
I had your back THEN, I have your back NOW, and I will ALWAYS have your back. We all will.
Thanks again, man. You’re awesome
Brandon
Senator, thanks. I was behind you 100% before your announcement, and that hasnt changed one bit. If anything, I’m more determined to help you in this fight to get our country back on track.
Just say the word. We’re here to help stop this immoral war and restore America’s credibility and we can do it with your leadership.
God bless you and Teresa and the rest of the Kerry family for all you do.
“People Are Often Unreasonable
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may just never be enough;
Give the world the best you have anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it’s all between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.”
—-Mother Teresa
JK
Reporting for duty (still… ) because deep down inside you are the inspiration for all I do in the blogopshere. We do have work to do and your guidance will lead us all to complete that work.
So, please JK give us a plan. Tell us what we can do for you and our country to help to turn this mess around.
The JohnKerry.com community is strong and vital and we’re all here because of deep respect and loyalty for you and the desire to make a difference in our country and the world. Show us the way.
Send out the marching orders and the work that needs to be done, will be done.
Senator Kerry,
I would be proud to offer my services for such a nobel and just cause as bringing our soldiers home and ending this awful war. I supose you could say sir, that I am reporting for duty under your steady leadership. I will await further word from you.
Take care and God bless you Senator and Mrs. Kerry.
Senator Kerry, it’s hard to express how much you and Teresa have inspired me. Since 2004 I have felt engaged and empowered in this moment in history in a way I have never felt before, and it is an incredible feeling.
I think perhaps the very best any of us can offer to others is the good example that choosing the moral path can “work” and bears far sweeter fruit than the path that may appear easier at the moment. Since I started to learn about you in 2004 I have seen you live those examples time after time, and from those examples I have learned a great deal; and drawn strength, as today when I read your post here.
As much as I wish that in 2009 the best choice for President would be taking that oath, your decision to turn your efforts elsewhere demonstrates selflessness and dedication to what truly matters. You have my full support - I will be right there with you as we win this campaign for our country, and like you said in 1971, but I want to alter it a bit, “we can make this the place where America finally turned, and it was citizens like us who helped it in the turning.”
Because, you know, the most important word in the American language, other than love, is citizen.
Thank you so much for all you do.
Dear Senator,
Disappointed? yes… Giving up? NO!
Thank you for your work on behalf of our country. Your example stands out in a time of political deciet, derision and ridicule. Because of it, many will follow where you lead. Lead on, Senator.
The political climate reminds me of one of my favorite quotations of Emerson. Please forgive if I miss a word or two…“Do not say things for what you do thunders over you the while, so I cannot hear what you say.”
God bless Senator and remember we still have your back.
All the best.
Mr. Kerry, I am still in tears and probably will be for a week or so, just as I was in 2004, I was ready to help Teressa “pick out the curtains”. LOL
I am and will always be with you 100%. You and Teressa give your all and that’s what counts.
I will be watching the good work that you will continue to do in the Senate.
My prayers and thoughts will be with you and your wonderful family.
Hi John,
Well it seems to be an informal moment so that’s the way I’m going to come across here. I was all set to pure out those blood, sweat and tears during this election cycle - but I guess it wasn’t meant to be.
If you and Teresa mount a book signing tour, come out to the greater Puget Sound area won’t you. Come during the Summer. While the rest of the country usually bakes, our marine climate is quit pleasant. Okay, now I’m being strictly selfish - should folks come out this way, it will give me chance for my kids to meet you folks. True my youngest is only 3 and more into Barney and Mr. Rogers, but my other two know who you are and I encourage them to meet as many good people from all walks of life that they can. You and Teresa are good people. Blessings to both of you.
Yours,
Bob
Senator Kerry,
I can’t say anything that hasn’t been said, but I do agree and I am so proud of you. You are not only my voice, but also my heart. You are my hero, my inspiration and my hope. You have my support, my love and my profound appreciation Senator.
Thank you for all you are and for all you do.
You are honored, you are loved.
Godspeed Senator
Love Katie from Washington State
Dear Senator Kerry,
Thank you so much for these words, which have touched me more than you could know. When you went back to the Senate after the 2004 election, I wondered along with my friends, “Do you think he knows that we’re all still out here? That we’re still watching CSPAN-2 and listening to his speeches and looking to him for leadership?” To me—to us—, what would have made the 2004 outcome not merely agonizing but downright unbearable would have been if you had retreated from the national spotlight and no longer given us the inspiration that had come to mean so much to us. And then you founded KAP and kept JohnKerry.com going, and we were relieved that you were still there, still leading the fight, and that 2004 wasn’t the end of that vision of hope for our country.
I’m tremendously relieved to see that 2008 isn’t the end either. I felt—still feel—saddened by your decision, but I can also feel the excitement of possibility and of new energy being unleashed, and I’m eager to see what comes next. I remember one of your crewmates, Jim Wasser, said back in 2004, “If John Kerry had one more swift boat mission and said we were going to hell, he’d have a full crew.” That pretty much says it all. Wherever you think the fight for our country’s future needs to be fought, whatever the next mission may be, we’re with you. Lead on.
It’s unusual for me to have so much trouble putting my thoughts into words. All I can think of is that incredible thunderstorm on election day in 2004. My ten year old daughter and I had volunteered to knock on the doors of registered Democrats and remind them to vote. At every home where someone answered the door, they proudly told us they had already been out to vote for John Kerry (Kerry DID carry Orleans Parish, but the state overall went to Bush). Around noon, with my energetic, enthusiastic daughter setting a hectic pace to get to as many homes on our list as we possibly could, the sky just opened up with one of those thunderstorms we get here in subtropical south Louisiana, raining so hard we were stuck on someone’s porch, unable to move on, unable to even see to the street (luckily, there was a Kerry sign in the yard and I was wearing a Kerry shirt, so I wasn’t too worried about the homeowners returning and being upset to find strangers on their porch). I kept telling my daughter it was raining too hard, that we couldn’t possibly go on. My daughter, however, with all the indignation and innocent insight of a ten year old, stuck her hand on her hip and said, “MOM, IF JOHN KERRY WERE HERE, HE WOULD GET OUT THERE AND KNOCK ON SOME MORE DOORS, RAIN OR NOT. IT’S IMPORTANT FOR HIM TO BE PRESIDENT, MOM. WE HAVE TO GO ON.”
It’s awfully hard to go on lately. My beloved city is still wrecked, family members scattered to the winds like our ancestors in the Acadian diaspora of 1755. Bush didn’t even mention us in his State of the Union speech! Since Katrina, I actually had to spend a month in a partial inpatient program at the hospital for depression. And then the Saints were a fabulous, joyful distraction until Sunday night when the Chicago Bears ended our dreams of a first time visit to the Super Bowl. And then forty-eight hours after that, John Kerry announced he wouldn’t be running for president this time…
John Kerry is by far the best presidential candidate of my lifetime - worldly, classy, smart, passionate, brave, thoughtful, tough yet sensitive. A decent man whose only downfall in 2004 appears to have been his unwillingness to sink to George Bush’s level… I am prouder of my work for and donations to Senator Kerry than I am of anything else I’ve ever done in my life other than raising a fabulous kid and returning to college in my thirties. During the campaign, trying to find money to donate, my husband and I made a pact with each other - NO more spending money on lattes until Kerry is president (he was then stationed at a base in latte capital Washington State, home of Starbucks). We went back to making coffee at home in the old drip machine and set up a small monthly payment to the Kerry campaign.
I had hoped to sound as positive and reassuring as the others who have posted here, but I’m feeling awfully low right now. I DO realize Senator Kerry will go on to do great things (of course!). Still, I don’t know now if he’ll ever run again - or be elected - and I do know this is a huge loss for all of us, for me, and, perhaps most of all, for my daughter. As she said in those first days of September, 2005, watching from a hotel room in Little Rock as CNN showed our beloved city sinking into chaos and death by neglect, “MOMMY, DON’T YOU THINK PEOPLE IN NEW ORLEANS WOULD HAVE GOTTEN HELP QUICKER IF JOHN KERRY WERE PRESIDENT?” If only, if only, if only…
Thank you, Senator Kerry, for your hard work, your honesty, and your decency. Thanks for giving us so much hope and for being someone we can really look up to. We in New Orleans have lots of hard work ahead of us as it is and we aren’t giving up, not ever; if there is anything else my husband and I can do for you and your work, we will be ready for the call.
Carolyn Jones
Dear Senator Kerry—
I am rendered wordless and humble, not only by your beautiful, simple and heartfelt message of thanks, but by the comments already appended to this blog entry.
What better testament could there be to the incredible impact your work and your example have had on people all over this nation than the outpouring here of gratitude and resolve?
I, too, feel that you and your beautiful, wonderful wife and your loving family have shown me a possible world that I want to see become reality for all. Your vision for the future is based on equal parts of pragmatic reality, idealism and belief in human potential and you are the one to lead us toward that new America, that new world.
I know with all my heart that there are young people all over this country who are being inspired by your example just as your generation was inspired by JFK. Someday, we will have leaders who will carry your message of hope and determination forward to the next generation. I will never stop hoping that one day we will have the honor of seeing you in the White House, but your “legacy” is assured, Sir, whether you have a presidential library or not.
We are here, we hear your call to action and we are ready to work, to do whatever it takes to bring our troops home, to bring America back to her decent, ethical, generous self, to regain our seat at the world’s table and show that we still have the manners to sit and talk with the grownups and command admiration for our ideas.
You will always be my hero, the leader I will look to and the citizen with whom I will be proud to serve. Thank you, Sir.
Dear Senator Kerry,
I wish to tell you that I am proud to share the planet with you. I know that you have chosen the less gloried road, by not attempting a bid for president. I know that the last few years have highlighted the importance of a strong congress. I hope you will continue the work there for many long years. We need you. I don’t always agree with you, but I consider you an honorable man who is willing to change his stance when he discovers it is wrong.
I believe that if there had not been election fraud in 2000, and in 2004, GWB would have never sat in the White House and our country would not be in the terrible situation in Iraq or swimming in the red ink that threatens to drown us. I believe that both you and Al Gore were elected.
Thank you for your service and support of the constitution. Please continue.
Posted by Carolyn Jones | January 27, 2007 2:31 AM
Carolyn, I’m with you!! John Kerry is without doubt the best presidential candidate in my lifetime, and best presidential candidate I"m ever likely to see. That’s why, like you, I worked so hard for him in both the primaries and the general election: the only time in my life I have been so involved in a presidential campaign. This was my chance—OUR chance—to put the Real Thing into the White House.
Someday people will appreciate the full tragedy of the election outcome in 2004. It wasn’t only that we got 4 more years of W. It was also that we lost a chance to put a really first-rate president, the best president in my lifetime, in W.‘s place. It was a DOUBLE tragedy. So is the absence of Sen, Kerry from the roster of presidential candidates in 2008. ( I can’t bear to think about any of the alternatives; there is no one even comparable to him ).
If only, if only. .
It means so much to me to see the fire in Sen. Kerry’s eyes, as he continues to fight for our country. Like you, I’m in the fight with him all the way.
We are here in DC getting ready to march, as we did in 1971, around the Capitol to protest yet another illegal war.
We will be spreading the word about setadeadline.com
We will be talking about real solutions.
And we will carry all of you with us.
From this side of the Atlantic my support can only be a moral one, but I think I can speak for most Europeans here when I say that this part of the world is totally with you in your efforts to end the war in Iraq and to set America back on the right track. As I said last night in the DU Kerry group: “John Kerry is a man with a mission to end all unjust wars and reconcile the world, and that’s what he is doing since Vietnam.”
For me you are one of the rare American politicians capable to see the world from a global perspective, as you said this morning in this panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos: “Americans have an unfortunate habit of seeing the world and other people exclusively through an American lens.” An long as there are Americans like you who don’t do that, the world will not give up hope on your country.
By the way, everybody here who hasn’t seen the discussion in Davos wit John Kerry and leaders from Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt etc. this morning (it was outstanding!) should watch it as soon as the podcast is available:
http://gaia.world-television.com/wef/worldeconomicforum_annualmeeting2007/default.aspx?sn=18378
Senator Kerry,
I am also behind this plan 100%. If George Bush could have done anything reasonable, this decision would not have been necessary. As someone who opposes war until the bombs and bullets are coming at us, I grieve the losses of both sides. As an RN who cares for vets, I have been furious at the insensitive and careless sacrifice of lives - whether killed or maimed. And my support for you begins and ends with your dedication to the soldiers, vets and war as a last resort.
I am very very happy with this decision. As much as I think you were the best candidate we could have for the WH in ‘08, I also know what you are going to be doing precludes trying to run another presidential campaign. It will be an historical opportunity. You will succeed and we will be with you to be sure of it. Let us choose we will ‘fight no more, forever’ as a goal.
Shalom,
Ginny
P.S. Any chance you could call Al and tell him since you are out, a lot of us REALLY, REALLY want him to run? ;)
Teresa,
Maybe you are reading this too. I think I am more disappointed that you will not be First Lady than that John is not going to be President!
We are very grateful this wonderful man has such a loving and supportive wife.
Hugs,
Ginny
First I must say that we all thank you so much for that, what you have done for this planet. We all love and adore you because you are a true heroe walking the way of light and love. We found out a lot of awful things about G.W.B. and that he wants Iran to be attacked instead of trying to make peace in Irak going back for the sake of this punished land and your troups. Here you can read the statement ofPaul Craig Roberts. This is very dangerous for all of us!
Bush is as an addict who never recovered from his addictive personality disorder, Senator Kerry is a man grounded in reality with honorable purpose of being. One never really knows what the future brings, so I say to Senator Kerry, as I did in the previous thread, I am with you 1000% percent and that you are our leader.
As important as the Iraqi catastrophe is today, there are so many other issues that we know are changing America for the worse. We can make things better, and I hope that you will continue to focus and lead not only on the Iraqi disaster, but also some of the other issues which threaten this nation.
You have an extraordinary opportunity now. Your comments can be delivered without the typical cynical and jaundiced eye of corporate media’s second guessing of your motives. Yes, that is indeed an extraordinary opportunity. But we all have to make sure you get re-elected to the Senate. Like I said above, no one can be absolutely certain what the future holds. So whatever we can do to help in your re-election to the Senate, let us know. We will have a different President in 2009, but we have to make damn sure we will still have John Kerry leading this nation in 2009.
Dear Senator Kerry
You said what most Americans would like to say, but only afraid to say it. America is becoming an international paria. Most would like to say an international devil. The present administration is responsible for the death of thousands and over 3000 of young Americans killed in a unwinable war that should of never been initiated.
Please do all you can in your power to end this tragic mistake.
Senator,
I have already said my thank you’s and told you how proud I am of you, and proud to stand beside you, in this blog and I agree with everyone who has written telling you of your important, relevent and unique standing in our country and in our hearts but I wanted to add that I am glad you will not find yourself, by some cruel twist of fate, in the place that has to be the one to, “ask the last man to die for a mistake” this cross, I am glad you won’t be asked to bear.
Again thank for all you are and for all you do
Love ALWAYS
Katie from Washington State.
Senator and Mrs. Kerry -
Kerry on! We are behind you all the way, whatever the
future brings. Support our troops, bring them home, and help them to recover from what this has done to them. We
will join you in the “campaign for our country.” And in all your future campaigns. Aos dois, abracao! da familia May
Senator Kerry…i mean president Kerry.
Sir,
I would like to start by saying you are a very respectfull, strong and decent person that really inspired me and i learned and still learning many things from you…Sir I can find behind your words the leadership and capability to lead this country,the world needs leaders like you to get better…Sir it is never too late to lead, you were only few votes away in 2004, and John Kerry sounds like a great president name..I urge you to rethink about it and whatever your decision , all the good people will always respect and honor you.
A student in John Kerry World.
J -
Thank YOU.
I’m so proud of you.
That is all. :-)
Thank you Senator John Kerry for serving our Country so well, always. I know you will continue to work for the welfare of our Country, at home on many fronts and by your tireless effort and leadership on Iraq. You have the experience and moral center to persuade our Government and Congress to the right course to meet the challenges in Iraq and the middle east. And thank you for keeping true to the ideals of our Country - and for always looking out for our troops. I like this “ A Campaign for our Country” Definitely count me in to help. You are a true inspiration.
Senator Kerry, I have been a huge fan of yours for years but never saw the blog part of your site until today—how wonderful to find a community that feels the way I do about you. My “Kerry for President” bumper sticker (the ones that were out before you chose my fellow North Carolinian John Edwards!) is still on my car and I have a backup sticker for whenever I get a new hybrid.
I got to see you speak in Charlotte during the 2004 campaign—not in a huge crowd but at a small rally, where you were absolutely magnetic. We knew that we were hearing exactly the intelligence, experience, and heart that we needed in our new president. While I’ll never get over our loss then and mourn the fact that you won’t be president this time around either, I do believe you can do more good devoting yourself to the Senate than trying to campaign and be a Senator at the same time. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
Enough—except to say THANK YOU and keep fighting, and know that there are thousands of us out there who think you are the greatest.
Senator
It has taken over a week for me to be able to get back on the blogs after your news that you weren’t running in 08.
I respect your decision but I think you are making a mistake. I will never vote for hillary, biden, edwards, and richardson in any election ever and I can say that with great authority.
I know you are loyal to the country and the democratic party but where was the democratic loyalty to you? Instead of looking for a fresh face, clinton nostalgia, southern appeal the democrats should be looking for leadership, brains, guts, lion-hearted statesman and you are the only one that fits that bill.
I was and still am pissed at the way the media, rovians, bushes, GOP and especially the democratic party has treated you since 03.
Because of the backstabbing your own party has done to you I can no longer call myself a democrat.
Not to worry it will be a cold day in hades before I ever vote for the GOP but your own party’s betrayal can’t be overlooked and glossed over.
I see the candidates now and they are saying things you have said for years now only then they ridiculed you along with the GOP. You were a head of your time but it doesn’t make your decision not to run in 08 any easier for me or for you.
I do hope you can find a way to stop the war but other than impeaching bush and cheney that isn’t going to happen unless in 08 the Whitehouse goes to someone who truly wants to end this war. The constitution set it up this way.
I see the wingnuts and media are still slandering your good name. I hope you didn’t think that would change? The media has it in for you and will do whatever it takes to malign any thing you do.
I’ll always have your back. I’ll stand up and defend probably the last decent man left in the democratic party and that is you.
God knows I didn’t want you to have to through another 2 years of the media and the dem party trashing you. Until the democratic party cut the cord to the clintons they will bleed this party dry.
Hollywood interest doesn’t help the party either.
You made me believe that there could be decency in politics. Clinton got me interested in the political process in 92 until he whored around and along with his wife gave control of congress to the GOP.
I knew you were the real deal and I became even more convinced after the 04 election that you would make one hell of a president.
God knows having a classy president and first lady would be a real treat.
I will keep an eye out for you but I have to leave the political stage now that you’re not running. I don’t see any candidate worth voting for and will be sitting 08 out unless you change your mind or are drafted to run in 08.
Please remember that Iraq isn’t the only central issue we have to face now. I know as a veteran it is close to you and probably cuts the deepest.
Global warming is decimating this planet and its time for everybody to get the lead out of their butts and do something.
As president you would have made huge strides where global warming is concerned. None of the dems running now knows what the heck they are talking about when it comes to Iraq, global warming, and healthcare.
Please don’t loose focus on the gulf region. Katrina raw power was nothing compared to the governments inability to function at a time of disaster on a massive scale.
This country is ill prepared for when massive disasters strike.
You had the best disaster recovery ideas after Katrina and Rita and I think you should have talked about them more.
Please use your upcoming book tour to let folks get to know the real you not the media filtered version. People need to see you and your wife without all the background noise. Your life is more than Vietnam and war. You sell yourself short by not focusing on other aspects of what makes you who you are.
Don’t loose focus on Afghanistan, Africa, Latin America and China.
Dafur and the Congo need leadership now to help end the suffering. Global warming has Africa in her grip and is crippling the continent.
Latin America has been rejected for the last 6 years and as for China? She has grown in influence while the US has lost hers thanks to borrowing from countries to pay for massive debt, Iraq war, saber rattling, neo-cons and bush.
The commander in chief sets policy, wages war, signs bills into law, signs treaties, is the chief diplomat for the nation and that is why it’s hard for me to not see you in the Whitehouse.
As Tom Carper most eloquently put it in a post above “A Prophet is without honor in his own land”
Add party to that and it’s you indeed.
Watch your back with media, Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, clintons, and anyone else running in 08. They have stabbed your back in the past and they won’t hesitate to throw you under the bus in the future.
I never thought I would see the day when Rove, Dubya, the clintons, rush, hannity, drudge, and many other traitors would win. You may win in the end but now that you are not on the 08 stage they get to write the chapter and they win.
God Bless you senator and your family. Good Luck to you all and now that Pelosi and crew have co-opted “beautiful day” as their theme I think another U2 song fits you better “One”
Kerry in 08 (one can hope)
PS. Tell momma T she is missed on the national stage and needs to come back.
‘Sis’-
It is difficult, isn’t it, when you look at the current field of candidates and measure them against Sen Kerry?
I was watching the Davos panel on “The Future of the Middle East” last night on C-Span, and just couldn’t imagine any one of them in the Senator’s place. Sen Kerry was on the panel with ME leaders, and there was a common theme around what is needed to resolve the differences. That theme was diplomacy, and there is no one better to speak for us in that regard than Sen Kerry.
When Khatami said that in return for working with the Bush administration, they were called the “axis of evil”, you could just feel how much that one simple, and incredibly stupid remark by the President set back relations in the Middle East.
One remark Sen Kerry made on the panel was so truthful and obvious that it was striking. “Everybody’s talking past each other.”, the Senator said. That’s exactly the problem. There’s no dialogue, just rhetoric. On that stage at Davos, though, there was dialogue. It was a start if we are willing to continue the discussion.
I think that’s what Sen Kerry needs us to do. Continue the discussion. Talk to people about what matters and how to resolve our differences instead of talking past them.
That’s why setadeadline is so important. We need to show the Middle East that we’re prepared to move away from a military solution and on to the diplomacy that will finally bring an end to the conflict.
I hear you regarding ‘08. But there’s still a lot of work to be done, and we have an important role. I hope you will stay on here, your voice is needed.