John Kerry is a decorated Vietnam veteran, former prosecutor, United States Senator and 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate, who lost to a sitting President during a time of war by a close margin. John Kerry has been in service of others all his life.

Kerry served on a Swift Boat in Vietnam during a period when these boats were used for very dangerous patrols. Kerry saved the life of Jim Rasmussen on one occasion, the lives of his crew on another, and was also responsible for rescuing a number of Vietnamese villagers. Critics who generated partisan attacks on Kerry's military service in 2004, have been largely discredited because of their ties to right-wing groups and acceptance of neocon funding. This kind of dirty politics is now referred to swiftboating, after the group that attacked Kerry.

After Vietnam, Kerry became an anti-war activist. The rancor and division over Vietnam carries into the present. Many Vietnam vets see Kerry as a hero for speaking out, but others retain a bitter hatred toward him because they feel dissent was unpatriotic and that it somehow diminished their service. When Kerry, in his 1971 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spoke about the torture and atrocities American soldiers claimed to have committed, he was clear in that he was retelling the stories of other veterans. It is a testament to the extreme polarization over Vietnam that, to this day, that fact escapes the attention of those who inaccurately berate Kerry for accusing our military of atrocities.

Prior to becoming a Senator in Massachusetts, John Kerry earned a law degree, served as an assistant prosecutor and Lt. Governor in Mass. He maintains a critical eye towards crime and authored a book about crime and terrorism called The New War in 1997. Kerry's investigative skills were instrumental in breaking the Iran-Contra and BCCI scandal and, in his law enforcement approach to issues of government corruption and terrorism, Kerry remains ahead of the pack in speaking out on issues before they become popular.

John Kerry is a strong Democrat and he votes for liberal issues such as environmental protections, human rights, civil liberties, social security and lowering taxes for the middle class (but not for the upper class). However, Kerry is a fiscal conservative on the budget and has argued for a pay as you go strategy to government spending. Kerry supports maintaining a strong military and has proposed a wealth of legislation to protect and support veterans, but he does not support engaging in unilateral wars or nation building. Kerry voted to give George W. Bush the authority to use force in Iraq as a last resort, multilateral effort. This vote was based on lies about non-existent WMD that were presented to Congress as fact. In light of the truth being exposed about Iraq and WMD, Kerry has recanted his vote and has been fighting for a plan to withdraw our forces from Iraq by 2007. He also voted for the war in Afghanistan and maintains that this war was necessary for our security. Kerry has publically accused the Bush Administration of cuttting and running in Afghanistan and in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

Senator Kerry has been campaigning and raising money for Democrats running in 2006, particularly for veterans who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Through his PAC, Keeping Americas Promise, Kerry leads in fundraising for Democrats this election cycle. His e-mail list has grown since 2004 and he is still hugely popular at fundraising and speaking events across the country. People are often surprised when the meet the senator because he is very warm, funny and attractive, contrary to the erroneous impression that was perpetuated in 2004.

Senator Kerry is considering another run for President in 2008. The Senator maintains, however, that the 2006 battle for Congress is the watershed event that will determine the direction of our country and that this year, not 2008, is the priority until after the elections in November.

The alternative to having a hairless chimp for president.

The Kerry detractor comments are TERRIFYING. Having just graduated from an great prep school I was lucky to be able to attend and finished two consecutive intensive US History and political science courses, these comments seem lifted straight out of everything from the Salem Witch trials to Orwell's 1984.
Someone said that Kerry is wealthier than Bush, and therefore could not legislate in any way benefiting the indigent. This seems almost too ridiculous to be sincere, but factually, all you need to do is look up pending legislation before the Senate Subcomittee on Finance and you'll see a bill Kerry has written this year called the Kids First Act which provides healthcare for children who fall below Medicaid and SCHIP cutoffs by rolling back Bush's taxcuts for people who make over 300, 000 dollars a year.
Erica says that there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Even George W admits that there aren't. You've gotta stop watching so much Fox News, Erica, but it's not just you-- 46 percent of Fox viewers believe that there is a direct link between Iraq and Al-Queda, as compared to only 9 percent of PBS viewers. Also, I don't know where you learned US Government and Policy, but obviously Senators do not have the authority to issue purple hearts to themselves or anyone else.
I'd love Boekenoogen to get back to me about Kerry receiving purple hearts for "splinters" when he gets back from a tour of duty in, say, Tel Aviv, gets shot at by insurgents, and saves a ...

Vietnam war hero turned war protester. Senator from Massachusetts, only senator elected 4 times without any PAC special interest money. Fights for the middle class, education and the environment. Organized the first Earth Day in 1970. Chaired Senate subcommittee on Iran-Contra and exposed CIA drug smuggling in 1986. Lead a Senate probe that exposed a Pakistan based bank financing terrorists in 1992.
Ran for President in 2004 and lost to a lying criminal.

John Kerry enlisted in the Navy in 1966. He began his first tour of duty on a guided-missile frigate off the cost of Vietnam. In 1968, John Kerry began his second tour of duty, and volunteered to serve on a Swift Boat, one of the most dangerous assignments of the war. Swift Boats patrolled the narrow inlets and canals around the Mekong Delta to draw fire and smoke out the enemy. Lt. John Kerry's leadership, courage, and sacrifice earned him a Silver Star, the Navy's fifth highest medal, a Bronze Star with Combat V, and three Purple Hearts, awarded for wounds received in combat.

After he returned home he decided he had a responsibility to his friends still serving, the friends he had lost, and his country, to help restore responsible leadership in America. He became a spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

After graduating from Law School in 1976, John Kerry went to work as a top prosecutor in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He took on organized crime and fought for victims' rights.

John Kerry was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1982. In that office, he organized the nation's Governors to combat acid rain that was polluting lakes, rivers, and the nation's water supply. Two years later, he was elected to the United States Senate and he has won reelection three-times since. He is now serving his fourth term, after winning again in 2002.

During his two decades of service, he has fought for fiscal discipline, fought to put 100,000 more cops on America's ...

the man who should be running our country right now! he is intelligent, courageous, and compasionate. he fights for whats right and for the people.

Truly great American. He fought for our country in the Vietnam War, and then, in 2004, fought for our country against the Sinister Monkey.