I think this is what I've meant by 'there has been a change' [View All]

[TayTay]

You know, I keep burying the lead whenever I post here. There was a time, a few months ago, when Whome and I were talking about a change in Senator Kerry that slowly took effect last year. (We have had semi-pissy disagreements over this with non-Massholes.) Other people have countered that he has always been a good Dem and has been a great advocate for the poor and the middle class. My world-class come-back was, 'Yeah, but something's different. I swear, there's something added that wasn't there before, but I can't put my finger on it in exact terms."

Anyway, I was aimlessly trolling around in the archives again (because I have to learn this new searching thing and well, hell, why not) when I found some old articles, some good, some phoned-in and scripted. I also found this great, great quote and the light bulb finally went on above my head, "That's it! That's what's different."

In a July, 2001 article in The Nation, written by David Corn I found the following quote:

A longtime friend says, "He has been frustrating to those around him who have hoped for bolder progressive positions. His record--the war, BCCI--shows he cares about righting injustice. But he does not sufficiently understand the level of economic injustice that exists in this society. If his passion for justice finds its way into the economics of working- and middle-class Americans, he will be a very powerful candidate."

I think what I've been sensing, and not been able to put into words for people unfamiliar with Kerry before last year, was what's in that last line. Kerry has always been good on the issues. (I found all those old Boston Globe endorsements that almost read like love letters, "Dear John: We love you muchly, Please move in with us. Love the OpEd Board." ) But it was more academic, more of a position formed in the head. I think the campaign and being out on the road an away from comfy Massachusetts made Sen. Kerry a better Democrat, a better listener and a better politician. The sentence that says if he can marry that compulsion to seek justice into the economic realm, then Wow! I think he has. I hear the difference in the speeches he's giving now.

Hey, Whome, what do you think?