How friendly is John Kerry?

[liberalpragmatist]

I like John Kerry, though I've never met him.

However, two friends of mine (liberals) who interned on Capital Hill said they found him "cold" when they met him on the Foreign Relations committee.

One of them singled out Lugar, Biden, Obama and Feingold as being very friendly and approachable.

Obviously you can't generalize two people's experiences overall. But I'm curious how that squares with how other people have felt interacting with Kerry.

[bear425]

1. I find him very friendly with a sense of humor. . .

I've been in his company at fundraising events, though. Perhaps he seems cold when he is in legislative (working) mode?

[sandnsea]

2. Yeah he's a real asshole

He kicks kittens too. :eyes:

I met Dennis Kucinich and I thought he had a godlike syndrome. I decided he was either having an off day or it was just me, and that I didn't need to post my personal impression weekly for no other purpose than to tear the man down.

John Kerry get too many happy threads in a row or something?

What a weird fucking post.

[liberalpragmatist]

3. I was just curious what other people's impressions of him were

It would have made more sense maybe in the Massachusetts forum rather than GD, admittedly

[sandnsea]

8. You've been her since at least 2003

And you're just getting around to asking about John Kerry, having missed the hundreds of adulation threads from Kerry supporters. Riiiiight.

[liberalpragmatist]

22. I've been here since 2003 and I've posted on plenty of Kerry threads

I supported him for the nomination in '04 and was an enthusiastic partisan during the '04 election. I have posted here once before (back right before the '04 election) if anybody had met Sen. Kerry and in what context.

A couple of my friends reactions to him surprised me so I thought I'd ask on DU what other people's reactions were. I'm not trying to prove anything or criticize him and even if the answers came back negative that would hardly impact my view of him politically. I just wondered how other people found him.

I think you're reading into my post a little bit too much.

[sandnsea]

24. Again, riiiighht

Sorry. Don't buy it. Don't have to. You've been around enough to know what a variety of people think of John Kerry. I don't know why you felt the need to post, but you certainly had some ulterior need, no doubt about that.

[liberalpragmatist]

27. LOL... what do you think my "ulterior" need is?

I've been here since 2003. You can search the archives if you want, but I have rarely anything but good things to say about John Kerry.

And yes, I know what plenty of people think of John Kerry. I did not know how people who met him found him and I was surprised by my friends' reactions so I thought I'd scoop out other DU'ers.

I'm sorry that I don't have anything more dastardly than that.

Please, for all I care, search the archives to see if I've ever been a Kerry-basher.

[LibraLiz1973]

41. OMG, I'm laughing at your post too!

What cloak and dagger thing do you think is going on here??

Kerry isn't even running


The OP was dumb, it belonged in the Lounge or the Mass. board- but I don't think dumb=plotter in this case.

[sandnsea]

45. Some candidate supporters

think they need to bash anybody who is or ever has been a threat to their candidate.

[LibraLiz1973]

50. Meaning the OP's candidate is NOT John Edwards?

[fedupinBushcountry]

28. I think

your friends don't know that Senator Kerry takes his job and especially the goings on in the SFRC very seriously, and I am glad he does. By the way what and when was the particulars of their meeting him ? I just saw him less then 2 weeks ago, his office was full and he was having his photo taken with a group of children and only had 30 seconds to get to a vote on the floor, he knew we had come by and he said a quick hello and apologized for having to run, While there I also ran into other Dem Senators and they were all friendly but not ONE Republican Senator even had the decency to say hello, they just walked by as if we didn't exist.

[SCDem]

37. I rode the tram under the Capitol with Senator Thune

No I did not vomit on site - and he did make small talk - he asked us where we were from - we said SC and he said oh and had a big smile - probably thinking we were Republicans - and then I smiled real big back and said yeah we are here to see our wonderful Congressman - Congressman Spratt! - I don't think he spoke a word more but remained gracious and continued his smile!!

This was just a few months ago - after the Democratic takeover - it felt wonderful!

[ncrainbowgrrl]

4. I met DK 3 years ago...

Couldn't have been a nicer guy...

I think that while "at work", we all act differently than if we're just chilling before a speech to an adoring crowd.

[politicasista]

15. LOL!

:rofl: :eyes:

[DemBones DemBones]

32. But now you're telling us your impression of

Kucinich while criticizing the OP for presenting an impression of Kerry.

:wtf:

Everyone else who's ever met Kucinich has said he was fantastic, talks to each person as if there is no one else there, so I guess it was just you.

[sandnsea]

44. And I was able to figure that out

All by myself. I'm sure the OP was too.

[ElizabethDC]

5. He's the nicest, warmest politician I've ever met

I've met Kerry a couple of times (once during the 2004 campaign, and once after) - he was really kind and warm and just a really nice guy.

I also met Obama a few months ago, and he wasn't friendly at all. I actually thought he was a little rude. Although I've met a lot of politicians - from heads of state (of this country and of others) on down, the Obama and Kerry encounters stick out in my mind for being at opposite ends of the friendliness spectrum.

[Nomad559]

6. Ask Jim Rassmann How friendly John Kerry Is

Rassmann was 21 at the time, a Special Forces lieutenant in charge of a company of American and Chinese fighters. On that day, they traveled on a convoy of five patrol boats led by the 25-year-old Kerry, a Navy lieutenant — and they were on the run, being chased down the Bay Hap River by enemy soldiers firing guns and rockets.

The group had already lost one soldier that day. As they sped down the river, one boat was blown out of the water, and then another. An explosion wounded Kerry in the arm and threw Rassmann into the river. Rassmann dove to the bottom to avoid being run over by the other boats. When he surfaced, he saw the convoy had gone ahead.

Viet Cong snipers fired at him, and Rassmann submerged over and over to avoid being hit. The bullets came from both banks, and Rassmann had nowhere to go. He began thinking his time had come, but the fifth time he came up, he saw the convoy had turned around. Kerry had ordered the boats back to pick up the man overboard.

Kerry's boat, under heavy fire, sidled up to the struggling soldier. Rassmann tried to scramble up a cargo net at the bow but was too exhausted to make it all the way. He clung to the net as bullets whizzed past.

"Next thing I knew, John came out in the middle of all this," Rassmann says. "I couldn't believe it. He was going to get killed. He ran to the edge, reached over with his good arm and pulled me over the lip."

Rassmann later recommended Kerry for the Silver Star, and was upset when the Army instead awarded Kerry a lesser Bronze Star with a "V" for valor. The medal citation described Kerry's actions on the river that day.

:)

[Pushed To The Left]

19. Kerry is a true hero!

He would have been an excellent President.

[Divine Discontent]

34. he's my president

I would call him that if I saw him again.

the man is incredibly kind. I've seen him 4 times, talked directly to him once. And one time, he waved and smiled at me & my friend with no one else within 100 feet and smiled from his S.S. SUV after a rally.

www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<-- top 08 items and antibushwear

[wisteria]

39. he is my President too. n/t

[draft_mario_cuomo]

7. I can vouch for Biden but have never spoken to any of the others nt

[mloutre]

9. Oh, for cryin' out loud. If you really wonder if Kerry is "cold", then...

...go here and watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5unaddeXiTc

Gimme a break. Anybody is bound to seem somewhat less than warm and fuzzy when they're standing behind a podium debating would-be dictatorial imperial president power-junkies on broadcast television. And a public figure having to interface with folks when he's standing in the well of the Senate is bound to feel a certain weight of tradition & gravitas on his shoulders at the time.

But is John Kerry "cold", up-close and personal?

Sheesh. Not even remotely near that, amigo.

I've not only watched Kerry closely over a period of years now, I've had the opportunity to participate in bloggers-only conference calls with him; to be part of small non-official audiences with him, like the one in that YouTube video I just mentioned; and to sit down with him for extended periods in small rooms when outsiders aren't hanging out taking pictures, too.

And I'm here to tell you that John Kerry is most definitely *not* a cold fish. Somewhat reserved in style, yes -- his family comes from old-school New England roots, where a certain amount of formality is assumed and expected -- but "cold"? Nope. sorry, but that's one thing that he definitely ain't.

And neither, for the record, is his lovely, smart, and outspoken wife Teresa. The two are very well matched, and anyone who's ever seen them in the same room at the same time can tell you that they are very much smitten with each other even after all these years.

The rest of us should only hope to be so lucky someday, ahem.



Note: edited to repair annoying typo after the fact.

[blm]

25. No kidding - the extremely HOT Teresa sees the sizzle just as I do - unfortunately, she

beat me to it. :(

heh ;)

[wisteria]

40. Good point on Teresa. She is very welcoming and open herself. n/t

[Joe Chi Minh]

10. Friendliness is anything BUT a gauge of personal merit. You don't sound very

pragmatic at all.

In fact, Christ, himself, didn't sound a very friendly soul, most of the time. It was his actions, and the truth of his words that were all important.

[lander]

11. I don't understand your comparison.

Christ is a character from a book; Kerry is a real person.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DemBones DemBones]

31. Good one! I get really tired of

militant atheists who think they are so much smarter and cooler than any theist could possibly be.

[Joe Chi Minh]

47. Thanks. Of course, they don't have any idea of little they know or

understand about the great imponderables - though clearly much, much more than idiots such as Galileo, Newton, Einstein, Kepler, Pascal, Hawkins an countless others. For a fuller list of 'dummy' scientists, see this site:

http://michaelcaputo.tripod.com/godandthegreatestscientists/listgreatscientistsgod.htm
(The link to the greatest philosophers looks very, very interesting as well)

Only Galileo's powerful father was able to prevent his becoming a priest; Kepler and Pascal were mystics and Mendel, a monk. God was/is a passion with many of them.

Towards the end of his life, Darwin, a theology graduate, expressed regret that he had so neglected his interest in theology.

Also, blissfully unaware of even the most elementary and obvious things that the vast majority of mankind has found to be incontrovertible, i.e. that the living, incredibly beautiful and complex universe has to be the product of an infinitely wise an infinitely powerful being.

Unbelievable! How ironical...

[fedupinBushcountry]

12. What a bunch of BS

I just met 2 of his interns in DC while at TBA and they couldn't say enough about how they liked working for Senator Kerry. I have also met him several times and in public and private settings and he loves to talk and even more he loves to listen to what "we the people" have to say.

What are you trying to prove? IMO all the Dems are very friendly and this is a ridiculous post.

[liberalpragmatist]

21. I'm not criticizing him

I've always liked him, but I've never met him. And I was surprised at the reactions of my two friends who met him, so I simply wondered how other people found him. That's all. Don't read into it too much.

[sojourner]

13. i wonder why that is important.........

i've worked for very good, very effective and very compassionate CEOs whose personal style would absolutely be categorized as "cold". So what do I care if a candidate is "friendly"?

Sounds too much like the "Guy you'd like to have a beer with" bullshit. And look where THAT got us.....

[liberalpragmatist]

23. It hardly impacts how I view him politically

Way too many people are reading into this too much. I've always liked Kerry and I've never met him, so my friends reactions surprised me. I simply wondered how other people found him when they've met him. That's it. I'm not attacking the man.

[globalvillage]

14. He can be intense.

But he's also really funny, and he seems to genuinely enjoy talking to people. Teresa is the same. Both very approachable, IMO.

The first time I knew I would have an opportunity to talk to Sen Kerry, I really didn't know exactly what I would say to him. That lasted about five seconds. He's a great listener and asks a lot of questions.

I just met a couple of his interns last week, and they love working for him. The description I hear most often is 'busy', but nothing even remotely negative. I've never heard anyone who knows him describe him as 'cold'. My impression is that he's quite the opposite.

I met Jim Webb, Jack Reed, Sherrod Brown, Hillary Clinton, Bob Casey. All very nice, although I didn't have any real conversation with them. But they did all take the time to say hello and have a brief exchange.

I've spent a bit of time talking to Sen Kerry, though. He's a great guy.

[politicasista]

16. Your answers are right here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=158&topic_id=9754

And this one:

Snip:

The John Kerry I never knew
Monday, January 24, 2005 Posted: 4:35 PM EST (2135 GMT)


WASHINGTON (Creators Syndicate) -- A couple of years ago, after the program had already begun at a political dinner honoring the beloved and then fatally ill Joe Moakley, a Boston Democratic congressman, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry made a late and highly visible entrance, walking to his table at the front of the room.

Let me tell you about a John Kerry much different from that glib stereotype. Seven years ago, Kerry personally recruited Brendan O'Donnell, then 19, to become an intern in his Senate office in Washington. Senate internships are coveted positions, often reserved for the children of well-connected or deep-pocketed campaign donors. Brendan O'Donnell's mother, Kathryn, was an honored elementary teacher and a widow. Her husband and Brendan's father, Kirk, was an enormously talented lawyer-politician had died unexpectedly the previous September. In the cold calculus of power, neither Brendan O'Donnell nor his family could do anything politically for John Kerry or anybody else.

What I forgot to mention is that Brendan is learning disabled. In 1999, he explained his condition this way in a statement John Kerry later quoted on the Senate floor: "I think there should be a different name for learning disabilities ... to me, it's not a disability -- it's just that I have something which causes a storm in my mind. When I look at something, I have to take my time and take it all in." But take it in he does, performing all his assigned tasks in the Senate office with enthusiasm and dispatch.

Although it's George W. Bush who's better known for nicknaming acquaintances, Kerry addresses his young colleague as "Brendy" or "the B-Man." What only a few get to see is the physically playful friendship between Brendan O'Donnell and John Kerry. As the senator put it when we chatted this week, referring to the shadow punches the two men toss at each other: "We hug, and we slug." In the words of another Kerry staffer, Brendan brings out "the frisky" in the senator. Asked what Brendan O'Donnell brings to his office, Kerry answers: "He has a strong work ethic. He is wonderful. He is an inspiration to everyone here, including me."

Don't try to tell Brendan O' Donnell that his boss, Sen. John Kerry, is aloof, self-absorbed or emotionally detached. He knows better. Brendan once spoke about individuals with learning disabilities: "We are the same as everyone else, and if someone takes the time to teach us, to work with us, and to help us understand, we can do whatever we want." He is right, and Sen. John Kerry has cared enough personally to take that time. Sorry if that shatters your stereotype like it shattered mine.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/24/shields.kerry/

[MH1]

52. People REALLY need to follow that link.

Hmmm. How many time is the op going to ask this question?

liberalpragmatist (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Sun Sep-17-06 05:03 AM
Original message
How is Sen. Kerry personally?

I'm sure people will have different perspectives, but I'm curious how people who have met or talked with John Kerry have found him. The reason I ask is that a friend of mine who interned in the Senate (a strong liberal) said he found Kerry to be, quote-unquote, "an asshole." Now, much as I could derive from the story, all I could make out from it was that Kerry was a little unfriendly (though not mean) in a brief encounter.

True or not? I've always liked Kerry from a distance and would like to know how people actually have found him.

The answers on that thread seem about the same as on this one - very much positive about John Kerry.

I am just wondering what is the point?

[Alexander]

17. Kerry was perfectly nice when I met him...

And at the time, I wasn't even a supporter of his.

[blm]

20. Very warm and engaging. He takes Foreign Relations Com. VERY SERIOUSLY and

stays extremely focused on the serious nature of the events discussed there, so I imagine that might put off those who were expecting a more sociable situation.

Kerry takes committee work seriously - that is where he persistently and often on his OWN worked to uncover IranContra and BCCI, especially when other senators from his own party were uncooperative and even hostile to those investigations.

Walter Shapiro followed the 2004 primary candidates around for a year and after observing all of them in many different types of situations, both professional and personal said that he was surprised to conclude that Kerry WAS the guy you wanted to have that beer with.

Kerry also was the overwhelming choice of all the service workers polled in Iowa. It's a tradition for the service workers and waitstaff of all the hotels and restaurants and meeting places to vote for the presidential primary candidate who treated THEM the most respectfully throughout the primary campaign.

Funny how the corpmedia neglected to highlight that vote - that would have ruined the narrative they were given.

[zulchzulu]

26. I met him several times and drove him around Madison in 2004

I was a driver when he visited Madison in February, 2004 when he won Wisconsin. He was very friendly and joked around a bit. He was also pretty serious as well when conferring his staff.

I also met him when he was preparing for the first debate in Spring Green, WI. He was very nice even when he was exhausted from the rigors of running for President.

I've met Russ too...an excellent man as well.

[ralbertson]

29. Well, I like him fine. But then again, I'm somewhat biased.

I've volunteered for him on the web for several years now, not to mention on the streets during the '04 campaign season, so my objectivity is somewhat tilted towards the positive side here. I must say, though, that after admiring and respecting him for a long long time, I finally got to spend some small pieces of close-up offstage time with him towards the end of last year and I added "liking him" to the list too.

Aside from his senator/statesman status, JK is also a good guy, as is his wife Teresa. I ran into both of them multiple times during the course of the 'This Moment on Earth' book events, and I now can state unequivocally that I genuinely like them both as people (in addition to the aforementioned admiration and respect factors, of course).

These are all important things. I can easily vote for someone I only respect and admire, without having to know them personally well enough to like them or not like them. (And let's face it, politicians are hard to know personally for all but a relatively small number of people, which I think was liberalpragmatist's point in putting up this OP in the first place: looking for input from others who have had more direct F2F experience with JK than your typical DUer has the opportunity to enjoy.)

I don't have to personally like someone to vote for them. I don't even have to personally like someone to work for them, either. But in my cynical old *ahem* middle age, that's became an additional primary criterion for me when it comes to taking on new gigs. I will not work for someone I don't respect and admire, and except under really unusual circumstances I will not work for someone I don't like. (Imho these are all symbiotic criteria, since it's very hard for me to like someone I don't respect and vice versa.)

"So do you respect and admire John Kerry as a statesman/senator?"

Yes, definitely, I do and I have for some years now.

"Do you like John Kerry as a person?"

Yes, definitely, I've had the chance to get to know him that way for a number of months now too.

"Ah, but would you work for John Kerry if he was your prospective employer?"

Well, apparently the answer to that one is yes also... since I did in fact say yes when asked in person... and I'll be dropping everything, pulling up stakes, and moving to Boston next month to take a job as staff writer for his new in-house online communications team.

Which means, I guess, that I'll have to start adding a disclaimer sig line to any posts I make on DU in the future, something along the lines of:

"Blogger Disclosure Notice: having previously volunteered to support John Kerry and his initiatives for several years, I am now working for him as a paid political operative on staff in his Boston office. Don't try this at home. Your mileage may vary. Please do not adjust your sets. Contents sold by weight, not volume. No user-serviceable parts inside. Copied right 2007, all rites preserved."

See? There ya have it, liberalpragmatist. Would I go and do all *that* if I didn't really like the guy, huh?

[wisteria]

46. Oh! Congratulations!!!! Cool beans! n/t

[WildEyedLiberal]

30. Sounds like your friends have an agenda?

Well, first of all, if he was working on the Hill, he might have just been busy - but then again, if he was in the middle of working, your friends are, pardon me, kind of stupid if they expected him to drop everything.

I have met him both in a casual and a "working" environment. He's an exceptionally warm and friendly person and you can tell that he's really a good person in every sense of the word. Imminently approachable, not an ounce of "better than thou" arrogance that seems to be many politicians' downfalls - he remembered me every subsequent time I met him, too. He's a very special person, and I genuinely like him beyond his politics.

That said, I distinctly remember you posted an OP almost identical to this several months ago. What's your deal? You say you like Kerry and all that, so why have you posted - at least twice - this BS hearsay from your "friends"? What gives?

[LittleClarkie]

33. Maybe they just shouldn't try and catch him when he's got stuff on his mind

what with being on the foreign committee and all. Do they mention what was going on just then? Perhaps it was just some serious stuff he was in the middle of.

[JNelson6563]

35. That's what I was thinking too

When I am seriously involved in work I like to be focused and I may not seem particularly warm and fuzzy. It all depends on what I am in the middle of.

I think Kerry is probably a very likable guy. I know the staffer I met in 04 had been with him for 15 years and was very dedicated to him.

Julie

[LiberalFighter]

36. I haven't met any of the above but my gut feelings

Lugar is totally weird. I wouldn't trust his friendliness. There is such a thing as having one face for the public and one for private.

Biden talks 2 different versions.

Obama hasn't been in the public long enough.

Feingold I would give thumbs up.

Kerry is boring too many times when he speaks.

[wisteria]

38. What is the point of your post? Actually, I have met him at least 3 times and he was friendly,

gracious and very open and honest. He even joked around making some very funny quips. He actually gave up a seat and sat on a cardboard box so I could have a seat when I had the pleasure of taking part in an interview with him. Add gentleman to the list too.

Maybe he takes him job a little more seriously than some of the others. He is intense,concerned and passionate about his work. That is why he has been right on so many points about Iraq and global issues.

[R_M]

42. What agenda does your friend have?

[Joe Chi Minh]

48. I wonder....

[Dinger]

43. I've Met Him & He Was Very Personable

I asked him to sign a flyer for a campaign appearance for me to show to my class, and he got a marker (I didn't have one) from his security (or whoever it was) and happily signed it for me. Very warm and approachable. I was honored.

[high density]

49. I shook his hand once at a fundraiser after the 2004 election

And I got the same rather cold, unwelcoming feeling from him. It's not really a happy memory to be honest.

Now flame away if you must, but that was my ten second experience.

[wisteria]

51. A handshake? And you could tell all that from one brief handshake?

I bet he was busy moving around and greeting many people at the fundraiser. Sorry you remembered your experience that way. an I have always found him warm and friendly when I have met him. I have nothing but pleasant memories of meeting him. I can't figure out why yours would be any different than mine. He certainly is a welcoming and warm and good person.

[mitchum]

53. Nice guy; helped me move some furniture last weekend

[LittleClarkie]

54. I hope you provided the pizza and beer

only neighborly.