Kerry catnip gem

[ginnyinWI]

I wasn't "kerry-aware" in Aug 2003, so this was new to me: I went to c-span and clicked on a random Kerry archive and came up with this:

http://www.c-span.org/Search/basic.asp?BasicQueryText=John+Kerry&SortBy=date&ResultStart=140&

If it doesn't work just go to Cspan online, search in "john kerry" and look for 8/10/03. It's great--he walks all up and down a street in Littleton, NH, talking to the locals about his hair, going to high school in NH, JFK and the tax situation then and now, ice cream, talks to several little kids, asks people a million questions (inquisitive!)plays the guitar in a music store (Paul McCartney's "Yesterday"), and--well I'm not done watching it yet. Recommended!

edit: this was at a time when he was trailing behind Dean. He answers press questions about the race. Sounds the same as today.

edit two: talks to a group and answers questions: pissed off about * and Iraq invasion.

[karynnj]

1. Thank you so much

This sounds priceless. I want to hear him play "Yesterday" and talk to kids etc. Can you imagine if all this stuff stays archived and 50 years from now some college student (or someone) looks at this stuff versus all the MSM.

[FreedomAngel82]

9. I wish there was a way to download and save this

:(

[_dynamicdems]

2. Thanks for posting this! I live in NH and have been to Littleton many

times, so this will be an added treat! Littleton is in the White Mountains, for those who don't know NH. It is an adorable little city/town.

Can't wait until this loads to watch it!

[globalvillage]

3. Guitar. Hands.

It was worth watching for that.

[ginnyinWI]

4. you got that right!

Especially when he tried the third guitar! The very best moment of the whole hour and 24 min.! :blush:

[globalvillage]

6. Obviously, the man is very talented. n/t.

[TayTay]

5. Oooh, I've been to Littleton, NH.

I love these up close and personals with actual voters. They are so fascinating.

Ooooh, that is good. I love the guitar segment. So, ahm, quiet.

What's the price for Andy Hiller, Tell him about $2000. Hahahaha. I would have said the same thing. Hahahahahaha. (Hiller is a know-it-all jerk. He just dissed Kerry again last week on Channel 7. Sigh!)

[karynnj]

19. Thanks for explaining that - I had no idea who Hiller was.

Kerry's answer was so fast and everyone laughed so I guessed he was some local person they didn't like.

[TayTay]

26. Mud season LOL!

I hate Mud Season. It's not fun, especially up in Cow Hampshire.

[Island Blue]

7. Thanks for posting.

I loved the guitar playing, and I love how he interacted with the little girl in the diner. He is just so good with kids! :loveya: He really treats them with great respect (like he does everyone). He doesn't patronize or talk down to them. Reason #943 to love John Kerry!

[FreedomAngel82]

10. Hear hear

My mother even loves it! I think she's a Kerry fan too. I like to show her some pictures of Kerry with kids and she seems to like looking at them. She's never complained. I wish people got to know this Kerry like we do. :loveya:

[FreedomAngel82]

8. How awesome!

I'll have to watch it later. :)

[ProSense]

11. I'm watching this. It's great.

Kerry's affability live and in color.


:loveya:

[ProSense]

12. Wow!

There were Republicans at one of restaurants where Kerry was speaking and he didn't have them removed. :sarcasm:

[FreedomAngel82]

13. Wow, seriously?

Wow! I thought democrats did it too!!

:sarcasm:

[karynnj]

14. Just finished watching this

His answer on grassroots politics was interesting - he was saying then much of what he's saying now.

He really did get much better at the speeches - though he had moments when he was really really good here. (Much better than Warner was in his early one) It was amazing how well he talked to people. Even when asked how he still had so much hair.

[FreedomAngel82]

15. LOL I loved that one

Than he got more into political stuff with the guy about the economy. I loved how people showed such respect for him. Even that one woman who asked him if he was a republican. He was so nice to her too. I'm watching the part now where he's at this guy's store and this little girl in a little sunflower dress just runs over to him to say hello. I loved that. He picks her up and asks who she is and where her parents are. She's so comfortable around him. So cute! I really like how he connects with people and is so poliet to everyone. That's one of my favorite things about Kerry. You know he cares and listens to people and he goes to every store. I loved him in the music store and with the little girl. I think those are my favorite parts so far. It's so neat seeing and hearing him play the guitar. He's good. Back to watching. :)

[karynnj]

18. His interaction with that little girl was amazing

That he immediately looked around, then asked where her parents were was just so responsible. It's amazing that she ran over to him and wanted him to pick her up - he wasn't all that well known then.

[FreedomAngel82]

22. Yep

I loved that too. It was like she knew him forever or something. I told my Mom about that and she's even amazed how kids are with him. How they're so comfortable and all that. It's so amazing. Kerry does have this really amazing energy that I have felt so maybe they can feel that? :shrug:

[beachmom]

16. Thanks for this! I just watched it.

First of all, I really think he has evolved since 2003. If you caught his recent visit to Manchester, NH (which Tay Tay and DD attended), it was like he was coming home to family. A certain amount of emotion in the air (not unlike his Kos diary thread) that was NOT there in 2003. Two things have changed: he has changed and the country has changed. People are MUCH more depressed now than they were in 2003. Iraq was going badly, but you certainly didn't have 53% of Americans saying it was a mistake in 2003. The body count wasn't so high back then. You didn't have Hurricane Katrina -- I still say that was the event that turned the public against *. Iraq was too far away, too difficult to understand, but there was no doubt how badly * f***ed up for the hurricane. And I think Kerry has changed. I really do. He's far more likely to give someone a hug, he's more upset than ever about the direction of the country, and his election loss was a giant loss for him (even if he claims his '72 congressional loss knocked him on his ass more than this one), and he simply is unable (thank God) to hide his grief of the loss for himself AND the country, at least when talking to regular people and supporters. The downhill direction of the country is inextricably linked to his personal electoral loss.

On politics, back in 2003, he was certainly more in line with the WH than he is now. He talked about WMD in Iraq in the '90s, and how he urged Bill Clinton to threaten force against Iraq. He talked about Saddam Hussein, and all of the suffering he caused Iraqis, gassing his people, starting the Iran/Iraq War and invading Kuwait. It's not that these things aren't true now, but with the knowledge he has now (about how the * administration manipulated intelligence to make things look dire), he would never talk that way now. And, really, any Democrat who talks that way now is immediately shouted down by angry Democrats everywhere, and I think that's a good thing, a REALLY good sign that we may gain some seats in 2006. This is not a turnabout in any shape or form -- JK has ALWAYS, from the beginning criticized * for not putting together a coalition and a plan for the peace. But what's different is that he realizes now that the damned country didn't HAVE WMD, and that the administration lied about what they knew. By 2004, we knew there were definitely no WMD, but it wasn't until 2005, that the extent of the lying and manipulating by the administration (a la DSM), who wanted to go to war no matter what. Kerry said that recently on Imus -- he said he would never vote yes on the IWR vote, because EVERYTHING has changed with what we now know.

In short, as charming and talented (nice guitar playing!) as 2003 JK is, I kinda like 2006 JK better. He's a little more battle worn, more likely to just say what's on his mind, more comfortable showing his feelings, and dropping the salesman act (it wasn't that bad, but notice how many times he said "fantastic", "That's great"!). Now mind you, it's not that his personality has changed, it's more that he's willing to let it show now.

Thanks for the history. And yes, 2003 does seem like ancient history now, doesn't it?

[TayTay]

17. Whome and I said back in Dec 2004

that we had noticed a difference from the Kerry who was our Senator for 20 years and the person who emerged from that loss in '04. There is a difference. I think there is much more of a willingness to go after the Repubs and to say and do what he thinks. I think some very positive and some very negative things happened and have left marks that I can see.

[whometense]

21. I've been watching it just now,

and I see the same man I've always seen, just that it's pre-collision with the Rovian wrecking ball.

It's true love. I just adore his sincerity.

But the difference now, as Tay just said is that he's battle-hardened in a new way.

I was thinking about this the other day. Some repuke - I forget which - was talking about how Teddy sponsored NCLB. And it started me thinking about how much things in DC have changed since the early days of the Bush presidency, and about which dems are aware of the changes and which aren't.

It seems to me like there's a bright dividing line betweenthe two groups - as evidenced by the filibuster attempt. On one side of the line (and presently leading the charge) are JK and Teddy. Boxer and Durbin are right there with them. Others are a step or two behind, but still pretty much there. These are the senators who have fully realized that there is no compromise possible with these people, so you might as well stand your ground.

And then there are the others, and I cannot for the life of me imagine what they are thinking. Even if they don't want to be seen as "angry" by their home state voters, they can still quietly talk about the ways in which the people of their states have been f***ed over in every attempt at compromise with the administration.

[beachmom]

27. Well said, Whomtense!

especially about it being pre-collision with the Rovian wrecking ball. It was back when he was a man with a dream to bring this country forward, and he thought we could have an honest conversation about policy in the campaign, only to find the Republicans had made the decision that the conversation was over -- it was war!!! And the American people, sadly, many of them fell for it. Kerry maintained his integrity throughout, but he knows now that there will be no talking with these people.

I agree with you on Dems who "get it" and Dems who don't. I think it is a positive development for the party. We didn't win being "nice", and even if the media condemns the Dems for fighting back, they need to keep doing it.

[FreedomAngel82]

23. I do too

I think he's grown a lot. A lot is still the same with him but policy direction has changed. I still have this amazing pull that he will be president soon. Of course I could be biased but this doesn't feel like it and I have seen visions of him being sworn in. Only thing is I didn't see Edwards around so I don't know who his VP is going to be. :shrug:

[ginnyinWI]

29. I think he's a lot more willing to let down his guard now

I think he's found out that he can do that and people like him all the more. He has bonded.

In this video he shows a lot of friendliness and intellectual curiosity, but also that he's not sure he's fully accepted. I think now he is sure. Getting 59 million+ votes will do that to a person. ;)

And now he's stepped into a new role--a kind of caring father or brave protector role even more than before. Seeing all those people have touched him and become more real to him than ever before; he's got a heartfelt as well as a philisophical committment now. That's what true leaders do--they feel responsible for the welfare of their people.

[whometense]

20. Thanks, Ginny!

That was uber-catnippy for me, on three accounts.

I loved his sort of embarrassed comment that he's not used to playing in front of people. As someone who's learned to play the cello as an older adult, I also play for my own pleasure, and don't play in front of anyone except my teacher (and once in a while, apologetically, my daughter, if we play duets).

Also, I have a serious soft spot for classical guitar. So I loved the piece he was playing last. :loveya:

It shows a genuine humility to expose your loves (and weaknesses) in that way, a quality that is one of those I most admire in JK. He knows what he doesn't know. A great quality for a president to possess, IMO.

[FreedomAngel82]

24. Yes I loved that too!

You could tell he was blushing inside.

[beachmom]

25. Ah, the guitar catnip -- priceless

Well, now that I'm done with my "Kerry has evolved" theme, I want to concurr with you that the guitar scene was awesome! First of all, you got to see the real John Kerry unfiltered and uncut!! I play guitar myself, and like JK I started as an adult. We also seem to like the same music -- Spanish, classical, folk, rock. The similarities stop there. He is TOTALLY ambitious, playing really tough music, even though he could have gotten away with just learning chords so he could play most folk songs. I could also see that he has done a LOT of practicing, and was smart to keep guitar playing in his life during the campaign, just to keep his callouses. Oh, and I am TOTALLY jealous of those big hands of his, because I struggle with bar chords (where one finger goes across the whole string), and it's obviously effortless for him. Yeah, he had some tonal issues and was a bit rusty in places, but, this is a hobby for an extremely busy man!! What crossed my mind was -- man, and what he could accomplish if he practiced 4 hours a day every day.

I had an instructor in Germany who used to be a concert classical guitarist, and she said it's the most demanding instrument of all. The regimen was that you had to practice 8 hours a day, and that included taking a 2 hour break midday, so it literally consumed 10 hours a day. She never married and just had her dogs to keep her company. That gives you an idea on how difficult classical guitar is, and here we have a presidential candidate and senator wading in to such a difficult discipline, and doing very well!

Lastly, what I liked was what guitar means to him. He talked about how he just plays for himself, and I think I read before that he has a difficult time relaxing and this was a good outlet for him. I think it also serves as therapy -- it was in that Newsweek article that he was playing his guitar a lot after he lost the election. Although it sounded lonely -- him alone in a room playing his guitar -- it actually was a healthy sign that he was going to be alright. (When you are completely depressed, you will not do anything, even things that you enjoy) It also honors his introverted personality (which doesn't mean that you're antisocial or shy, but that you refuel best by doing things alone). You could almost see how that little session, even surrounded by cameras and people, he could go inside himself slightly, making him ready for his speech later in the day.

Seeing him play, and the level of difficulty of music he was playing, just adds one more inch of admiration I have for him. He's living his life to the fullest, that's for sure!

[FreedomAngel82]

28. Yep

I took a classical beginner guitar class in my first term and I had trouble too with stretching since I have small fingers and my guitar neck was a bit bigger than what I should have gotten. :blush:

[ginnyinWI]

30. thanks for those insights

They make perfect sense. He is the type to refuel by himself rather than through others--I can identify with that. But such a challenging hobby--just shows how much ambition and drive he has.

[beachmom]

31. Just for anyone who's curious

I have a John Williams greatest hit CD, and I believe JK was playing Albeniz: Asturias -- the last piece he played. Impressive indeed.

[Luftmensch067]

32. I was curious!

Thank you. :-)

[whometense]

33. After watching that video

I was playing my John Williams cd - but mine is the Bach Lute Suites.

I have this wonderful record from back in college called "Duets with the Spanish Guitar", and that piece is on it.