Thanks for the thoughts and impressions guys.
Clearly, this wasn't more of the same useless Bush is bad I'm not Bush tactics that unfortunately a lot of people are completely happy to buy into. That's no way to make a decision as anyone who was happy to Brian Sutter replaced by ANYONE as Flames coach would attest to.
FA speaks of the Democratic party as a centrist party, but it should be noted that among the mainstream democrats (memebers of Congres, governors etc...normal presidential candidate positions) Kerry is about as LEFT as you can find in the Democratic parts. Some of the things mentioned in this thread may not be out of the ordinary for the party, but they are definitely out of the ordinary for John Kerry.
My concerens...
Taxes. Don't care. Don't raise mine. The democrats tend to set the bar on middle class way too low.
Defense...this is stuff I need to know is really how Kerry feels....and not just lip service. Right now, one would be completely justified in believing it was lip service as John Kerry has never voted for a defense budget increase in his complete Senate history. Was 9/11 enough to change that? I have my doubts.
From here on in, I want to hear minimally about Bush. Bush's record is there for all of us to see and judge on our own. For 6 months, and this is truly undeniable, the Democratic Party has offered NOTHING but we are not Bush. If that doesn't change they have ZERO chance of getting my still undecided vote.
It's easy for Kerry to say that he would involve the international community more in Iraq. Bush tried very hard to do the same thing and failed. Why would Kerry have more success? Let me guess....because he's not Bush? Lame answer. One also has to keep in mind some of the reasons the international community refused to back the US aren't exactly squeaky clean either. But you won't find that story on CNN>
If Kerry wins (assuming I don't vote for him) I will certainly support him until he no longer deserves to be supported. I have a feeling that conservatives, for the most part, will be a lot less divisive then the Democrats have been over the last 4 years. I don't see Bill Frist giving daily speeches about Kerry like Tom Daschle did with Bush. I don't see a Republican controlled congress (if that holds true) blocking all Kerry judicial nominees for no reason whatsoever. This is one reason why I'm not going to be upset at all if Kerry wins. I'm sick of my country being divided and full of hate. I think if Kerry wins there is a good chance that goes away. If Bush wins, the screaming and petty name calling will only continue and make me vomit on a daily basis. For me, that the biggest non-platform selling point for the Kerry ticket.