Mainly because he, personally, requested that I hang on to it.

She actually steered me over to him after the event because I had met her at a number of campaign events, earlier in the year and she saw I was wearing the button. I was so thrilled to meet him, as I had met Max Cleland a few years earlier when I was campaigning for John Kerry and those two men are at the top of my most admired list.

but I find it difficult to understand why they would want him to go through that
grueling process again or think that he might want to.

And they stole that from him. Why would anyone want that again?

Al Gore is almost in the same boat, but I think after putting his toe in the water again in 2008, I think he realized he can do a lot more outside the system and dislikes having to sell himself out.

Too bad we can't get more people to field, but the cost in money and personal damage is too high for most people to contemplate.

I think it would have and still would be a huge step forward for this country.

That said, he is phenomenal right where he is, almost as if he was born for the position. (He is, after all, the son of a diplomat, so some things were probably imprinted on him in his youth that are helpful now).

And, basically, I feel like this country, on average (not all of the individuals in it!) just do not deserve a president as good as Kerry. Somehow they managed to get Obama, which is almost as good, and all a bunch of them do is spit on him and insult him.

...but does not deserve Kerry. He'd be an excellent President.