Jan 24, 2005 CNN article on John Kerry "The John Kerry I never knew" [View All]

Monday, January 24, 2005 Posted: 4:35 PM EST (2135 GMT)

Sen. John Kerry, left, flicks the hat of Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana, at the presidential inauguration.

The John Kerry I never knew

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. The evening's master of ceremonies refused to ignore the interruption. With perfect mock sympathy, he "explained": "You'll have to excuse the junior senator's tardiness; he got caught in front of a mirror." The crowd erupted in knowing laughter.

(snip)

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.

(snip)

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/

Inside Politics
Mark Shields, nationally known columnist and commentator, is the moderator of CNN's "The Capital Gang."