A tidbit about Kerry in the gossip column of the NY Daily News.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/374456p-318193c.html

For old times' sake: Or did former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry have a future race in mind when he hoisted a few - and scarfed down shepherd's pie - with three dozen ex-campaign staffers the other night at Rosie O'Grady's on Seventh Ave. A Lowdown spy said the Massachusetts senator was friendly and relaxed - and that his outspoken wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, was gracious and low-key - as they schmoozed with and thanked their comrades in arms. But some were buzzing that Kerry was keeping lines of communication open for a possible second shot at the White House in 2008, and that stepson Chris Heinz - who was also present - might return to Pittsburgh to run for Congress. Needless to say, Kerry paid for drinks.

Where are the pics of Chris Heinz?

Seriously, this is so nice. I think they had a nice and relaxed weekend. Couldn't have happened to a niceer couple.
Glad to hear this.

lately describing Kerry as "relaxed", "friendly", "down to earth" etc. They all are tiny little stories, but I wonder, if in arrogate they could have an impact - that gradually people will see that they were lied to last year.

extremely relaxed yet EXTREMELY focused! He is one of the nicest, most down to earth people I think I've ever met. He talked to us like we were all his friends and he was truly interested in what we had to say, not like he felt he was doing us some great favor by gracing us with his presence.

He and Teresa both are just fantastic people!

about the group's experience and the few articles---from the jury duty piece to the tidbit in the OP---I'm more convinced that the media completely distorted Kerry's personality. Even when there was no need to do so, they tried to drum home their false point.

They knew he was brilliant and knew that would be obvious from the debates - even before they happened. If his true personality showed; the kindness, willingness to forgive, wit, humor, and basic niceness, most of the Republican arguments disappear. The devotion of his SB crew would be understandable. The whole he's aloof, elitist and unlikable couldn't hold.

Then his athletic endeavors would be the catnip they are here. People would also see the seriousness of his life of service and his sense of history. If they would have showed more of the rallies, his personality would have come through.

I think making Kerry unlikeable last year was one of the dirtiest aspects of the campaign up there with the Swift Boats. It might at first glance seem like no big deal -- small stuff -- but the truth of the matter is a LOT of people vote on personality. Do I "like" this person and do I want him (or her) in my living room for the next 4 years? You know, for us it is obvious that you need to examine the candidate based on real merits -- their ideology, their actions as a public servant, what substance is in their speeches, who are his or her advisors -- but we don't live in a country that does that. Many people aren't all that interested in politics or policy, and want to do the least amount of work possible to determine who they want to vote for. So they look at the soft skills, the likeablity factor, and then look only at issues afterwards. Do I like this, no? But to quote our most wonderful defense secretary, "You run in the country you have, not in a country you wish you had".

That's why I forwarded the jury story to some swing voters I know, because that stuff matters a lot.

that means the media is just as culpable as the rest---from the people who tampered with the machines to those who actively turned people away from the polls. I read again about that 2002 phone-jamming incident in NH. What happened in 2004 was like airwaves jamming.

ok, so first I'm too shy to join the Boston weekend and am knocking my head against the wall for that :banghead: Now I see that JK, THK and CHRIS! were at my favorite wateringhole a block or two from where I work ... and I don't just happen to go out for a beer that night. UURRRGGHH. :banghead:

It's okay. There will be other chances.

Hey, don't be shy next time. We are a fun group. You would be welcomed, fussed over, allowed to be quiet, allowed to be 'loud,' allowed to be you. (Hey, who died and made us the queens of the friggin universe, anyway? Sorry, that is a oft-used phrase of mine that serves to remind me that I am just an ordinary person trying to figure it all out, like everyone else.) No need to be shy next time. (And you never know, there could be a next time. I don't know one way or the other. It could happen.)