Even if you hate him, you should follow the dictum "know thy enemy."
more..
A whole lot of people have gotten the impression that Kerry is a spineless twerp. I even saw someone say that he'd never cheat on his wife because he's too cowardly. Hmm.
You can hate on Kerry all you want, but you ought to know him a little better. He certainly does have a spine, and he loves to take dangerous risks.
For instance, back in the 60s, before he went to 'Nam, he tried to do a loop under and around the Golden Gate Bridge. In the war he took risks as a matter of course. These are things the spineless will never do. There is a character issue here, but it isn't cowardice.
Some call Kerry uncommitted to some important parts of his job, but I'm not sure that's entirely fair. What Kerry likes to do is investigate, so he's gotten to lead a lot of the Senate investigations in the past.
'Course that's all over now that the GOP has the Senate.
But as for legislation, people think it doesn't seem to be his bag. Partly that is probably true. Also, however, partly this may be because he and Ted Kennedy are closely allied in political vision, and so most of the laws they'd be interested in enacting carry Ted's imprimateur. Kerry really likes Kennedy (and probably enjoys being familiar with him too) so it's somewhat understandable if he steps aside.
Still hate Kerry? Ok, but let's be fair about it. There are several areas where Kerry has been a leader -- veterans affairs, the environment, and investigating the bad guys.
He isn't spineless. Lord knows he's not perfect -- he's vain, snobbish, and chummy with the monied class, but he isn't Attilla the Hun either.
One of Kerry's strengths is that he listens and thinks before he makes a decision. He takes other points of view into account. And he's very bright. You don't see that if you stop at his plodding speaking style, more suitable for the stump of 1904 than 2004..
Sure, Kerry has his flaws, so look them over. But be fair.