A Kerry In Houston Report

First of all, a news flash: Kerry has a sense of humor. A real one. Of course, the jokes opening his speech were canned, and they were carefully tailored to a Houston crowd, but he delivered them with warmth and excellent timing. One of them may appeal to New Englanders among my readers: Kerry said (approximately) that he was glad to be in Houston, where it was already clear to everyone that a New England patriot could win it all. I'll forgive him the obligatory sports reference; he brought it off quite capably. And his other Texas references proved that he had done his homework well. (By contrast, how much do you think the Shrub knows about Massachusetts? Right. He probably can't even spell it, let alone talk about its economic issues.)

Then Kerry opened the floor for questions.

Let me say that again: Kerry opened the floor for questions.

I can imagine a Howard Dean or a John Edwards doing such a thing. But can you imagine Bush going off-script, fielding honest questions with no-nonsense, to-the point, well-reasoned answers, even in a room full of supporters, with the TV cameras live and tape rolling? No? Neither can I.

Here's the short version: there are many, many reasons to vote for this man... and by no means do all those reasons lead back to Georgie Boy. I plan to campaign for John Kerry, and to donate money to his campaign. As of today, I shall do both with enthusiasm. - Steve Bates, the Yellow Doggeral Democrat.