John Kerry - the Candidate

Who is John Kerry?
Massachusetts senator "Change is coming to America"John Kerry is the front-runner for nomination as the Democratic Party candidate to fight George W. Bush for the U.S. Presidency from 2005-2008.

The son of a US diplomat, John Kerry fought in Vietnam before returning home to press for peace. Later, his work as Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Prisoners of War and soldiers Missing in Action would lay the foundations for a reparation and normalization of relations with Vietnam.

Senator John Kerry has vast international experience, with eighteen years of service on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, making him at home both in the area of foreign affairs but also in questions of national security.

He was part of the Iran-Contra investigation and worked on the BCCI scandal before becoming a member of the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee and Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations.

Kerry vs. Bush

John Kerry has criticized the foreign policy of George W. Bush as being inept, reckless, arrogant and ideological, a view which sums up world public opinion admirably. While George Bush claims that the USA leads the world with strength and confidence and that it is a better place without Saddam
Hussein, the fact is that at the beginning of the Third Millennium the international community needs and wants leaders who show integrity and honesty, not ones who lie, forge documents and disrespect international law.

George Bush's administration, evidently worried about the threat, has started to play the national security card, claiming that Kerry will leave the USA "uncertain in the face of danger".
Vice-president Cheney echoes the fears felt by the corporations which gravitate around the White House, claiming that a Kerry victory will mean cuts to defence, intelligence and weapons programmes.

In fact, Kerry aims to bolster intelligence, especially after the dubious record of the Bush administration, which has not even finished the National Intelligence Review begun four years ago. Kerry's book The New War, written in 1997, outlines the national security issues facing the USA in the 21st Century. Far from leaving the USA "uncertain", John Kerry is an expert in the area.

Also, how long can the external threat play to Bush's advantage? The American people will not base their decision to vote on the illegality of the war in Iraq or on the war crimes or acts of mass murder by US troops.

The decision will be taken on economic issues at home, issues which people feel in their pockets.

People will vote on taxes, jobs, education and healthcare. Bush cut taxes and created the conditions for the clique of companies around the White House - America's super rich - to get richer. The middle class, the backbone of the United States of America, are poorer. They need a candidate who can help them in their mortgages, healthcare plans, education costs and child care costs.

Bush lost 3,000,000 jobs. Three million jobs. Kerry's main plan is to recreate these jobs within the first year and a half of his administration. Bush represents the interests of the moneyed few, Kerry represents the interests of the people, most of whom did not vote for Bush in the first place.

Kerry-Edwards Dream Team?

John Edwards said "no", Kerry said maybe, because of his "great respect" for his former foe, who admitted defeat yeaterday. However, Edwards, despite his popularity in his party, will remain a possible option, rather than a probable one.

Others better placed to win states and votes are Florida's senator Bob Graham, Missouri's Dick Gephardt or New Mexico's Bill Richardson, also important for obtaining the Hispanic vote elsewhere.