John Kerry This short statement
This short statement is at the top of Kerry's issues page: "I'm running for President to make the country we love safer, stronger, and more secure. I'm asking every American to be a Citizen Soldier again committed to leaving no American behind." I'm not sure I know quite what that means.
Health Care: "[E]very American should have a right to buy in and have available the same health care that Senators and Congressmen give themselves." That sounds great, but the actual positions Kerry puts forward don't seem to do that. He pushes expanded (but not universal) coverage for children and beats the prescription drug drum, but what he's actually proposing seems to be about the weakest health care plan of any of the Democrats I've looked at so far.
Civil Rights: "We need to guarantee equal rights and civil rights and say that, here in America, workers have the right to organizeówomen have the right to chooseóand justice belongs to everyone regardless of race or gender or sexual orientation." Kerry also vows to appoint liberal judges, preserve affirmative action, prosecure hate crimes, and eliminate racial profiling. This seems par for the course (though for the record, I'm not sure hate crimes deserve special prosecution and I suspect racial profiling is actually a useful law enforcement tool). Also, Kerry "was one of 14 Senatorsóand the only one up for reelection in 1996óto oppose the Defense of Marriage Act" and is opposed to the ban on gays in the military.
Immigration: "John Kerry supports legislation that would provide immigration relief to undocumented young people who have spent their formative years in the United States, who have graduated from high school here, and who can demonstrate good moral character." I like that.
"Service for College:" Kerry proposes a "Service for College" program that would "[O]ffer Americans the chance to earn the equivalent of their state's four-year public college tuition in exchange for two years of service." That sounds great. He also supports required community service for all high school students. I'm not sure if that's great or not, but it probably wouldn't hurt.
Kerry's campaign seems to operate the 99 Daily Distortions of the Commander in Chief website.
I'm not particularly moved by Kerry one way or the other. Anyone see anything that would recommend him over Dean or Gephardt, who are looking like my frontrunners?
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