John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the senior United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators, regardless of population. Senators serve staggered from Massachusetts Massachusetts has been significant throughout American history. Plymouth was the second permanent English settlement in North America. Many of Massachusetts's towns were founded by colonists from England in the 1620s and 1630s. The Merrimack Valley has been, since 1650, a center of creativity through the poetic word. America's first published poet, and is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committee is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid programs as well as funding, arms sales and training for.[1] He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. It is one of the world's oldest political parties and boasts the lengthiest record of continuous operation in the United in the 2004 presidential election The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator from Massachusetts. Foreign policy was the dominant, but lost by 34 electoral votes to incumbent President The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is one of only two nationally elected federal officers, the other being the Vice President of the United States George W. Bush George Walker Bush ( /ˈdʒɔrdʒ ˈwɔːkər ˈbʊʃ/ ; born July 6, 1946) was the 43rd President of the United States, serving from 2001 to 2009, and the 46th Governor of Texas, serving from 1995 to 2000. Senator Kerry is a decorated Vietnam veteran Vietnam Era veteran is a phrase used to describe someone who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who were in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States armed forces, and countries allied to them, whether or not they were actually stationed in Vietnam, and was a spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War Vietnam Veterans Against the War is a tax-exempt non-profit organization and corporation, originally created to oppose the Vietnam War. VVAW describes itself as a national veterans' organization that campaigns for peace, justice, and the rights of all United States military veterans. It publishes a twice-yearly newsletter The Veteran, previously when he returned home from service. Before entering the Senate, he served as an Assistant District Attorney In many jurisdictions in the United States, a district attorney is the appointed public official who represents the government in the prosecution of alleged offense criminals. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of assistant district attorneys. Similar functions are[2] and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts The Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts. The constitutional honorific title for the office is His, or Her, Honor under Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants of partly Vlach origin in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving governor in Massachusetts, who was nominated for President by the Democrats in 1988 The United States election of 1988 featured an open primary for both major parties. Ronald Reagan, the incumbent President, was vacating the position after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the Democrats nominated Michael Dukakis,.

Contents

Biography

Kerry is the child of Richard J. Kerry (1915–2000), a Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the diplomatic service of the United States government, under the aegis of the Department of State. The personnel system was first created under the Foreign Service Act to serve as the principal personnel system under which the United States Secretary of State is authorized to assign diplomats abroad. Members Officer and an attorney for the Bureau of United Nations Affairs, and Rosemary Forbes Kerry (1913–2002), a World War II nurse and member of the wealthy Scottish-American Scottish Americans or Scots Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. According to American Community Survey in 2008 data, Americans reporting Scottish ancestry made up an estimated 1.9% of the total U.S. population. Scottish and Scotch-Irish ancestry represent 3.1% of the U.S. population Forbes family. He has three siblings: two sisters, Diana (born in 1947) and Margerie (aka Peggy; born in 1941) and a brother, Cameron (born in 1950), Cameron Kerry was picked to be Barack Obama A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992's general counsel of the Commerce Department.[3]

His immediate family members were reportedly observant Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with more than a billion members. The Church's leader is the Pope who holds supreme authority in concert with the College of Bishops of which he is the head. A communion of the Western church and 22 autonomous Eastern Catholic churches (called. As a child, Kerry served as an altar boy An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian religious service. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, etc. Although the extended family enjoyed a great fortune, Kerry's parents themselves were upper-middle class The middle class are any class in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class. In Marxist terms, middle class commonly refers to either the bourgeoisie before or during capitalism[; a wealthy great aunt paid for Kerry to attend elite schools in Europe and New England In one of the earliest European settlements in the New World, Pilgrims from the Kingdom of England first settled in New England in 1620, in the colony of Plymouth. Ten years later, the Puritans settled north of Plymouth Colony in Boston, thus forming Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. In the late 18th century, the New England colonies would be. Kerry spent his summers at the Forbes family estate in Brittany, and there, he enjoyed a more opulent lifestyle than he had previously known in Massachusetts. While living in the U.S., Kerry spent several summers at the Forbes family's estates on Naushon Island off Cape Cod Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States. It is coextensive with Barnstable County. Several small islands right off Cape Cod, including Monomoy Island, Monomoscoy Island, Popponesset Island, and Seconsett Island, are also in.[citation needed]

It was discovered in 2003 by genealogist Felix Gundacker,[4] working with The Boston Globe The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993. Its chief print rival is the Boston Herald. In 2009-2010 the Globe's average weekday circulation fell to 232,432, down from 302,638, or 23.2%. Sunday circulation fell 18.8% to 378,949, that Kerry's paternal grandparents, who had been born "Fritz Kohn" and "Ida Löwe" in the Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire or the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and described as the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe. The union was a result of the Ausgleich or Compromise of 1867, under which the Austrian, changed their names to "Frederick and Ida Kerry" in 1900 and converted from Judaism Judaism is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people. Judaism, originating in the Hebrew Bible and explored in later texts such as the Talmud, is considered by Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel. According to traditional Rabbinic Judaism, God revealed to Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with more than a billion members. The Church's leader is the Pope who holds supreme authority in concert with the College of Bishops of which he is the head. A communion of the Western church and 22 autonomous Eastern Catholic churches (called in 1901[5][6] or 1902.[7] Fritz' elder brother Otto had earlier, in 1887[6] or 1896,[4] also changed his name to "Kerry" and converted from Judaism, presumably to escape violent antisemitism Antisemitism is prejudice against or hostility towards Jews, often rooted in hatred of their ethnic background, culture, and/or religion. In its extreme form, it "attributes to the Jews an exceptional position among all other civilizations, defames them as an inferior group and denies their being part of the nation[s]" in which they. The "Kerry" name, widely misinterpreted as indicative of Irish Ireland (pronounced [ˈaɾlənd],; Irish: Éire, pronounced [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen); Ulster Scots: Airlann) is the third largest island in Europe and the twentieth largest island in the world. It lies to the northwest of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland is Great Britain, separated from heritage, was reputedly selected arbitrarily: "According to family legend, Fritz and another family member opened an atlas at random and dropped a pencil on a map. It fell on County Kerry in Ireland, and thus a name was chosen."[5][7] Leaving the suburb of Vienna Vienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million (2.3 million within the metropolitan area,[citation needed] more than 25% of Austria's population), and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and where they had lived since 1896, Fred and Ida, together with their son Eric, immigrated to the United States in 1905, living at first in Chicago Chicago ( /ʃɨˈkɑːɡoʊ/ or /ʃɨˈkɔːɡoʊ/) is the largest city in both Illinois and the Midwest, and the third most populous city in the United States, with over 2.8 million living within the city limits. Its metropolitan area, commonly named "Chicagoland", is the 26th most populous in the world, home to an estimated 9.7 million and eventually moving to Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2000 census, the population of the town was 57,107 by 1915.[5]

The village where Fritz Kohn was born in 1873 was at that time known as Bennisch and was a part of Silesia Silesia (pronounced /saɪˈliːʒə/ or /saɪˈliːʃə/; Polish: Śląsk [ɕlɔ̃sk]; German: Schlesien ; Silesian German: Schläsing; Czech: Slezsko; Silesian: Ślůnsk [ɕlonsk]; Latin: Silesia) is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the Czech Republic and Germany in the Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire or the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and described as the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe. The union was a result of the Ausgleich or Compromise of 1867, under which the Austrian, but is today known as Horní Benešov in the Czech Republic.[6] After learning of his ancestral connection with their village, the mayor and citizens sent congratulatory correspondence to John Kerry with regard to his political pursuits.[6]

For a time, Fred Kerry was a prosperous and successful shoe merchant, and Ida and two of the children, Richard (who would become the father of John Kerry) and Mildred, were able to afford to travel to Europe in the autumn of 1921, returning on October 21.[5] A few weeks later, on November 15, Fred Kerry filed a will leaving everything to Ida and then, on November 23, walked into a washroom of the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston and committed suicide Suicide is the term used for the deliberate self-destruction by a living being, resulting in their own death. Such actions are typically characterised as being made out of despair, or attributed to some underlying mental disorder which includes depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism and drug abuse. Financial difficulties, by shooting himself in the head with a handgun.[5] The suicide was front-page news in all of the Boston newspapers, reporting at the time that the motive was severe asthma Asthma, from the Greek Άσθμα , meaning gasp, is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath and related health problems, but modern reports cite family sources saying that the motive was financial trouble: "He had made three fortunes and when he had lost the third fortune, he couldn't face it anymore", according to granddaughter Nancy Stockslager.[5]

John Kerry has said that although he knew his paternal grandfather had come from Austria, he did not know until informed by The Boston Globe on the basis of their genealogical research that Fred Kerry had changed his name from "Fritz Kohn" and had been born Jewish,[7] nor that his great-uncle In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares a common ancestor. In modern usage, the term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's own line of descent, or where there is a more specific term to describe the relationship: e.g., brother, sister, aunt, uncle. The term blood relative can be used synonymously, and and great-aunt, Ida Kerry's brother Otto and sister Jenni, died in Nazi concentration camps Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps were greatly expanded in Germany after the Reichstag fire in 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime. They grew rapidly through the 1930s as political opponents and many other groups of.[4]

John Kerry

Kerry is 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m),[8] enjoys surfing Two major subdivisions within stand-up surfing are longboarding and shortboarding, reflecting differences in surfboard design including surfboard length, and riding style and windsurfing Windsurfing is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a windsurf board usually two to four meters long, powered by the effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a mast, wishbone boom and sail. The sail area ranges from less than 3.0m2, as well as ice hockey Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced physical sport. Ice hockey is most popular in areas that are sufficiently cold for natural reliable seasonal ice cover, such as Canada, the Czech Republic, Latvia, the Nordic countries (especially Finland and, hunting Hunting is the practice of pursuing living animals for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law. The species which are hunted are referred to as game and are usually mammals and and playing bass guitar The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb (either by plucking, slapping, popping, tapping, or thumping), or by using a plectrum. According to an interview he gave to Rolling Stone Rolling Stone is a U.S.-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason magazine in 2004, Kerry's favorite album is Abbey Road Abbey Road is the eleventh studio album by English rock band The Beatles. Though work on Abbey Road began in April 1969, making it the final album recorded by the band, Let It Be was the last album released before the Beatles' dissolution in 1970. Abbey Road was released on 26 September 1969 in the United Kingdom, and 1 October 1969 in the United and he is a fan of The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. From 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). Rooted in skiffle and The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in April 1962 by guitarist and harmonica player Brian Jones, pianist Ian Stewart, vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup, as well as of Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is often considered to be the greatest electric guitarist in the history of rock music by other musicians and commentators in the industry, and one of the most important and influential musicians of his era across a range of genres. After initial success and Jimmy Buffett James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer, songwriter, author, businessman, and recently a movie producer best known for his "island escapism" lifestyle and music including hits such as "Margaritaville" (No. 234 on RIAA's list of "Songs of the Century"), and "Come Monday". He has a devoted base of. He also mentioned that he never liked heavy metal Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and.[9] During his 2004 presidential campaign, Kerry used Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss", is an American singer-songwriter recording and touring with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock infused with pop hooks, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey's "No Surrender" as one of his campaign songs. Later he would adopt U2 U2 are a rock band from Dublin, Ireland. The group consists of Bono , The Edge (guitar, keyboards, and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums and percussion). The band formed at Mount Temple secondary school in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency. Within four years, they signed to Island's "Beautiful Day" as his official campaign song.

Kerry is described by Sports Illustrated, among others, as an "avid cyclist",[10][11] primarily riding on a road bike. Prior to his Presidential bid, Kerry was known to have participated in several long-distance rides (centuries). Even during his many campaigns, he was reported to have visited bicycle stores both in his home state and elsewhere. His staff requested recumbent stationary bikes for his hotel rooms.[12]

Kerry appeared in a cameo as himself on the April 30, 1992 episode of the hit television sitcom Cheers, in the episode, "Bar Wars VI: This Time It's For Real."

In 2003, Kerry was diagnosed with and successfully treated for prostate cancer.[13]

According to the Washington Post, dated July 24, 2010, Kerry commissioned construction on a new $7 million dollar yacht in New Zealand and docked it in Rhode Island. The article claimed this allowed him to avoid paying Massachusetts taxes on the property including approximately $437,500 in sales tax and an annual excise tax of about $70,000.[14] However, on July 27, 2010, Kerry stated had yet to take legal possession of the boat, had not intended to avoid the taxes, and that when he took possession, he would pay the taxes whether he owed them or not.[15]

Family

Kerry was married to Julia Thorne in 1970, and they had two daughters together: Alexandra and Vanessa. Alexandra was born on September 5, 1973, days before Kerry began law school. A graduate of Brown University, she received her M.F.A. in June 2004 from the AFI Conservatory. She is a documentary filmmaker. Vanessa was born on December 31, 1976. She is a graduate of Phillips Academy (like her grandfather) and Yale University, and attended Harvard Medical School and a master's program in health policy at the London School of Economics. Both daughters were active in their father's 2004 Presidential campaign.

In 1982 Thorne, who was suffering from severe depression, asked Kerry for a separation.[16] They were divorced on July 25, 1988, and the marriage was formally annulled in 1997. "After 14 years as a political wife, I associated politics only with anger, fear and loneliness" she wrote in A Change of Heart, her book about depression. Thorne later married Richard Charlesworth, an architect, and moved to Bozeman, Montana, where she became active in local environmental groups such as the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. Thorne supported Kerry's 2004 presidential run. She died of cancer on April 27, 2006.

Kerry and his second wife, Teresa Simões-Ferreira Heinz, the widow of Pennsylvania Senator H. John Heinz III, a Republican, and former United Nations interpreter were introduced to each other by John Heinz at an Earth Day rally in 1990. They did not meet again until after John Heinz's death, at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. They married on May 26, 1995, in Nantucket. John Kerry's stepsons – Teresa's three sons from her previous marriage – are H. John Heinz IV, André Heinz and Christopher Heinz, who married Alexandra DeRuyter Lewis on February 10, 2007.

The Forbes 400 survey estimated in 2004 that Teresa Heinz Kerry had a net worth of $750 million. However, estimates have frequently varied, ranging from around $165 million to as high as $3.2 billion, according to a study in the Los Angeles Times. Regardless of which figure is correct, Kerry is the wealthiest U.S. Senator. Kerry is wealthy in his own name, and is the beneficiary of at least four trusts inherited from Forbes family members, including his mother, who died in 2002. Forbes magazine (a major business magazine named for an unrelated Forbes family) estimated that if elected, Kerry would have been the third-richest U.S. President in history when adjusted for inflation.[17] This assessment was based on the couple's combined assets, but Kerry and Heinz signed a prenuptial agreement that keeps their assets separate.[18] Kerry's financial disclosure form for 2002 put his personal assets in the range of $409,000 to $1.8 million, with additional assets held jointly by Kerry and his wife in the range of $300,000 to $600,000.[19]

Religious beliefs

Congressional portrait with U.S. flag in the background

A Roman Catholic, Kerry was said to carry a rosary, a prayer book, and a St. Christopher medal (the patron saint of travelers) when he campaigned. However, while Kerry is personally against abortion, he supports a woman's legal right to have one, which puts him at odds with the Catholic Church. Similar tension exists between the Church and several other Catholic national political figures, including Rudy Giuliani, George Pataki, Nancy Pelosi, Tom Ridge, Tom Vilsack (one of his possible vice-presidential choices in the 2004 election), Joe Biden, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Discussing his faith, Kerry said, "I thought of being a priest. I was very religious while at school in Switzerland. I was an altar boy and prayed all the time. I was very centered around the Mass and the church." He also said that the Letters of Paul moved him the most, stating that they taught him to "not feel sorry for myself."[20]

According to Christianity Today, Kerry remarks about his faith:

“ I'm a Catholic and I practice, but at the same time I have an open-mindedness to many other expressions of spirituality that come through different religions. ... I've spent some time reading and thinking about [religion] and trying to study it, and I've arrived at not so much a sense of the differences, but a sense of the similarities in so many ways; the value-system roots and linkages between the Torah, the Qur'an, and the Bible and the fundamental story that runs through all of this, that ... really connects all of us.[21] ”

Early years (1943–1966)

Childhood

Kerry was born in Aurora, Colorado at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital on December 11, 1943; his father was a member of the Army Air Corp at the time.[22]

Kerry has said that his first memory is from when he was three years old, of holding his crying mother's hand while they walked through the broken glass and rubble of her childhood home in Saint-Briac, France. This visit came two and a half years after the United States had liberated Saint-Briac from the Nazis on August 14, 1944. The family estate, known as Les Essarts, had been occupied and used as a Nazi headquarters during the war. When the Germans abandoned it, they bombed Les Essarts and burned it down.

The sprawling estate was rebuilt in 1954. Kerry and his parents would often spend the summer holidays there. During these summers, he became good friends with his first cousin Brice Lalonde, a future Socialist and Green Party leader in France, who ran for president of France in 1981.

While his father was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway, Kerry was sent to Massachusetts to attend boarding school. In 1957, he attended the Fessenden School in West Newton, a village in Newton, Massachusetts. The Fessenden School is the oldest all-boys independent junior boarding school in the country. There he met and became friends with Richard Pershing, grandson of First World War U.S. Gen. John Joseph Pershing. Former Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy also attended the Fessenden School, although several years prior to Kerry.

The following year, he enrolled at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and graduated from there in 1962. Kerry learned skills in public speaking and began developing interest in politics. In his free time, he enjoyed ice hockey and lacrosse, which he played on teams captained by classmate Robert S. Mueller III, the current director of the FBI. Kerry also played bass guitar for the prep school's band The Electras, which produced an album in 1961. Only five hundred copies were made—one was auctioned on eBay in 2004 for $2,551.

In 1959, Kerry founded the John Winant Society at St. Paul's to debate the issues of the day; the Society still exists there.[23][24] In November 1960, Kerry gave his first political speech, in favor of John F. Kennedy's election to the White House.

In 1962, Kerry was a volunteer for Ted Kennedy's first Senatorial campaign. The summer after his graduation from St. Paul's, he dated Janet Jennings Auchincloss, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's half-sister. Auchincloss invited Kerry to visit her family's estate, Hammersmith Farm, in Rhode Island where Kerry met President John F. Kennedy for the first time.

According to Kerry, when he told the president he was about to enter Yale University, Kennedy grimaced, because he had gone to rival Harvard University. Kerry later recalled, "He smiled at me, laughed and said: 'Oh, don't worry about it. You know I'm a Yale man too now.'" According to Kerry "The President uttered that famous comment about how he had the best of two worlds now: a Harvard education and Yale degree", in reference to the honorary degree he had received from Yale a few months earlier. Later that day, a White House photographer snapped a photo of Kerry sailing with Kennedy and his family in Narragansett Bay.

Yale University

In 1962, Kerry entered Yale University, majoring in political science. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1966. Kerry played on the soccer, hockey, lacrosse and fencing teams; in addition, he took flying lessons.[24]

In his sophomore year, Kerry became the Chairman of the Liberal Party of the Yale Political Union, and a year later he served as President of the Union. Amongst his influential teachers in this period was Professor H. Bradford Westerfield, who was himself a former President of the Political Union.[25] His involvement with the Political Union gave him an opportunity to be involved with important issues of the day, such as the civil rights movement and Kennedy's New Frontier program. He was also a member of the secretive Skull and Bones Society. He also traveled to Switzerland[26] through AIESEC Yale.[27][28]

Under the guidance of the speaking coach and history professor Rollin Osterweis, Kerry won many debates against other college students from across the nation.[29] In March 1965, as the Vietnam War escalated, he won the Ten Eyck prize as the best orator in the junior class for a speech that was critical of U.S. foreign policy. In the speech he said, "It is the spectre of Western imperialism that causes more fear among Africans and Asians than communism, and thus it is self-defeating."[30]

Kerry, viewed as a capable speaker, was chosen to give the class oration at graduation. His speech was a broad criticism of American foreign policy, including the Vietnam War, in which he would soon participate.

Military service (1966–1970)

Main article: John Kerry's military service

Duty on the USS Gridley

On February 18, 1966, Kerry enlisted in the Naval Reserve.[31] He began his active duty military service on August 19, 1966. After completing sixteen weeks of Officer Candidate School at the U.S. Naval Training Center in Newport, Rhode Island, Kerry received his officer's commission on December 16, 1966. During the 2004 election, Kerry posted his military records at his website, and permitted reporters to inspect his medical records. In 2005, Kerry released his military and medical records to the representatives of three news organizations, but has not authorized full public access to those records.[32][33]

Kerry's first tour of duty was as an ensign on the guided missile frigate USS Gridley in 1968. The executive officer of the Gridley described the deployment as: "We deployed from San Diego to the Vietnam theatre in early 1968 after only a six-month turnaround, and spent most of a four month deployment on rescue station in the Gulf of Tonkin, standing by to pick up downed aviators."

During his tour on the Gridley, Kerry requested duty in Vietnam, listing as his first preference a position as the commander of a Fast Patrol Craft (PCF), also known as a "Swift boat."[34] These 50-foot (15 m) boats have aluminum hulls and have little or no armor, but are heavily armed and rely on speed. "I didn't really want to get involved in the war", Kerry said in a book of Vietnam reminiscences published in 1986. "When I signed up for the swift boats, they had very little to do with the war. They were engaged in coastal patrolling and that's what I thought I was going to be doing."[35] However, his second choice of billet was on a river patrol boat, or "PBR", which at the time was serving a more dangerous duty on the rivers of Vietnam.[34]

On June 16, 1968, Kerry was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, junior grade. On June 20, 1968, he left the Gridley for Swift boat training at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado.

Swift boat duty

On November 17, 1968, Kerry reported for duty at Coastal Squadron 1 in Cam Ranh Bay in South Vietnam. In his role as an officer in charge of Swift boats, Kerry led five-man crews on a number of patrols into enemy-controlled areas. His first command was Swift boat PCF-44, from December 6, 1968 to January 21, 1969, when the crew was disbanded. They were based at Coastal Division 13 at Cat Lo from December 13, 1968 to January 6, 1969. Otherwise, they were stationed at Coastal Division 11 at An Thoi. On January 30, 1969, Kerry took charge of PCF-94 and its crew, which he led until he departed An Thoi on March 26, 1969, and subsequently the crew was disbanded.[36]

On January 22, 1969, Kerry and several other officers had a meeting in Saigon with Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, the commander of U.S. Naval forces in Vietnam, and U.S. Army General Creighton Abrams, the overall commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam. Kerry and the other officers reported that the "free-fire zone" policy was alienating the Vietnamese and that the Swift boats' actions were not accomplishing their ostensible goal of interdicting Viet Cong supply lines. According to his biographer, Douglas Brinkley, Kerry and the other visiting officers felt their concerns were dismissed with what amounted to a pep talk (Tour of Duty, pp. 254–261).

Military honors

During the night of December 2, 1968 and early morning of December 3, 1968, Kerry was in charge of a small boat operating near a peninsula north of Cam Ranh Bay together with a Swift boat (PCF-60). According to Kerry and the two crewmen who accompanied him that night, Patrick Runyon and William Zaladonis, they surprised a group of men unloading sampans at a river crossing, who began running and failed to obey an order to stop. As the men fled, Kerry and his crew opened fire on the sampans and destroyed them, then rapidly left. During this encounter, Kerry received a minor wound in the left arm above the elbow. It was for this injury that Kerry received his first Purple Heart.[37]

Kerry received his second Purple Heart for a wound received in action on the Bo De River on February 20, 1969. The plan had been for the Swift boats to be accompanied by support helicopters. On the way up the Bo De, however, the helicopters were attacked. They returned to their base to refuel and were unable to return to the mission for several hours.

As the Swift boats reached the Cua Lon River, Kerry's boat was hit by a RPG round, and a piece of shrapnel hit Kerry's left leg, wounding him. Thereafter, they had no more trouble, and reached the Gulf of Thailand safely. Kerry still has shrapnel in his left thigh because the doctors tending to him decided to remove the damaged tissue and close the wound with sutures rather than make a wide opening to remove the shrapnel.[38] Kerry received his second Purple Heart for this injury, but like several others wounded earlier that day, he did not lose any time off from duty.[39][40]

Eight days later, on February 28, 1969, came the events for which Kerry was awarded his Silver Star. On this occasion, Kerry was in tactical command of his Swift boat and two others in an eight boat formation. Their mission on the Duong Keo river included bringing a demolition team and dozens of South Vietnamese Marines to destroy enemy sampans, structures and bunkers as described in the story The Death Of PCF 43.[41] Running into an ambush, Kerry "directed the boats to turn to the beach and charge the Viet Cong positions" and he "expertly directed" his boat's fire and coordinated the deployment of the South Vietnamese troops, according to the original medal citation (signed by Admiral Zumwalt). Going a short distance farther, Kerry's boat was the target of an RPG round; as the boat beached at the site, a VC with a rocket launcher jumped and ran from a spider hole. While the boat's gunner opened fire, wounding the VC on the leg, and while the other boats approached and offered cover fire, Kerry jumped from the boat and chased the VC and killed him, capturing a loaded rocket launcher.[42][43][43]

Kerry's commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander George Elliott, joked to Douglas Brinkley in 2003 that he didn't know whether to court-martial Kerry for beaching the boat without orders or give him a medal for saving the crew. Elliott recommended Kerry for the Silver Star, and Zumwalt flew into An Thoi to personally award medals to Kerry and the rest of the sailors involved in the mission. The Navy's account of Kerry's actions is presented in the original medal citation signed by Zumwalt. The engagement was documented in an after-action report, a press release written on March 1, 1969, and a historical summary dated March 17, 1969.[44]

On March 13, 1969, five Swift boats were returning to base together on the Bay Hap river from their missions that day, after a firefight earlier in the day (during which time Kerry received a slight shrapnel wound in the buttocks from blowing up a rice bunker), and debarking some but not all of the passengers at a small village. They approached a fishing weir (a series of poles across the river for hanging nets), so that one group of boats went around left, hugging the shore, and a group with Kerry's 94 boat went around right along the shoreline. A mine was detonated directly beneath the lead boat, PCF-3, as it crossed the weir to the left, lifting PCF-3 completely into the air.[45]

James Rassmann, a Green Beret advisor who was aboard PCF-94, was knocked overboard when, according to witnesses and the documentation of the event, a mine or rocket exploded close to the boat. According to the documentation for the event, Kerry's arm was injured when he was thrown against a bulkhead during the explosion. PCF 94 returned to the scene and Kerry rescued Rassmann from the water. Kerry received the Bronze Star for his actions during this incident; he also received his third Purple Heart.[46]

After the crew of PCF-3 had been rescued, and the most seriously wounded sailors evacuated by two of the PCFs, PCF 94 and another boat remained behind and helped salvage the stricken boat together with a damage-control party that had been immediately dispatched to the scene.

Controversy

Main article: John Kerry military service controversy

As the presidential campaign of 2004 developed, approximately 200 Vietnam veterans formed the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT), subsequently renamed Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, which held press conferences, ran ads and endorsed a book questioning Kerry's service record and his military awards.

Return from Vietnam

After Kerry's third qualifying wound, he was entitled per Navy regulations to re-assignment away from combat duties. Navy records show that Kerry's preferred choice for re-assignment was as an aide in Boston, New York or Washington, D.C.[47]

On March 26, 1969, after a final patrol the night before, Kerry was transferred to Cam Ranh Bay to await his orders. He was there for five or six days and left Vietnam in early April. On April 11, 1969, he reported to the Brooklyn-based Atlantic Military Sea Transportation Service, where he would remain on active duty for the following year as a personal aide to an officer, Rear Admiral Walter Schlech. On January 1, 1970 Kerry was temporarily promoted to full Lieutenant.[48] Kerry had agreed to an extension of his active duty obligation from December 1969 to August 1970 in order to perform Swift Boat duty,[49][50] but in January, 1970, he requested early discharge in order to run for Congress the following fall. He was discharged from active duty on March 1, 1970.

John Kerry was on active duty in the United States Navy from August 1966 until January 1970. He continued to serve in the Naval Reserve until February 1978. Kerry lost at least five friends in the war including Yale classmate Richard Pershing, who was killed in action on February 17, 1968.

Anti-war activism (1970–1971)

After returning to the United States, Kerry joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). Then numbering about 20,000,[51] VVAW was considered by some (including the administration of President Richard Nixon) to be an effective, if controversial, component of the antiwar movement.[52]

On April 22, 1971, Kerry became the first Vietnam veteran to testify before Congress about the war, when he appeared before a Senate committee hearing on proposals relating to ending the war. He was still a member of the United States Navy Reserve, holding the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. Wearing green fatigues and service ribbons, he spoke for nearly two hours with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in what has been named the Fulbright Hearing, after the Chairman of the proceedings, Senator J.W. Fulbright. Kerry began with a prepared speech, in which he presented the conclusions of the Winter Soldier Investigation, and then went on to address larger policy issues.

The day after this testimony, Kerry participated in a demonstration with thousands of other veterans in which he and other veterans threw their medals and ribbons over a fence erected at the front steps of the United States Capitol building to dramatize their opposition to the war. Jack Smith, a Marine, read a statement explaining why the veterans were returning their military awards to the government. For more than two hours, almost 1000 angry veterans tossed their medals, ribbons, hats, jackets, and military papers over the fence. Each veteran gave his or her name, hometown, branch of service and a statement. As Kerry threw his decorations over the fence, his statement was: "I'm not doing this for any violent reasons, but for peace and justice, and to try and make this country wake up once and for all."[53] The documentary film Sir! No Sir! includes archival footage of Kerry at the demonstration: he is one of several young men seen throwing things over the fence.

Media appearances

Because Kerry was a decorated veteran who took a stand against the government's official position, he was frequently interviewed by broadcast and print media. He was able to use these occasions to bring the themes of his Senate testimony to a wider audience.

For example, Kerry appeared more than once on The Dick Cavett Show on ABC television. On one Cavett program (June 30, 1971), in debating John O'Neill, Kerry argued that some of the policies instituted by the U.S. military leaders in Vietnam, such as free-fire zones and burning noncombatants' houses, were contrary to the laws of war. In the Washington Star newspaper (June 6, 1971), he recounted how he and other Swift boat officers had become disillusioned by the contrast between what the leaders told them and what they saw: "That's when I realized I could never remain silent about the realities of the war in Vietnam."

On NBC's Meet The Press in 1971, Kerry was asked whether he had personally committed atrocities in Vietnam. He responded:

"There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free fire zones. I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50 calibre machine guns, which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. I took part in search and destroy missions, in the burning of villages. All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare, all of this is contrary to the Geneva Conventions and all of this is ordered as a matter of written established policy by the government of the United States from the top down. And I believe that the men who designed these, the men who designed the free fire zone, the men who ordered us, the men who signed off the air raid strike areas, I think these men, by the letter of the law, the same letter of the law that tried Lieutenant Calley, are war criminals."

Operation POW

Kerry's prominence also made him a frequent leader and spokesman at antiwar events around the country in 1971. One of particular note was Operation POW, organized by the VVAW in Massachusetts. The protest got its name from the group's concern that Americans were prisoners of the Vietnam War, as well as to honor American POWs held captive by North Vietnam.

The event sought to tie antiwar activism to patriotic themes. Over the Memorial Day weekend, veterans and other participants marched from Concord to a rally on Boston Common. The plan was to invoke the spirit of the American Revolution and Paul Revere by spending successive nights at the sites of the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill, culminating in a Memorial Day rally with a public reading of the Declaration of Independence.

The second night of the march, May 29, 1971, was the occasion for Kerry's only arrest, when the participants tried to camp on the village green in Lexington. At 2:30 a.m. on May 30, 1971, local and state police awoke and arrested 441 demonstrators, including Kerry, for trespassing. All were given the Miranda Warning and were hauled away on school buses to spend the night at the Lexington Public Works Garage. Kerry and the other protesters later paid a $5 fine, and were released. The mass arrests caused a community backlash and ended up giving positive coverage to the VVAW.[54][55][56]

Despite his role in Operation POW and other VVAW events, Kerry eventually quit the organization over leadership differences. Kerry has been criticized regarding VVAW—see John Kerry VVAW controversy for more details.

Early political career (1972–1985)

1972 campaign

In February 1972, after Kerry previously passed on an opportunity to run in another district, his wife, Julia bought a house in Worcester. Residence there would have required Kerry to run for Congress against an incumbent Democrat, Harold D. Donohue. Instead however, the couple rented an apartment in Lowell. The incumbent in that district, F. Bradford Morse, was a Republican who was thought to be retiring.

Counting Kerry, the Democratic primary race in 1972 had 10 candidates. One of these was State Representative Anthony R. DiFruscia of Lawrence. Both Kerry's and DiFuscia's campaign HQs were in the same building. On the eve of the September primary, Kerry's younger brother Cameron and campaign field director Thomas J. Vallely, both then 22 years old, were found by police in the basement of this building, where the telephone lines were located. They were arrested and charged with "breaking and entering with the intent to commit grand larceny", but the case was dismissed about a year later. At the time of the incident, DiFruscia alleged that they were trying to disrupt his get-out-the vote efforts. Vallely and Cameron Kerry maintained that they were only checking their own telephone lines because they had received an anonymous call warning that the Kerry lines would be cut.[57]

Although Kerry's campaign was hurt by the election-day report of the arrest, he still won the primary, narrowly beating state Representative Paul J. Sheehy. DiFruscia placed third. Kerry lost in Lawrence and Lowell, his chief opponents' bases, but placed first in 18 of the district's 22 towns.

In the general election, Kerry was initially favored to defeat the Republican candidate, former state Representative Paul W. Cronin, and an independent, Roger P. Durkin. A major obstacle, however, was the district's leading newspaper, the conservative leaning Sun. The paper editorialized against him. It also ran critical news stories about his out-of-state contributions and his "carpetbagging", because he had moved into the district only in April. Subsequently released "Watergate" Oval Office tape recordings of the Nixon White House showed that defeating Kerry's candidacy had attracted the personal attention of President Nixon.[58]

The final blow came when, four days before the election, Durkin withdrew in favor of Cronin. Cronin won the election, becoming the only Republican to be elected to Congress that November in a district carried by Democratic Presidential nominee George McGovern.

District Attorney tenure

After Kerry's 1972 defeat, he and his wife bought a house in Lowell. He spent some time working as a fundraiser for the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE), an international humanitarian organization. He decided that the best way for him to continue in public life was to study law[citation needed]. In September 1973, he entered Boston College Law School. In July 1974, while attending law school, Kerry was named executive director of Mass Action, a Massachusetts advocacy association.

He received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Boston College in 1976. While in law school he had been a student prosecutor in the office of the District Attorney of Middlesex County, John J. Droney. After passing the bar exam and being admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1976, he went to work in that office as a full-time prosecutor.

In January 1977, Droney promoted him to First Assistant District Attorney. In that position, Kerry had dual roles. First, he tried cases, winning convictions in a high-profile rape case and a murder. Second, he played a role in administering the office of the district attorney by initiating the creation of special white-collar and organized crime units, creating programs to address the problems of rape and other crime victims and of witnesses, and managing trial calendars to reflect case priorities. It was in this role in 1978 that Kerry announced an investigation into possible criminal charges against then Senator Edward Brooke, regarding "misstatements" in his first divorce trial.[59]

Lieutenant Governor tenure

In 1979, Kerry resigned from the District Attorney's office to set up a private law firm with another former prosecutor. And, although his private law practice was a success, Kerry was still interested in public office. He re-entered electoral politics by running for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts and won a narrow victory in the 1982 Democratic primary. The ticket, with Michael Dukakis as the gubernatorial candidate, won the general election without difficulty.

The position of Lieutenant Governor carried few inherent responsibilities. Dukakis, however, delegated additional matters to Kerry. In particular, Kerry's interest in environmental protection led him to become heavily involved in the issue of acid rain. His work contributed to a National Governors Association resolution in 1984 that was a precursor to the 1990 amendments to the federal Clean Air Act.

During his campaign, Kerry had argued that nuclear evacuation planning was "a sham intended to deceive Americans into believing they could survive a nuclear war". Once in office, he drafted an Executive Order condemning such planning, which Dukakis signed despite having lost the presidential election.[citation needed]

Election for U.S. Senate

The junior U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, Paul Tsongas, announced in 1984 that he would be stepping down for health reasons. Kerry decided to run for the seat. As in his 1982 race for Lieutenant Governor, he did not receive the endorsement of the party regulars at the state Democratic convention. Again as in 1982, however, he prevailed in a close primary. In his campaign, he promised to mix liberalism with tight budget controls. As the Democratic candidate, he was elected to the Senate despite a nationwide landslide for the re-election of Republican president Ronald Reagan, for whom Massachusetts voted by a narrow margin. In his acceptance speech, Kerry asserted that his win meant that the people of Massachusetts "emphatically reject the politics of selfishness and the notion that women must be treated as second-class citizens." Kerry was sworn in as a U.S. Senator in January 1985.

U.S. Senate tenure (1985–present)

A Senate portrait of Kerry See also: Sponsorship of legislation by John Kerry

Iran-Contra hearings

Main article: Kerry Committee report

On April 18, 1985, a few months after taking his Senate seat, Kerry and Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa traveled to Nicaragua and met the country's president, Daniel Ortega. Though Ortega was democratically elected, the trip was criticized because Ortega and his leftist Sandinista government had strong ties to Cuba and the USSR. The Sandinista government was opposed by the right-wing CIA-backed rebels known as the Contras. While in Nicaragua, Kerry and Harkin talked to people on both sides of the conflict. Through the senators, Ortega offered a cease-fire agreement in exchange for the US dropping support of the Contras. The offer was denounced by the Reagan administration as a "propaganda initiative" designed to influence a House vote on a $14 million Contra aid package, but Kerry said "I am willing ... to take the risk in the effort to put to test the good faith of the Sandinistas." The House voted down the Contra aid, but Ortega flew to Moscow to accept a $200 million loan the next day, which in part prompted the House to pass a larger $27 million aid package six weeks later.[60]

In April 1986, Kerry and Senator Christopher Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut, proposed that hearings be conducted by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee regarding charges of Contra involvement in cocaine and marijuana trafficking. Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, the Republican chairman of the committee, agreed to conduct the hearings.

Meanwhile, Kerry's staff began their own investigations and, on October 14, issued a report that exposed illegal activities on the part of Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, who had set up a private network involving the National Security Council and the CIA to deliver military equipment to right-wing Nicaraguan rebels (Contras). In effect, North and certain members of the President's administration were accused by Kerry's report of illegally funding and supplying armed militants without the authorization of Congress. Kerry's staff investigation, based on a year-long inquiry and interviews with fifty unnamed sources, is said to raise "serious questions about whether the United States has abided by the law in its handling of the contras over the past three years."[61]

The Kerry Committee report found that "the Contra drug links included ... payments to drug traffickers by the U.S. State Department of funds authorized by the Congress for humanitarian assistance to the Contras, in some cases after the traffickers had been indicted by federal law enforcement agencies on drug charges, in others while traffickers were under active investigation by these same agencies."[62] The US State Department paid over $806,000 to known drug traffickers to carry humanitarian assistance to the Contras.[63] Kerry's findings provoked little reaction in the media and official Washington.[64]

The Kerry report was a precursor to the Iran-Contra affair. On May 4, 1989, North was convicted of charges relating to the Iran/Contra controversy, including three felonies. On September 16, 1991, however, North's convictions were overturned on appeal.[65]

George H.W. Bush administration

On November 15, 1988, at a businessmen's breakfast in East Lynn, Massachusetts, Kerry made a joke about then President-elect George H.W. Bush and his running mate, saying "if Bush is shot, the Secret Service has orders to shoot Dan Quayle." He apologized the following day.[66]

During their investigation of Noriega, Kerry's staff found reason to believe that the Pakistan-based Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) had facilitated Noriega's drug trafficking and money laundering. This led to a separate inquiry into BCCI, and as a result, banking regulators shut down BCCI in 1991. In December 1992, Kerry and Senator Hank Brown, a Republican from Colorado, released The BCCI Affair, a report on the BCCI scandal. The report showed that the bank was crooked and was working with terrorists, including Abu Nidal. It blasted the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, the Customs Service, the Federal Reserve Bank, as well as influential lobbyists and the CIA.[67]

Kerry was criticized by some Democrats for having pursued his own party members, including former Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford, although Republicans said he should have pressed against some Democrats even harder. The BCCI scandal was later turned over to the Manhattan District Attorney's office.[68]

Precursors to presidential bid

See also: Massachusetts United States Senate election, 1996 and United States presidential election, 2000

In 1996, Kerry faced a difficult re-election fight against Governor William Weld, a popular Republican incumbent who had been re-elected in 1994 with 71% of the vote. The race was covered nationwide as one of the most closely watched Senate races that year. Kerry and Weld held several debates and negotiated a campaign spending cap of $6.9 million at Kerry's Beacon Hill mansion. Both candidates spent more than the cap, with each camp accusing the other of being first to break the agreement.[69] There is no evidence that this led to Kerry's win in a very close race but it is more than possible that this contributed to his victory.[70] During the campaign, Kerry spoke briefly at the 1996 Democratic National Convention. Senator Kerry won re-election with 53 percent to Weld's 45 percent. According to Newsweek, during the 2004 presidential election, Weld was interviewed by Karl Rove, Karen Hughes and other senior members of the Bush campaign on debating and running against Kerry.[citation needed]

In the 2000 presidential election, Kerry again found himself close to being chosen as the vice presidential running mate.[71]

A release from the presidential campaign of presumptive Democratic nominee Al Gore listed Kerry on the short list to be selected as the vice-presidential nominee, along with North Carolina Senator John Edwards, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt, New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman. Gore eventually selected Lieberman as the nominee, but Kerry continued to campaign on behalf of the Gore-Lieberman campaign through Election Day.

Voting record

Overall

Most analyses place Kerry's voting record on the left within the Senate Democratic caucus.[72] During the 2004 presidential election he was portrayed as a staunch liberal by conservative special interest groups and the Bush campaign, who often noted that in 2003 Kerry was rated the National Journal's top Senate liberal. However, that rating was based only upon voting on legislation within that past year. In fact, in terms of career voting records, the National Journal found that Kerry is the 11th most liberal member of the Senate. Most analyses find that Kerry is at least slightly more liberal than the typical Democratic Senator. For example, Keith T. Poole of the University of Houston found that Kerry was tied for being the 24th most liberal Senator.[citation needed] Kerry has stated that he opposes privatizing Social Security, supports abortion rights for adult women and minors, supports civil unions for same-sex couples, opposes capital punishment except for terrorists, supports most gun control laws, and is generally a supporter of trade agreements. Kerry supported the North American Free Trade Agreement and Most Favored Nation status for China, but opposed the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

In July 1997 Kerry joined his Senate colleagues in voting against ratification of the Kyoto Treaty on global warming without greenhouse gas emissions limits on nations deemed developing, including India and China.[73] Since then, Kerry has attacked President Bush, charging him with opposition to international efforts to combat global warming.[74]

On October 1, 2008, Kerry voted for S. Amdt. 5685 to H.R. 1424, also known as the "bailout bill."[75]

Iraq

In 1991, during the debate before the Gulf War, Kerry initially opposed the immediate use of military force to expel Iraqi soldiers from Kuwait. The United Nations had imposed sanctions on Iraq, and Kerry argued that the sanctions then in place should be given more time to work.

On December 14, 2001, 3 months after the attacks of 9/11, Kerry said on Larry King Live that "I think we clearly have to keep the pressure on terrorism globally. This doesn't end with Afghanistan by any imagination. And I think the president has made that clear. I think we have made that clear. Terrorism is a global menace. It's a scourge. And it is absolutely vital that we continue against, for instance, Saddam Hussein."

More recently, Kerry said on October 9, 2002; "I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security." Bush relied on that resolution in ordering the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Kerry also gave a January 23, 2003 speech to Georgetown University saying "Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator; leading an oppressive regime he presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real." Kerry did, however, warn that the administration should exhaust its diplomatic avenues before launching war: "Mr. President, do not rush to war, take the time to build the coalition, because it's not winning the war that's hard, it's winning the peace that's hard."[76]

After the invasion of Iraq, when no weapons of mass destruction were found, Kerry strongly criticized Bush, contending that he had misled the country: "When the President of the United States looks at you and tells you something, there should be some trust."[77]

Kerry had spoken before the war about the sorts of weapons many believed Saddam Hussein had. On the Senate floor on October 9, 2002, he said that "According to the CIA's report, all U.S. intelligence experts agree that Iraq is seeking nuclear weapons. There is little question that Saddam Hussein wants to develop nuclear weapons."

Leadership

During his Senate career, Kerry has sponsored or cosponsored dozens of bills. Some of his notable bills have addressed small business concerns, education, terrorism, veterans' and Vietnam War POW/MIA issues, marine resource protection and other topics. Of those bills with his sponsorship, as of December 2004, 11 have been signed into law.

Kerry chaired the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs from 1991 to 1993. The committee's report, which Kerry endorsed, stated there was "no compelling evidence that proves that any American remains alive in captivity in Southeast Asia."[78] In 1994 the Senate passed a resolution, sponsored by Kerry and fellow Vietnam veteran John McCain, that called for an end to the existing trade embargo against Vietnam; it was intended to pave the way for normalization.[79] In 1995, President Bill Clinton normalized diplomatic relations with the country of Vietnam.[80] His long-time senior Senate staff includes Chief of Staff David "Mac" McKean and Legislative Director George Abar.

Kerry was the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from 1987 to 1989. He was reelected to the Senate in 1990, 1996 (after winning re-election against the then-Governor of Massachusetts Republican William Weld), 2002, and 2008. In January 2009, Kerry replaced Joe Biden as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.[1]

Committees

As of 2009, Kerry serves on four Senate committees and nine subcommittees:

Seniority

Main article: Seniority in the United States Senate

As of 2009, Kerry ranked 13 among 99 Senators by seniority. However, he was the junior Senator from his state due to longevity of Ted Kennedy's service. In the 111th Congress, Kerry was the most senior junior Senator. On Tuesday, August 25, 2009, Kerry became the senior senator from Massachusetts following Ted Kennedy's death.

2004 presidential campaign

Main articles: United States presidential election, 2004 and John Kerry presidential campaign, 2004 Kerry and Teresa Heinz crossing Lake Michigan on the Lake Express during the 2004 campaign Kerry/Edwards campaign logo Kerry on the campaign trail in Rochester, Minnesota

In the 2004 Democratic Presidential primaries, John Kerry defeated several Democratic rivals, including Sen. John Edwards (D-North Carolina.), former Vermont Governor Howard Dean and retired Army General Wesley Clark. His victory in the Iowa caucuses is widely believed to be the tipping point where Kerry revived his sagging campaign in New Hampshire and the February 3, 2004, primary states like Arizona, South Carolina and New Mexico. Kerry then went on to win landslide victories in Nevada and Wisconsin. Kerry thus won the Democratic nomination to run for President of the United States against incumbent George W. Bush. On July 6, 2004, he announced his selection of John Edwards as his running mate. Democratic strategist Bob Shrum, who was Kerry's 2004 campaign adviser, wrote an article in Time magazine claiming that after the election, Kerry had said that he wished he'd never picked Edwards, and that the two have since stopped speaking to each other.[81] In a subsequent appearance on ABC's This Week, Kerry refused to respond to Shrum's allegation, calling it a "ridiculous waste of time."[82]

On November 3, 2004, Kerry conceded the race. Kerry won 59.03 million votes, or 48.3 percent of the popular vote; Bush won 62.04 million votes, or 50.7 percent of the popular vote. Kerry carried states with a total of 252 electoral votes. One Kerry elector voted for Kerry's running mate, Edwards, so in the final tally Kerry had 251 electoral votes to Bush's 286. Although, as in the previous election, there were disputes about the voting, no state was as close as Florida had been in 2000 (see 2004 United States presidential election controversy and irregularities).

Post-presidential election activities

2008 presidential election

Immediately after the 2004 election, some Democrats mentioned Kerry as a possible contender for the 2008 Democratic nomination. His brother had said such a campaign was "conceivable", and Kerry himself reportedly said at a farewell party for his 2004 campaign staff, "There's always another four years."[83]

Kerry established a separate political action committee, Keeping America's Promise,[84] that raised money and channeled contributions to Democratic candidates in state and federal races.[85] Through Keeping America's Promise in 2005, Kerry raised over $5.5 million for other Democrats up and down the ballot. Through his campaign account and his political action committee, the Kerry campaign operation generated more than $10 million for various party committees and 179 candidates for the US House, Senate, state and local offices in 42 states focusing on the midterm elections during the 2006 election cycle.[86] "Cumulatively, John Kerry has done as much if not more than any other individual senator", Hassan Nemazee, the national finance chairman of the DSCC said.[87]

Kerry speaks during the third night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

On January 10, 2008, Kerry endorsed Illinois Senator Barack Obama for President.[88] He was mentioned as a possible Vice Presidential candidate for Senator Obama, although fellow Senator Joe Biden was eventually chosen. After Biden's acceptance of the vice presidential nomination, speculation arose that John Kerry would be a candidate for Secretary of State in the Obama administration.[89] However, Senator Hillary Clinton was offered the position.[90]

Controversial comments

On October 30, 2006, Kerry was a headline speaker at a campaign rally being held for Democratic California gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California. Speaking to an audience composed mainly of college students, Kerry said, "You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."[91]

The day after the remarks were made public, leaders from both sides of the political spectrum, including Republicans President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain and then-Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, said that Kerry's comments were insulting to American military forces fighting in Iraq. Democratic Representative Harold Ford, Jr. called on Kerry to apologize and Pennsylvania Senate candidate Bob Casey, Jr. canceled an appearance with Kerry.

Kerry initially stated: "Let me make it crystal clear, as crystal clear as I know how. I apologize to no one for my criticism of the president and of his broken policy."[92] Kerry also responded to criticism from George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.[93]

Kerry said that he had intended the remark as a jab at President Bush, and described the remarks as a "botched joke",[94] having inadvertently left out the key word "us" (which would have been, "If you don't, you get us stuck in Iraq"), as well as leaving the phrase "just ask President Bush" off of the end of the sentence. In Kerry's prepared remarks, which he released during the ensuing media frenzy, the corresponding line was "... you end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush." He also claimed that from the context of the speech which, prior to the "stuck in Iraq" line, made several specific references to Bush and elements of his biography, that Kerry was referring to President Bush and not American troops in general.[95]

After two days of media coverage, citing a desire not to be a diversion, Kerry apologized to those who took offense at what he called the misinterpretation of his comment.[96]

Climate change

Kerry said in Bali an administration run by the Democrats would mean the difference between night and day on policies to fight global warming and the Democrats would, unlike Bush, back mandatory emissions targets and pass a bill to create a cap-and-trade system for carbon dioxide emissions.[97]

GI Bill support

Kerry has teamed up with Congressman Peter T. King to help sponsor a new GI Bill to help give incentives for military personnel.[98]

Ted Kennedy funeral

Kerry served as an honorary pallbearer for the late former Senator Ted Kennedy.[99]

Electoral history

Main article: Electoral history of John Kerry
Please help improve this article by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (July 2010)

In popular culture

Kerry made guest appearance in the opening scene of Cheers in season 10.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Bryan Bender (November 20, 2008). "Kerry poised to cap long journey". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/11/20/kerry_poised_to_cap_long_journey/.
  2. ^ Jeffrey Toobin (May 10, 2004). "Kerry's Trials". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/05/10/040510fa_fact1.
  3. ^ Kerry's Jewish brother named to top post at Commerce Department, retrieved on 2009-11-04.
  4. ^ a b c Berger, Joseph (2004-05-16). "Kerry's Grandfather Left Judaism Behind in Europe". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEEDF173FF935A25756C0A9629C8B63. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Kranish, Michael; Mooney, Brian C.; Easton, Nina J. (2004-04-27). "John Kerry: The Complete Biography by The Boston Globe Reporters Who Know Him Best". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/kerry/book/excerpt/. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
  6. ^ a b c d Whitmore, Brian (2004-02-22). "Hearing of roots, Czech village roots Kerry on". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/02/22/hearing_of_roots_czech_village_roots_kerry_on/. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
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United States Senate
Preceded by Paul Tsongas United States Senator (Class 2) from Massachusetts January 2, 1985 – present Served alongside: Ted Kennedy, Paul G. Kirk, Scott Brown Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Thomas P. O'Neill III Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts Served under: Michael Dukakis January 6, 1983–January 2, 1985 Vacant Title next held by Evelyn Murphy Elected in the 1986 Massachusetts Gubernatorial Election
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John Kerry
John Kerry
Career Military career · 2004 campaign · VP selection process · Iraq policy · Kerry-Feingold Amendment · Sponsored legislation
Elections Senate election, 1984 · Senate election, 1990 · Senate election, 1996 · Senate election, 2002 · United States presidential election, 2004 · Senate election, 2008
Family Forbes family · Dudley–Winthrop family · Teresa Heinz · Julia Thorne · Alexandra Kerry · Vanessa Kerry · Rosemary Forbes Kerry · Cameron Kerry
Massachusetts's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators John Kerry (D), Scott Brown (R)
Representatives John Olver (D), Richard Neal (D), Jim McGovern (D), Barney Frank (D), Niki Tsongas (D), John F. Tierney (D), Ed Markey (D), Mike Capuano (D), Stephen Lynch (D), Bill Delahunt (D)
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Current members of the United States Senate

AL: Shelby (R), Sessions (R) AK: Murkowski (R), Begich (D) AZ: McCain (R), Kyl (R) AR: Lincoln (D), Pryor (D) CA: Feinstein (D), Boxer (D) CO: M. Udall (D), Bennet (D) CT: Dodd (D), Lieberman (I) DE: Carper (D), Kaufman (D) FL: C. W. Nelson (D), LeMieux (R) GA: Chambliss (R), Isakson (R) HI: Inouye (D), Akaka (D) ID: Crapo (R), Risch (R) IL: Durbin (D), Burris (D)

IN: Lugar (R), Bayh (D) IA: Grassley (R), Harkin (D) KS: Brownback (R), Roberts (R) KY: McConnell (R), Bunning (R) LA: Landrieu (D), Vitter (R) ME: Snowe (R), Collins (R) MD: Mikulski (D), Cardin (D) MA: Kerry (D), S.P. Brown (R) MI: Levin (D), Stabenow (D) MN: Klobuchar (D), Franken (D) MS: Cochran (R), Wicker (R) MO: Bond (R), McCaskill (D)

MT: Baucus (D), Tester (D) NE: E. B. Nelson (D), Johanns (R) NV: Reid (D), Ensign (R) NH: Gregg (R), Shaheen (D) NJ: Lautenberg (D), Menendez (D) NM: Bingaman (D), T. Udall (D) NY: Schumer (D), Gillibrand (D) NC: Burr (R), Hagan (D) ND: Conrad (D), Dorgan (D) OH: Voinovich (R), S.C. Brown (D) OK: Inhofe (R), Coburn (R) OR: Wyden (D), Merkley (D)

PA: Specter (D), Casey (D) RI: Reed (D), Whitehouse (D) SC: Graham (R), DeMint (R) SD: Johnson (D), Thune (R) TN: Alexander (R), Corker (R) TX: Hutchison (R), Cornyn (R) UT: Hatch (R), Bennett (R) VT: Leahy (D), Sanders (I) VA: Webb (D), Warner (D) WA: Murray (D), Cantwell (D) WV: Rockefeller (D), Goodwin (D) WI: Kohl (D), Feingold (D) WY: Enzi (R), Barrasso (R)
Democratic (57) • Republican (41) • Independent (2)
United States Senators from Massachusetts
Class 1 Dalton • Cabot • Goodhue • Mason • Adams • Lloyd • Gore • Ashmun • Mellen • Mills • Webster • Choate • Webster • Winthrop • Rantoul • Sumner • Washburn • Dawes • Lodge, Sr. • Butler • Walsh • Lodge, Jr. • J. Kennedy • Smith • E. Kennedy • Kirk • Brown
Class 2 Strong • Sedgwick • Dexter • Foster • Pickering • Varnum • Otis • Lloyd • Silsbee • Davis • Bates • Davis • Everett • Rockwell • Wilson • Boutwell • Hoar • Crane • J. Weeks • Walsh • Gillett • Coolidge • Lodge, Jr. • S. Weeks • Saltonstall • Brooke • Tsongas • Kerry
Chairpersons and Ranking Members of United States Senate committees
Chairpersons (Democratic) Ranking Members (Republican)

Blanche Lincoln (Arkansas) – Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Daniel Inouye (Hawaii) – Appropriations Carl Levin (Michigan) – Armed Services Chris Dodd (Connecticut) – Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Kent Conrad (North Dakota) – Budget Jay Rockefeller (West Virginia) – Commerce, Science and Transportation Jeff Bingaman (New Mexico) – Energy and Natural Resources Barbara Boxer (California) – Environment and Public Works Max Baucus (Montana) – Finance John Kerry (Massachusetts) – Foreign Relations Tom Harkin (Iowa) – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Joe Lieberman (Connecticut) – Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Byron Dorgan (North Dakota) – Indian Affairs Patrick Leahy (Vermont) – Judiciary Chuck Schumer (New York) – Rules and Administration Mary Landrieu (Louisiana) – Small Business and Entrepreneurship Daniel Akaka (Hawaii) – Veterans' Affairs Barbara Boxer (California) – Ethics (Select) Dianne Feinstein (California) – Intelligence (Select) Herb Kohl (Wisconsin) – Aging (Special)

Saxby Chambliss (Georgia) – Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Thad Cochran (Mississippi) – Appropriations John McCain (Arizona) – Armed Services Richard Shelby (Alabama) – Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Judd Gregg (New Hampshire) – Budget Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas) – Commerce, Science and Transportation Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) – Energy and Natural Resources Jim Inhofe (Oklahoma) – Environment and Public Works Chuck Grassley (Iowa) – Finance Richard Lugar (Indiana) – Foreign Relations Mike Enzi (Wyoming) – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Susan Collins (Maine) – Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs John Barrasso (Wyoming) – Indian Affairs Jeff Sessions (Alabama) – Judiciary Bob Bennett (Utah) – Rules and Administration Olympia Snowe (Maine) – Small Business and Entrepreneurship Richard Burr (North Carolina) – Veterans' Affairs Johnny Isakson (Georgia) – Ethics (Select) Kit Bond (Missouri) – Intelligence (Select) Bob Corker (Tennessee) – Aging (Special)
Current statewide government officials of Massachusetts
U.S. Senators John Kerry · Scott Brown
U.S. House Massachusetts's congressional districts · List of Representatives from Massachusetts
State constitutional officers Deval Patrick (Governor) · Tim Murray (Lieutenant Governor) · William Galvin (Secretary of State) · Martha Coakley (Attorney General) · Timothy Cahill (Treasurer) · Joe DeNucci (Auditor)
State Senate leaders Therese Murray (President) · Frederick Berry (Majority Leader) · Richard Tisei (Minority Leader)
State House leaders Robert DeLeo (Speaker) · James Vallee (Majority Leader) · Bradley Jones (Minority Leader)
Supreme Judicial Court Margaret Marshall (Chief) · Roderick L. Ireland · Francis X. Spina · Judith A. Cowin · Robert J. Cordy · Margot Botsford · Ralph Gants
Democratic Party
Chairmen of the DNC

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Presidential tickets

Jackson/Calhoun · Jackson/Van Buren · Van Buren/R. M. Johnson · Polk/Dallas · Cass/Butler · Pierce/King · Buchanan/Breckinridge · Douglas/H. V. Johnson (Breckinridge/Lane, SD) · McClellan/Pendleton · Seymour/Blair · Greeley/Brown · Tilden/Hendricks · Hancock/English · Cleveland/Hendricks · Cleveland/Thurman · Cleveland/Stevenson I · W. J. Bryan/Sewall · W. J. Bryan/Stevenson I · Parker/H. G. Davis · W. J. Bryan/Kern · Wilson/Marshall · Cox/Roosevelt · J. W. Davis/C. W. Bryan · Smith/Robinson · Roosevelt/Garner · Roosevelt/Wallace · Roosevelt/Truman · Truman/Barkley · Stevenson II/Sparkman · Stevenson II/Kefauver · Kennedy/L. B. Johnson · L. B. Johnson/Humphrey · Humphrey/Muskie · McGovern/(Eagleton, Shriver) · Carter/Mondale · Mondale/Ferraro · Dukakis/Bentsen · Clinton/Gore · Gore/Lieberman · Kerry/Edwards · Obama/Biden
Parties by State and territory
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Territory

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Democratic National Conventions (List)

1832 (Baltimore) · 1835 (Baltimore) · 1840 (Baltimore) · 1844 (Baltimore) · 1848 (Baltimore) · 1852 (Baltimore) · 1856 (Cincinnati) · 1860 (Baltimore) · 1864 (Chicago) · 1868 (New York) · 1872 (Baltimore) · 1876 (Saint Louis) · 1880 (Cincinnati) · 1884 (Chicago) · 1888 (Saint Louis) · 1892 (Chicago) · 1896 (Chicago) · 1900 (Kansas City) · 1904 (Saint Louis) · 1908 (Denver) · 1912 (Baltimore) · 1916 (Saint Louis) · 1920 (San Francisco) · 1924 (New York) · 1928 (Houston) · 1932 (Chicago) · 1936 (Philadelphia) · 1940 (Chicago) · 1944 (Chicago) · 1948 (Philadelphia) · 1952 (Chicago) · 1956 (Chicago) · 1960 (Los Angeles) · 1964 (Atlantic City) · 1968 (Chicago) · 1972 (Miami Beach) · 1976 (New York) · 1980 (New York) · 1984 (San Francisco) · 1988 (Atlanta) · 1992 (New York) · 1996 (Chicago) · 2000 (Los Angeles) · 2004 (Boston) · 2008 (Denver)
Affiliated organizations

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Related articles

History · Superdelegate
Governors and Lieutenant Governors of Massachusetts
Governors
Colony (1629–1686) Endecott · Winthrop · T. Dudley · Haynes · Vane · Winthrop · T. Dudley · Bellingham · Winthrop · Endecott · T. Dudley · Winthrop · Endecott · T. Dudley · Endecott · Bellingham · Endecott · Bellingham · Leverett · Bradstreet
Dominion (1686–1689) J. Dudley · Andros · Bradstreet
Province (1692–1776) W. Phips · Stoughton · Coote · Stoughton · Governor's Council · J. Dudley · Governor's Council · J. Dudley · Tailer · Shute · Dummer · Burnet · Dummer · Tailer · Belcher · Shirley · S. Phips · Shirley · S. Phips · Governor's Council · Pownall · Hutchinson · Bernard · Hutchinson · Gage
Commonwealth (since 1776) Hancock · Cushing · Bowdoin · Hancock · Adams · Sumner · Gill · Governor's Council · Strong · Sullivan · Lincoln, Sr. · Gore · Gerry · Strong · Brooks · Eustis · Morton · Lincoln, Jr. · Davis · Armstrong · Everett · Morton · Davis · Morton · Briggs · Boutwell · Clifford · E. Washburn · Gardner · Banks · Andrew · Bullock · Claflin · W. Washburn · Talbot · Gaston · Rice · Talbot · Long · Butler · Robinson · Ames · Brackett · Russell · Greenhalge · Wolcott · Crane · Bates · Douglas · Guild · Draper · Foss · Walsh · McCall · Coolidge · Cox · Fuller · Allen · Ely · Curley · Hurley · Saltonstall · Tobin · Bradford · Dever · Herter · Furcolo · Volpe · Peabody · Volpe · Sargent · Dukakis · King · Dukakis · Weld · Cellucci · Swift · Romney · Patrick
Lieutenant Governors
T. Cushing · B. Lincoln · Adams · Gill · S. Phillips · Robbins · L. Lincoln · Cobb · Gray · W. Phillips · L. Lincoln, Jr. · Morton · Winthrop · Armstrong · Hull · Childs · Reed · Cushman · Huntington · Plunkett · Brown · Benchley · Trask · Goodrich · Nesmith · Hayden · Caflin · Tucker · Talbot · Knight · Long · Weston · Ames · Halie · Wolcott · Crane · Bates · Guild · Draper · Frothingham · Luce · Walsh · Barry · G. Cushing · C. Coolidge · Cox · Fuller · Allen · Youngman · Bacon · Hurley · Kelly · Cahill · Bradford · A. Coolidge · Sullivan · Whittier · R. Murphy · McLaughin · Bellotti · Richardson · Sargent · Dwight · O'Neill · Kerry · E. Murphy · Cellucci · Swift · Healey · Murray
Italics indicate acting officeholders
Chairmen of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Buchanan • Rives • Archer • Allen • Sevier • Hannegan • Benton • King • Foote • Mason • Sumner • Cameron • Hamlin • Eaton • Burnside • Edmunds • Windom • Miller • Sherman • Frye • Davis • Cullom • Bacon • Stone • Hitchcock • Lodge • Borah • Pittman • George • Green • Fulbright • Sparkman • Church • Percy • Lugar • Pell • Helms • Biden • Helms • Biden • Lugar • Biden • Kerry
Chairmen of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Sparkman • Thye • Sparkman • Smathers • Bible • Nelson • Weicker • Bumpers • Bond • Kerry • Bond • Kerry • Snowe • Kerry • Landrieu
Chairs of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Johnston • Ford • Bentsen • Mitchell • Kerry • Breaux • Robb • Graham • Kerrey • Torricelli • Murray • Corzine • Schumer • Menendez
United States presidential election, 1992
Democratic Party 1992 Democratic National Convention · Primaries
Candidates Agran · Brown · Casey · Clinton (campaign) · Harkin · Kerrey · Laughlin · McCarthy · Tsongas · Wilder · Woods
VP Candidate Gore
Republican Party 1992 Republican National Convention
Candidates Buchanan · Bush · Duke · Stassen
VP Candidate Quayle
Third party Independents
Candidate Ross Perot (campaign)
VP Candidate James Stockdale
Summary of the 2 November 2004 United States presidential election results
Candidates Party Votes % Electoral votes
George W. Bush Republican Party 62,040,610 50.73% 286
John Kerry Democratic Party 59,028,444 48.27% 251
John Edwards 1 1
Ralph Nader Independent, Reform Party 465,650 0.38% -
Michael Badnarik Libertarian Party 397,265 0.32% -
Michael Peroutka Constitution Party 143,630 0.12% -
David Cobb Green Party 119,859 0.10% -
Other 99,887 0.08% -
Total 122,295,345 100.0% 538
Voter turnout: 56.70 %
Source: FEC 2004 Election Results
The Dudley–Winthrop family tree
John Winthrop (1588-1649)
Thomas Dudley (1576-1653) John Winthrop the Younger (1606-1676)
Simon Bradstreet (1603-1697) Anne Dudley Joseph Dudley (1647-1720) Wait Still Winthrop (1642-1717) Fitz-John Winthrop (1638-1707)
Paul Dudley (1675-1751) Ann Dudley John Winthrop, F.R.S. (1681-1776)
John Still Winthrop (1720-1776)
Thomas Lindall Winthrop (1760-1841) Francis Bayard Winthrop (1754-1817)
Robert Charles Winthrop (1809-1894) Thomas Charles Winthrop (1797-1873) Francis B. Winthrop, Jr (1787-1841)
Robert C. Winthrop, Jr. (1834-1905) Robert Winthrop (1833-1892) Katherine Wilson Taylor (1839-1925) Theodore Winthrop (1828-1861)
James Grant Forbes (1879-1955) Margaret Tyndal Winthrop Beekman Winthrop (1874-1940) Katherine Taylor Winthrop (1866-1943) Hamilton Fish Kean (1862-1941)
Richard John Kerry Rosemary Forbes (1913-2002) Robert Winthrop Kean (1893-1980)
John Forbes Kerry (1943-) Thomas Howard Kean (1935-)
Thomas Kean, Jr. (1968-)
Persondata
NAME Kerry, John Forbes
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Junior United States Senator from Massachusetts, 2004 Presidential candidate for the Democratic Party
DATE OF BIRTH 11 December 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Aurora, Colorado
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

Categories: John Kerry | 1943 births | Living people | American anti-Vietnam War activists | American military personnel of the Vietnam War | American Roman Catholic politicians | Boston College Law School alumni | Cancer survivors | Democratic Party (United States) politicians | Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees | District attorneys | Dudley–Winthrop family | Forbes family | Kerry family | Foreign Service brats | Lieutenant Governors of Massachusetts | Massachusetts Democrats | Massachusetts lawyers | Recipients of the Bronze Star Medal | Recipients of the Purple Heart medal | Recipients of the Silver Star | People from Aurora, Colorado | St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni | United States Navy officers | United States presidential candidates, 2004 | United States Senators from Massachusetts | Vietnam War POW/MIA issues | Yale University alumni

 

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changes tack on WikiLeaks documents Washington Post (blog) John Kerry , whose windsurfing came to symbolize what critics derided as his tendency to heed the politics of the moment, has trimmed his sails over the ... Options for reconciliation in Afghanistan (Sen. John Kerry ) The Hill (blog) Kerry plays down significance of leaked war documents cnn kerry plays down Afghan revelations Financial Times WHDH-TV  - NECN  - Daily Kos (blog)
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Who was head of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War movement Al Hubbard Sgt 22 Troop Carrier Squadron Aug 65 June 66 Al Hubbard proven fraud who never set foot in Viet Nam The only Vietnamese he ever met was

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Dies George Bush have more Military experience than John Kerry and did he get more medals?
Q. When I said in the YA elections forum that George W. Bush had no military experience, a number of replied that he had plenty of military experience and more than John Kerry. Did George Bush have more military experience than John Kerry?
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A. Dubya won a medal for having the tiniest pee pee.
Answered by Rehab Junkie - Tue Oct 14 14:46:35 2008

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