all aboard!

One more thing before I call it a night. Way back before Iowa, I was a Wes Clark backer because of the "electability" issue. I was in the "anybody but Bush" camp and thought, rightly, that in this election cycle only a decorated veteran had a prayer to beat the Great Pretender. I had been told by my cousin from Boston (she's voting for Kerry, but still carrying a torch for Howard Dean) that Kerry was less than desirable... OK she said he was "a bastard". I thought that she was being a bit harsh, but hey, she lives in his home state, she must know something I don't. Of course, at that point I only knew of one "bastard" running for President.

I didn't know much about John Kerry, aside from the fact that he was a great admirer of JFK and was the consummate Washington insider, steeped in the New England liberal tradition. He didn't really appeal to me on a personal level, in fact, before the Iowa caucuses I made fun of him by circulating a picture of Herman Munster ("separated at birth").

But I can clearly recall the moment I climbed on board the Kerry bandwagon. He did an interview on his campaign bus with George Stephanopoulos right before New Hampshire and I was struck by his command of the facts, his personable style (a far cry from the patrician droning which is endemic to his Senate performances), and his real engagement on issues that really mattered: Jobs, Health Care, the Environment, National Security, and Taxes. I thought, "this guy's for real."

I think alot of people probably experienced the same thing tonight. From where I sit, this thing's really a horserace now. May the best "bastard" win...