Nerd, you bring up quite a bit of information that takes time
to respond to.

Here's one.

"Kerry ranks second in the Senate in all-time missed vote percentage. Only Zell Miller of Georgia has skipped a greater proportion of his votes than Kerry. Edwards is third and Lieberman is fourth. For this they get taxpayer money?"

I think it's legitimate for a senator or congressman to vote on
the basis of what they feel is important and not for every bill
that comes down the pike. If you don't vote for bills, it means
you don't like them. What's wrong with that? I hope that Kerry and others don't vote for some of the bills that have been railroaded
through congress by a non-bipartisan political Right.

AS to the article itself:

The difference between the money Kerry has raised from the telecommunications industry and the amount that Bush has access to
his hardly comparable. Bush can outspend all of the money raised byt the Democratic contenders combined.

You say,

"(1) Kerry voted with Bush on most of the issues that will be crucial in this campaign."

The is second-guessing what the voters feel will be the important
issues of the campaign.

"(2) Kerry has severe character questions involved in his treatment of his wives, which will inevitably be exploited by Bush"

Prove it. Maybe we should get Kenneth Starr to investigate this. :)

"(3) Kerry has taken more special interest money than any other senator in the last fifteen years."

What is the source of this assertion?

"To me, this last is a GIANT issue. He is bought and paid for, and he has already used that money to pay for the presidency. Newsweek's February 9th issue will contain a story, which I excerpt below:"

I don't give much credibility to Newsweek articles. No, he is not
bought and paid for. This assertion is again spin.

I think we are getting a political spin based on factoids that
are manufactured by such organs as Newsweek. A lot of these assertions have to be given careful consideration as to their
validity in an election year where spin is more prevalent than
actual fact.

Actually, Dean has more money in his coffers than Kerry at this
time. Let's see where he got it and how he'll spend it.

Frank