Kerry has the background I admire most. And he is not scared to change his mind and SAY SO when it is the hard thing to do. (That in these dumb times where one is called "wishy-washy" and a "flip-flopper" as a way of denigrating someone who has the knowledge and the strength to be flexible. I admire the man for being the soldier that he was. I admire the man for seeing the situation clearly in Viet Nam. And most of all, I admire him for joining the the anti-war side when the cause for which he was fighting showed itself for what it was----a failed and unthought out policy that was killing young people on both sides, polarizing the nation and creating the "police riot" (named that by the Otto Koerner Commission) that was the Chicago Democratic National Convention in 1968. I have hope. My hope is that John Kerry can take over and bring the eventual peace in the same way that Lincoln did----first as a soldier who knew the tragedy and sadness of war himself (the BLACKHAWK WAR of 1832), and then, as Commander and Chief, he was able to fight a war when necessary ---a war that brings two violently opposed groups together EVENTUALLY. Alas, the aftermath of that uncivil war is still with us--after 150 years.

I think and hope that John Kerry can rise to this occasion better than this George Bush has.

As for Israel, as an atheist and secular Jew myself, I see the wrongness of many of the violent actions and positions taken by THAT NATION'S GOVERNMENT even while the right of Israel to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people ought never to be entertained even as a topic of discussion. We owe that to the six million whose demise, dreams and pain brought the nation to fruition.

Art Thieme