This is a thread meant for the purpose of 'hearing' people whose unexpected opinions startle one, on whatever subject, people who are in a position to make a profound difference. I still remember the jolt I felt when George Soros made his announcement of monetary support for the Democratic party this election. There are many others and I hope you'll join me. I'll start with this one:

John Eisenhower:

"Now more than ever, we voters will have to make cool judgments, unencumbered by habits of the past. Experts tell us that we tend to vote as our parents did or as we "always have." We remained loyal to party labels. We cannot afford that luxury in the election of 2004. There are times when we must break with the past, and I believe this is one of them.

"As son of a Republican President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, it is automatically expected by many that I am a Republican. For 50 years, through the election of 2000, I was. With the current administration's decision to invade Iraq unilaterally, however, I changed my voter registration to independent, and barring some utterly unforeseen development, I intend to vote for the Democratic Presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry"

More at http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/093004U.shtml