Al Gore describes the problem well in this speech.

"It appears to be an important element in Bush's ideology to never admit a mistake or even a doubt. It also has become common for Bush to rely on special interests for information about the policies important to them and he trusts what they tell him over any contrary view that emerges from public debate. He has, in effect, outsourced the truth. Most disturbing of all, his contempt for the rule of reason and his early successes in persuading the nation that his ideologically based views accurately described the world have tempted him to the hubristic and genuinely dangerous illusion that reality is itself a commodity that can be created with clever public relations and propaganda skills, and where specific controversies are concerned, simply purchased as a turnkey operation from the industries most affected.

George Orwell said, "The point is that we are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right. Intellectually, it is possible to carry on this process for an indefinite time: the only check on it is that sooner or later a false belief bumps up against solid reality, usually on a battlefield." "

OG, BB -- John Kerry is not arrogant, or at least he is a lot less arrogant than our half-mad Resident. As for being an asshole, you are simply incorrect in your opinion. He is more of a gentleman, and a LOT more of a scholar, and a more experienced diplomat and a more skilled manager than W has ever dreamed of being. He's simply a better human being.

If you weren't completely locked in to the past and its serious errors, you could see it a lot more clearly. The merits on present time comparison of the two men and what they stand for are overwhelmingly in Kerry's favor.

A