One Question I've Always Had About Kerry

[THUNDER HANDS]

Is why he decided, upon coming back from Vietnam and wanting to enter politics, that he wanted to enter the legislative branch of government and not the executive branch.

Sure he was Lt. Governor for a while under Dukakis, but he first tried to get into the House, and then, obviously, the Senate.

If, from all I can tell about the guy, he wanted to be President since he was a little boy, why not go to the branch of government that leads most directly to the White House - the executive?

Kerry seems like a guy who would have fit in a lot better being the Governor of Massachusettes. In the senate he kinda got overshadowed by Kennedy, who took up most of the bill-writing duties.

It just seems that, as a career choice, Kerry made an odd move. Anyone know why he chose the Senate over the Governorship?

[Cocoa]

1. he was a prosecutor too

before Lt. Gov.

[JI7]

2. it was about opportunities and things he doesn't have much control over

he wasn't going to run for senate if someone with higher name recognition and someone more "deserving" based on their past work had ran. but nobody did so he ran.

[A_Possum]

3. Read the biographies about him

It's too complicated to go into here, but basically he felt that the legislature "better suited what he was passionate about."

John F. Kerry: the Complete Biography by the Boston Globe Reporters Who Knew Him Best

has the most about his political career.

Tour of Duty has some, going up to about 1972.

From reading these two books, I don't think he "always" wanted to be President, but he was always serious about serving the country in some capacity, and tended toward politics.

[jonnyblitz]

7. I am reading the Globe book now.

Subjectively I much prefer it to Tour of Duty because he covers more than just vietnam...

[poliguru]

4. It's near impossible

to get to the presidency unless you've already served as a senator, vice-president, or governor. If you look at 20th cent. presidents, those are the 3 stepping stones to the pres. He had a stronger shot at winning the senate than governor, and his interests were mostly with fed gov anyway.

[indyjones1938]

5. n/t

True, but Governors are traditionally more successful at attaining the Presidency than Senators (at least in recent years). Consider George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, etc.

Senators and Congressmen are at a disadvantage in running for President because they have lengthy voting records which can be taken wildly out of context and used against them. A Senator or Congressman is elected to serve the needs of his constituents, and the values and issues important to Massachusetts voters might be totally opposite of those important to Texans or Oregonians or Idahoans.

[NightOwwl]

8. 5 of your daddies buddies on the Supreme Court,

and a brother who'll fix the Florida vote doesn't hurt either.

[Davis_X_Machina]

6. Kerry's '72 race for US House...

...covered in detail here.

It's very interesting, complete with its own Watergate.

Kerry worked part-time as a talk-show host at one point, and as a fundraiser for CARE.

Kerry co-founded a cookie shop at Quincy Market that's still there.