Kerry accepts his party's nomination 7/30/04

By the time Max Cleland was finished, and the nominee took the podium, saluted and proclaimed that he was "Reporting for duty," my combat-hardened veteran had tears rolling down his cheeks. I wonder if Bush can imagine how it feels to be gravely in harm's way on the other side of the globe, unable to tell "friend from foe" as Kerry so perceptively described? There was a great deal of talk about "integrity" at last night's Democratic Convention, and it's a subject I've recently explored in this forum. Integrity is about personal consistence, having thoughts and actions and words and deeds fully integrated and governed by one set of moral criteria. Lack of integrity is about having ongoing conflict between how things look and how they really are, or, worse, utilizing only instinctive self-serving reactive criteria, which vary depending on one's personal interests in any given situation. I think when Kerry talks about "...telling the truth to the America people," and pledges that he "...will be a Commander in Chief who will "...never mislead us into war," he is weaving an argument of evidence of Bush's lack of integrity. What Bush says is not consistent with what he does. He talks of honoring those in service of the country, but Kerry mentions the suffering of the families of reservists and guard members caught in the "back door draft" and so rightly says, "It's time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families." When he ultimately asked, "Where is the conscience of our country," I felt quite certain that the conscience of our country, that which was best and good in us before we became hated by most of the world, is embodied in John Kerry, and that he believes into his soul, having learned from experience, that "...we are all in the same boat." It's a global boat now, and that cannot be ignored. In closing, he quoted Lincoln, saying, "I don't want to claim that God is on our side; I want to pray humbly that we are on God's side." It is not an easy road, living with integrity, trying every day to do what is dictated by a moral code, looking for "God's side" even when it may not be what we want to see. We may never know what Bush wanted to do in Iraq, but from a distance it looks like an impulsive child or even an addict, focused only on immediate self-gratification and aggrandizement, rationalized by ever-changing lies. There were no weapons of mass destruction to seize, no clear link to Al Quaeda to sever, and only a fool would believe that Bush's actions have made the world safer for Americans. No matter how good war is for business, this war won't be enough to save Haliburton. Bush saw what he wanted to see, with little regard for Truth, and a very high price has been paid, in dollars, as well as blood. Finally, quietly, on July 28th, Doctors Without Borders left Afghanistan after 24 years of operation there, because it had finally become too dangerous to remain. We have no more time to waste, no room for further damage. Our leadership and policies must change now, back to the leadership style of the past, governed by principles rather than principals. It is time to seek the help of our historical allies to clean up this mess and to choose integrity over impulsivity. We need a new President. Now.