J.F.K. in '04

I supposed to be doing some on line advocacy amidst all my ranting and raving...or so I read in the Boston Globe's front page feature article on blogging on Monday.
Frankly I have a suspicion that nobody out there really cares as to why I'm for Kerry.
I'm not even sure I care as to why I'm for Kerry.
He is the democrat from Massachusetts in the race, I'm a Massachusetts democrat so I'm for him.
What more needs be said?
That I'm supposed to be thrilled and transported by him?
That Kerry's very existence somehow elevates public service to a noble cause?
No...that be the case for others but for me, it's Massachusetts First, Massachusetts Last, Massachusetts Always.
Why?
The Bay State has fallen on hard times since November 22nd 1963, we are derided nationally and assigned a condescending second class status by over fed over paid pundits.
Three of our best have sallied forth since 1980 to do right by the nation and all have returned bloodied, defeated but unbowed.
That would be Senator Kennedy, Governor Dukakis, and the Late Paul Tsongas (peace to his ashes).
THAT just tends to piss me off ....
Frankly we have entirely too much cult of personality politics going on the USA these days. If it's one refrain I've heard from Center Barnstead New Hampshire to Tampa Florida, it's "I vote the man not the party".
Frankly, give me the good old days of mugwumps and the Tweed Gang...at least the parties had real power over the process.
Nowadays the press has more control over nominations and candidates...too much control IMHO.
And that my friends, is a bad thing.
It is this type of personality politics that has created a new class of preening celebrity airheads whose only claim to power is "name recognition".
Every four years millions of dollars is spent to make some hapless jerk-off like George Bush look cuddly, warm, charismatic yet truculent and unthreateningly simple-minded at the same time.
The main judges of these vast campaigns are pretentious dingbats like Tim Russert and Howard Fineman.
The voters have less and less influence over the process because their primary input into the system, the political parties are wan wasted things that are little more than fund-raising flags of convenience.
I can't anything about the above pathologies...but I can register my discontent by making my decision on the basis of local party parochial concerns and leaving personality politics out of it.
So I'm for Kerry long and loud, what is good for Massachusetts democrats is damn straight good enough for the nation!