Here’s the only good faith effort that’s come in from an actual Kerry supporter (who’s also a Friend of Lowry’s). It’s a bit more than a paragraph, but it’s all I got:
… Here’s my response to your challenge:
From the perspective of a committed liberal who opposed Nixon, Reagan, the
contras, etc., I would argue that a number of the key events in Kerry’s rise combined a certain gutsiness with a knack for publicity. The NY Times profile
on Sunday by Rosenbaum and Toner makes most of these points, but to highlight:
– Kerry’s overall, long-term career focus on foreign policy qualifies, since
the American public truly does not care about foreign policy, especially when it
gets complicated. Many of his initiatives and inquiries were risky, with
significant downside potential.
– Kerry latched on early to Iran-contra, and outed Oliver North more than a year before the scandal broke. He invested his limited political capital (as a
junior Senator) publicizing an issue that was not on the public’s radar screen. Yes, he benefited in the long term with favorable publicity, but doesn’t he deserve it? (Doesn’t he also deserve credit for helping untangle BCCI in its
early stages?)
– As Rosenbaum and Toner point out, Vietnam normalization was seen as a
completely thankless task. Kerry made himself a potential target for some very intense POW activists, with no guarantee he would ever be able to please them –
he was fairly likely to be branded a traitor to vets (all the more so, since many had not liked his anti-war activities). http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/08/politics/campaign/08KERR.html
– In June 2002, when most Democrats were still afraid to criticize Bush over the war on terror, Kerry blasted Bush for allowing al Qaeda to escape at Tora Bora. (He mostly lost hold of this message when Dean tied him into knots over explaining his Iraq vote; I hope he will return to it in a big way for the fall.) http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/06.25A.Kerry.tactics.htm
Yes, the publicity that Kerry gained from these inquiries and initiatives helped
fulfill his ambitions. But we should have no illusions about politicians ignoring their own self-interest — we depend on a certain level of harmony between politicians’ ambitions and the greater good for any good outcomes from the political process, whether you are on the left or right.