My Candidate

In honor of North Dakota Primary day, I took the Presidential Match candidate compatability test. It turns out that Dennis Kucinich is my candidate, closely followed by Al Sharpton. Then John Kerry and Howard Dean in distant third and fourth, respectively.

That is not the way I had them sorted in my head. Could it be that I am one of those irrational voters who doesn't vote for the candidate who most closely mirror his own position on the issues? I was kind of enjoying the prospect of the Dems quickly uniting behind the 'electable' John Kerry.

I once sailed in an overnight race with Kerry's father, Dick on his somewhat less than immaculate Ericson 35. He was a fairly down to earth type. He served as cook as well as skipper on the race. His recipe for stew for dinner consisted of pouring an extra large can of Dinty Moore and a bottle of cheap red wine into a pot, stirring and heating to slightly above luke warm. I got the feeling he didn't want to cook off any of the volatiles. John may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but it surely didn't come from the galley of his father's boat.

The Kerrys weren't Irish, though you'd be excused for thinking so. Dick's father was an Austrian Jew originally named Fritz Kohn, he chose the name Kerry after discovering County Kerry in Ireland. As an Northern Irish American, I have no problem with that. You can choose your country, and your name.