There are a lot of things about John Kerry that I don't find particularly appealing or am downright turned off by. But, I have been both intrigued by and attracted to his core character as I see it revealed thru his actions.

Tonight his daughters both spoke briefly in the lead up to his grand entrance. Daughter Alexandra Kerry was especially poignant and moving. She related a story from their childhood. The family was going somewhere and her sister had packed up all of her favorite animals, including a hamster in it's cage. They were on a dock and somehow the hamster's cage got knocked over the edge. They could see it sinking down into the water, trailing a line of bubbles. John immediately jumped in the water, grabbed a nearby oar and fished the hamster cage out of the water. He then proceeded to give the hamster CPR, saving it's life.

As I listened to Alexandra relate the story I was reminded of the event in Vietnam for which Kerry was awarded the Bronze Star. They'd been on a Swift boat mission and one of the other Swift boats had hit a mine, blowing a Special Forces officer into the river. Under intense shore fire the boats hastily retreated down river to put distance between them and the Viet Cong trap they'd found themselves in. Someone notified Kerry that the SF guy was overboard and Kerry sent the whole group charging back up the river to save him. They lowered a net over the side and the SF guy managed to grab ahold of it. But, he was unable to pull himself over the edge and into the boat. Meanwhile they were facing intense shore fire and bullets were whizzing thru the air. The SF guy was not going to live thru the event if he couldn't get out of the line of fire. Kerry left the relative safety of the helm and personally went up and expozed himself to the shore fire by reaching over the side and pulling the SF guy into the boat and safety.

Both of these events reveal to me a glimpse of Kerry's character. Particularly the experience in Vietnam. He didn't have to go back. Nobody would have questioned it if he hadn't. Heck, most of them probably figured this Special Forces guy was dead already. By his own account he was being shot at while in the water even before Kerry brought the Swift boat group back to save him. It was quite simply a selfless act of courage that Kerry demonstrated that day. Later with the hamster he revealed another aspect which I find intriguing - a love for and valuation of life, as well as a willingness to do whatever necessary in a crisis. When minutes or even seconds are critical it comes down to core character traits which separate those who act immediately and those who don't.

Does it matter? Are selfless courage and the ability to act decisively in a crisis character traits that you want in a President? How about valuing life? Do you want a President who values life? Is it enough for you that a candidate talks the talk? Or do you want some sort of evidence of walking the walk too? My answer to each of those is an affirmative.