John Kerry, nearly two weeks later.

In case we have any readers left, I thought I'd finally take a crack at posting my impressions of my beer-with-Kerry moment now nearly two weeks ago.

Having followed John Kerry's career for nearly 35 years, and having met him several times over those years, I already had a pretty good idea of what sort of man he is, and yet I came away from the evening even more impressed than I already had been. I expected a handshake (if lucky, a hug) and a smile. I never for an instant anticipated the candor, outspokenness, and emotional openness he showed us. I never imagined he would greet his supporters with so much expressed gratitude that it was overwhelming.

I regret that in a country the size of this one it is impossible for every voter to personally meet the people who are running for president. Kerry's deep voice and serious demeanor do not serve him well on television, but in person...it's impossible to overstate how wrong - by exactly 180 degrees - the media's take on him was during the election year. He is warm, affectionate, witty, curious, intelligent - and - sincere. And I have ten witnesses who will back me up on that.

I'd like to talk a bit about sincerity, which has an uncool rep in our oh-so-hip culture. One of my favorite descriptions of Kerry is this one, a remark made during one of the famous Kerry-Weld debates of 1996:

I'm very well aware that when God made me one of the debits he gave me was sort of an over level of intensity, maybe an over level of earnestness, or whatever you want to call it. On the other hand, what I do know about myself is that when you have a fight, I'm a good person to be in the fox hole with, and I know that we're in a fight right now.

The level of public cynicism is so great that these excellent qualities cannot be seen for what they are; it's as if the entire country is looking through the same jaundice-colored glasses. I'm trying to avoid media bashing here, but the on-the-one-hand-on-the-other-hand reporting we hear every day does us no favors in helping to see events clearly.

I challenge anyone who takes a cynical view of Kerry to try the experiment of listening to him speak without prejudging. Try listening to him with a completely open mind. Try to accept that he rarely speaks without thinking first, and that he means every word he says. Here are a few places to start. If you have a chance you might also tune in to AAR's Politically Direct Sunday afternoon from 2 to 3, or download the podcast later over at Air America Place. Mark Riley has been excerpting the interview over the past few days. It is excellent and wide ranging, and features the true "pissed off Kerry" his supporters know - and love - as his own true self.