I don't have the answers yet, but I have learned enough to be dangerous, and ask better questions..

You know, up until the debate last night, I was lukewarm at best to our future president. But after last night, I have become a firm Kerry supporter.

What was the key?

For the first time, I saw the man's ideology in action, and it impressed me. There is no amount of coaching that could have pulled some of what I saw to the surface, but pressure and a desire to get his voice out there finally caused him to let a few arrows go that made me realize he is indeed a good man.

I have no idea whether he could really run the country, because as we saw with Carter, idealism and being tough enough to do what's needed aren't always synonymous. But I realized last night that he genuinely wants to create strong relationships with other world powers to promote peace. He will take the best ideas off the congressional floor regardless of party origin, and I thought that was a risky move that could put his party on notice that his loyalty only extends so far. But I love the unity in that strategy. There were other points as well, such as when he lamented the fact that children in the most advanced nation in the world do not have health care as a right, where I realized he really does have great ideals and is really working to elevate the condition of this nation.

He and Bush seem most divided over their individual philosophies, which can be found in the details of any question, but which sum up to individual vs group dynamics. In astrology, the first half of the zodiac from Aries through Virgo is concerned with individual experience in a variety of forms. Everything from self-determination to will to service as an individual is experienced through the first six signs, and is designed to help the individual understand itself. But the second half is focused on Others, from Libra through Pisces. This group concerns itself with larger questions of humanity, relationships (everything from marriage through relating with groups, societies, and the Divine). I bring this up because one could also map this to liberal vs conservative. The conservative, and sometimes predominantly Western view, holds that the individual contains the power and is responsible for its well-being, self-determination, and ultimate standing. The liberal view is more like the second half of the zodiac - it worries about the welfare of the whole group, the whole society, and ultimately the whole world. Bush is a Cancer native - 1st half of the zodiac, concerned with the development of the individual. Cancer is noted for business, leadership, and for fear of cataclysmic events that may or may not happen. Kerry is a Sagittarian - 2nd half of the zodiac, particularly idealistic, and is concerned with the advancement of the American people as a whole. Sagittarius is the highest sign of fire, and is the most idealistic, concerned with religion and philosophy. He shares this sign with Winston Churchill.

So I diverge and digress. The point is that I saw Kerry's philosophy in action last night, under duress, and I liked what I saw. It took some time to poke and prod this out of him in digestible form, so for that I thank President Bush. But I am now happy to be in the Kerry camp and no longer count myself as disenfranchised or unenthusiastic.