I usually don't answer my phone when the caller ID shows that its an out of town call, especially not at 6 or 7 at night. If they are interrupting dinner time, it usually means somebody is calling to ask for money. So, I don't know what made me pick up the phone tonight at 7 pm. But I'm sure glad I did.
It was John Kerry robo-calling to ask for support for Jim Webb. He spoke glowingly about Webb's courage, calling him the bravest man he knows. Kerry expressed confidence that Webb would fight to keep American jobs in America and to end the war in Iraq. And of course, Kerry urged that we go out and vote for Webb in the primary.
All this reminded me that when John Kerry ran for president, in 2004, he always had his band of brothers surrounding him. Those were the fellow veterans who had served with him in Vietnam and who had stayed friends and supporters through the years.
Of course, Kerry and Webb had not been friends at all. They have had real and bitter differences over the war in Vietnam. That war had divided the country and my whole generation. It's time to put it behind us. We are all Americans and we need to deal with current events, not past history.
But more importantly, both Jim Webb and John Kerry served honorably. Both were decorated for valor. Both risked their lives for other people. Both went and were willing, if need be, to make the ultimate sacrifice for the country and their bands of brothers and sisters.
Despite their differences, there always should have been more that united them than divided them. I'm glad that they mended those difference. I hope there is real healing on both sides. They belong to that larger band of brothers and sisters who served when called. And who still answer the call to serve.
Jim Webb and John Kerry. Now that's a combination I like seeing. And hearing on a robo call, even at dinner time.
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