Windsurfer

THIS is too rich!!!! www.americanwindsurfer.com/mag/back/issue5.5/kerry2.html An interview with JFK - in American Windsurfing magazine, from before the 1998 campaign began. Select quotes: (emphasis mine)

AW: Would you say with all the problems we face in the country and the breakdown in morality at the highest level, that the country would seek an exceptional leader? JK: Well, I'm not talking about one leader and I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to make any assumptions about my capacity or anybody else's capacity to do that. AW: But people are looking around and asking, "Who is the person who can put all these things together?" I recently read that Senator Ted Kennedy claimed you would be a great choice for the Democratic presidential candidate. ... JK: Well, I think he is very generous in his assessment of my ability to be able to mount a candidacy if I chose to. ... I think there is a lot of preparation, a considerable amount of thought about the agenda that must be processed before you can make any judgement about a national race. I have seen people who haven't done that and found it very difficult to achieve a platform. So, my intention is to be thoughtful about it and approach it in a sensible way that isn't so much influenced by what I hear people say but influenced by what I deem to be the national dynamic, as well as my own personal assessment of the agenda that I have to offer to that dynamic. AW: It would seem that the national dynamic is one that would clearly need somebody who can come in and really give a sense of leadership. [JK:] Sure. Absolutely! People want something clear, something truthful, something ... ... AW: Now, we windsurfed together several times in the past year. Between your schedule and my schedule we really don't have much time to play around with, but somehow we managed to find a day here and there. It's amazing how each time we meet . . . JK: . . .we got the wind blowing! AW: Yes! We got wind blowing! JK: [laughs] AW: It's amazing! JK: That's wonderful! AW: We have done this about six or seven times and each time it just blows! JK: Lucky! AW: And amazingly! Many of the days before and after we sailed, there were no winds at all. JK: The force is with us, John. AW: Now, don't you think in politics that there are forces at play, just like in nature? JK: Absolutely. Oh, I absolutely believe that. 'Course there are! Big forces way beyond one's control that can pick you up and slap you down or give you that perfect jibe. It can work both ways. It really does. I've seen it happen. Things way beyond our control. There are those forces and it's one of those great linkages I suppose between politics and windsurfing. ... [AW:] So, as a metaphor, are you sitting on the beach assessing the forces of the wind before venturing into the waters? JK: Well you know, you and I never assessed the wind. We just decided we're going to go and this was going to be it. We take what we get and what we got has been good. That's not what I'm assessing. I'm assessing whether or not I have a board and a sail. It's a little different. You need a little equipment to go out there. Whatever the wind, I want to make sure that I am going to be real physically fit. That's the metaphor.

...and much, much more, including JK's opinions on the spirituality of windsurfing