Previously doing some research on John Kerry? I'm originally from Massachusetts, been living in San Francisco for eight years but because I was originally from Massachusetts, I knew a little bit about John Kerry, more than any of the other candidates, so that was who I was originally leaning towards. 

I started following up and doing a lot of research online and I found that my beliefs, personally, were a little bit more in line with Howard Dean's and I think the way he presents his viewpoints were a lot better than John Kerry.  I don't think that John Kerry can really bring the people that we need as people that want to throw George Bush out of the White House — I don't think he can mobilize the troops as much as somebody like Howard Dean can.

The feeling... I saw the... I forget when it was that he officially announced — he had that big meeting in downtown Burlington, I think it was — I viewed the webcast of that... it was 23 minutes of whatever it was and the end when everyone was pumping their fists and screaming, you know, "we're going to take the country back," that really hit home for me because I think that it's been taken away and I just don't think... well, to answer your question, that was it — it was take your country back from a whole bunch of people who don't own it. 

What I would say to somebody about Howard Dean is that he's got an attitude, but it's not just that he's angry because I think he understands that it's not just raw anger of an insurgent candidate that going to win the election — you understand that that's not going to win, but he has the feeling, he has the passion, he has the guts to stand up to the powers that be and to the current administration and I think that's what it's going to take to win back the White House. I don't think that any one of the other Democratic candidates for President are going to be able to generate enough excitement, generate enough support to actually take back... to win the election.  I don't think they have the ability to do that. 

I think that without a candidate that really stands apart from, first, not only from George Bush, but all the rest of the Democratic field, which I think are more Bush-like than not. I think somebody really needs to set themselves apart from all the rest of it because most of the country thinks that it's all the same thing. Howard Dean is not all the same thing.  That's really what I try to tell people when I talk to them — check this guy out, he's not like any of the other candidates you've seen before.  Form your own opinion about him, but at least check him out.

I think right now Howard Dean and John Kerry — that's going to be the first battle that's fought.  They're pretty much going toe to toe right now. Comparing the two, I don't think John Kerry has enough guts, has enough everyman characteristics. I think he's going to be... with the main goal of taking the White House back from the Republicans...

First and foremost, the policy that excites me about Howard Dean is his opposition to the Iraq war.  I understand he is not a pacifist — I understand that, am fine with that because I think that absolutely we have a military that needs to be used when it needs to be used, for the reasons that we need it to use it to defend our country. When we're under attack, or when we feel there is an imminent threat of an attack, I have no problem with that. I think Howard Dean agrees with that and I think he understands that and I think he also understands that the Iraq war didn't show that. There was no evidence and, as we're increasingly seeing, that evidence still has not come to light. That's my main thing about Howard Dean that he's willing to stand up — he's been willing to stand up for that from the beginning and he continues to stand up for that.

My name's Steve. I just got laid off two weeks ago. I'm taking my country back.