I got my chance to see John Kerry in Rochester, MN. I rode down with two friends, Jeanne Qwan and Catherine Johnson.
There were buttons for sale at the Convention Center and one said "JFK". But after my first close-up glimpse of the candidate, if I had to draw a parallel, with Kerry, it would be Lincoln. Did Lincoln have palpable charisma? Was he the kind of buddy you'd want to have a beer with?
Not exactly.
What Lincoln had was a powerful moral compass. Lincoln understood that America had come to a turning point. He had the gravitas, a kind of steady courage, to part the red sea that was the Civil War, and lead America through it.

"He was acute rather than profound; and I am inclined to think that those who were nearest him during the last years of his life were impressed by the swiftness and the correctness of his intuitions, rather than by the originality or profundity of his reasoning."--Noah Brooks, Washington reporter and frequent White House visitor

I saw a John Kerry who is fully aware of the immense difficulties in front of him. Yet it doesn't phase him. He exudes immense confidence and energy. He looked youthful, and vigorous. He talked of rolling up his sleeves. In a humorous anecdote, he told of listening to Bush's repeated whine during the debate about hard work, and told us "I'd be happy to relieve you of all that, Mr. President."
Of all the tributes before he spoke, the most genuine came from one of his stepsons, who told us, how, after their father died, they were intensely opposed to this usurper who'd come courting their Mom.
It wasn't easy, but he won their trust. He was tough, his stepson said, and he listened.
Kerry is a port in a storm. He's calm as granite. He knows exactly what's in front of him, and he is not afraid.
In his presence, you get the feeling of the soldier he was, and understand why so many veterans have flocked to his side.
With great warmth, he told us of moment on the campaign trail where he turned around during a speech and heard someone call to him from the audience "I've got your back. Senator".
This is someone whose taken incredible fire, who's subject to the most vicious smear campaign in recent years, and it doesn't seem to concern him.
Why?
He understands the great danger we're in, not just from the terrorists outside our borders, but from those that would terrorize us from within.
"America, I've got your back." he said.
There's a great darkness around him, and in the shadows, millions of faces, both hopeful and anxious. He stands in the light. He focuses on his task. Alone in the spotlight, he shines.