Watching Kerry speak from my alma mater during his recent tour of California, it saddened me to watch him engage in the all-too-familiar ritual of layering promise upon promise. While politicians take it upon themselves to lead and inspire, the inescapable fact remains that most fail to make even a dent in the vision laid out before voters during the campaign. John Kerry does not appear to be one to vary from this tiresome pattern that makes places like California key election year ATMs more than anything else.