Liberally Speaking
Bush and Cheney have made much over the "fact" that Kerry is the fourth most liberal Senator now serving (and that Ted Kennedy is actually the conservative senator from Massachussetts--har har har). Well, Knight Ridder has an article that helps to take some of the wind from that sail:

To be sure, Kerry has cast votes with the most liberal wing of his party. His opposition to the Contras, his rejection of missile-defense systems, his votes to cut defense spending after the Cold War, his resistance to virtually all tax cuts and his defense of abortion rights are classic liberal positions. Last year, as he campaigned, he recorded votes only in the most partisan roll calls, skewing his record and causing National Journal to rank him as that year's most liberal senator.

But he's tacked against the left, too. He signed on early to a 1985 law mandating a balanced budget by automatic spending cuts if necessary. He's voted consistently in favor of international trade agreements despite labor opposition. He's supported virtually every presidential request for the use of force, from Panama in 1989 to the current war in Iraq - with one great exception, the Persian Gulf War under President Bush's father in 1991.

He's caused jitters among teachers, civil rights advocates and civil libertarians by questioning Democratic Party dogma on education, affirmative action and law enforcement. And he's proposed that higher-income seniors pay higher Medicare premiums, an idea that many Democrats won't touch.

[...]

Kerry's legislative record - more than 6,300 votes cast over a 20-year career - is an easy target for Bush. Votes over time often contradict each other, and Kerry is by nature willing to reconsider his positions. His allies point not to his legislative record, however, but to his investigative years and his decision-making style as the best indication of how he'd operate as president.

Former Clinton chief of staff Leon Panetta said presidents "get so much advice from so many different directions, particularly on military decisions, decisions related to foreign policy."

"People who have all this experience are giving you recommendations that in the end can prove to be wrong. A smart president has to be able to ask tough questions; he almost has to be prosecutorial in making sure he's getting the best advice."