Thanks, PKB.
As for the $87 BILLION dollar Bill that Republicans say Kerry changed his mind on, well it's not that simple. I would have given Bush a hard time about this one, too. Actually, I wish more Democrats had.
Kerry did NOT vote "No" on providing protection and health care for our troops. These were very small items that amounted to around .0033% of the $87 Billion Bush requested.
http://www.factcheck.org/printerFriendly.aspx?docid=155
For a look at the Bill, you can go to the following link:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:H.R.3289.ENR:
Kerry voted FOR a more responsible version that would have paid for some of the spending with an amendment he co-sponsored. The amendment was defeated, and the resulting Bill required a "No" vote due to its lack of funding. Kerry knew the $87 billion would pass easily. As a Senator who's made fiscal responsibility one of his core beliefs, should he have gone quietly? I admire his standing up for what was right, and agree that the requested $87 Billion should have had some provision for how it would be funded. As it is, it merely created $87 Billion more in debt.
In addition, much of the money spent is unaccounted for by the administration.