Bob Kerrey

Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 35th governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001.

Before entering politics, he served in the Vietnam War, as a United States Navy SEAL officer and was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery in combat. During the action for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor, he was severely wounded, precluding further naval service. He later faced controversy for being the commanding officer during the Thanh Phong raid, where numerous civilians were killed.

Kerrey was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992. He retired from the Senate in 2000 and was replaced by former governor and fellow Democrat Ben Nelson. From 2001 to 2010, he served as president of The New School, a university in New York City. In May 2010, he was selected to become the head of the Motion Picture Association of America. The MPAA, however, could not reach an agreement with him and chose former Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd instead. In 2012, Kerrey sought election to his old Senate seat to succeed his successor, the retiring Democratic incumbent Ben Nelson. He lost to Republican nominee Deb Fischer.

In 2013, Kerrey joined the Carmen Group lobbying firm. Kerrey is a former co-chair of the advisory board of Issue One, an organization that describes its mission as "fighting for real solutions to the problem of money in politics". In 1987, Kerrey was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board.

Kerrey was born in Lincoln, Nebraska on August 27, 1943, the son of Elinor Fern (née Gonder), a University of Nebraska instructor, and James Henry Kerrey, a builder and businessman. He attended the public schools of Lincoln and graduated from Lincoln Northeast High School in 1961. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from the University of Nebraska in 1966. Kerrey pledged Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, and during his senior year he was admitted into the Society of Innocents, the chancellor's senior honorary society of spirit boosters.

Kerrey served in the United States Navy as a SEAL officer during the Vietnam War. He completed Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1967. He then received assignment to Naval Amphibious Base Coronado and subsequently completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training with class 42 in December 1967. He received direct assignment to SEAL Team ONE, a separate organization from the Underwater Demolition Teams to which new personnel were normally assigned. After extensive pre-deployment training, Kerrey deployed to the Republic of Vietnam as assistant platoon commander with Delta Platoon, SEAL Team ONE in January 1969.

Kerrey was seriously wounded and lost the lower part of his right leg in combat on Hon Tre island near Nha Trang Bay on March 14, 1969. While suffering shrapnel wounds and blood loss, Kerrey organized his squad in a counterattack that killed or captured enemy Viet Cong. He was later medically discharged from the US Navy due to his wounds. On May 14, 1970, President Richard Nixon awarded Kerrey the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 14 March 1969 while serving as a SEAL Team Leader during action against enemy aggressor (Viet Cong) forces in the Republic of Vietnam. Acting in response to reliable intelligence, Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey led his SEAL Team on a mission to capture important members of the enemy's area political cadre known to be located on an island in the bay of Nha Trang. In order to surprise the enemy, he and his team scaled a 350-foot sheer cliff to place themselves above the ledge on which the enemy was located. Splitting his team in two elements and coordinating both, Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey led his men in the treacherous downward descent to the enemy's camp. Just as they neared the end of their descent, intense enemy fire was directed at them, and Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey received massive injuries from a grenade which exploded at his feet and threw him backward onto the jagged rocks. Although bleeding profusely and suffering great pain, he displayed outstanding courage and presence of mind in immediately directing his element's fire into the heart of the enemy camp. Utilizing his radioman, Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey called in the second element's fire support which caught the confused Viet Cong in a devastating cross fire. After successfully suppressing the enemy's fire, and although immobilized by his multiple wounds, he continued to maintain calm, superlative control as he ordered his team to secure and defend an extraction site. Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey resolutely directed his men, despite his near-unconscious state, until he was eventually evacuated by helicopter. The havoc brought to the enemy by this very successful mission cannot be overestimated. The enemy who were captured provided critical intelligence to the allied effort. Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey's courageous and inspiring leadership, valiant fighting spirit, and tenacious devotion to duty in the face of almost overwhelming opposition, sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

In 2001, The New York Times Magazine and 60 Minutes II carried reports on an incident that occurred during Kerrey's Vietnam War service. On February 25, 1969, he and his squad, known as Kerrey's Raiders, led a Swift Boat raid on the isolated peasant village of Thanh Phong, Vietnam, targeting a Viet Cong leader who intelligence suggested would be present. The village was considered part of a free-fire zone by the U.S. military.

Kerrey's SEAL team first encountered a villager's hut. Later, according to Kerrey, the team was "shot at" from the village and returned fire, only to find after the battle that some of the killed appeared to be children. "The thing that I will remember until the day I die, is walking in and finding, I don't know, 14 or so, I don't even know what the number was, women and children who were dead", Kerrey said in 1998. "I was expecting to find Viet Cong soldiers with weapons, dead. Instead I found women and children." Kerrey denied personally participating in the operation, but admitted to his own complicity.

After his military service, Kerrey pursued a business career. From 1972 to 1982, he owned and operated Grandmother's Inc. a chain of restaurants known as Grandmother's Skillet. Another company, Kerrey Holdings, included several fitness centers and a bowling alley. After he ceded active management to his brother-in-law in 1983, the businesses grew to include 10 restaurants, three fitness centers, a bowling alley, and other enterprises. Kerrey's other ventures included trading in cattle futures and a partnership that invested in commercial real estate including shopping centers.

While engaged in his business career, Kerrey gained his initial political experience. These activities included working on a 1971 voter registration drive with anti-war activist Allard K. Lowenstein. Kerrey also managed a friend's successful campaign for a seat in the state legislature. In addition, he served as a member of the city of Lincoln's Human Rights Commission.

In 1982, Kerrey ran for Governor of Nebraska; he easily won the Democratic nomination 71% to 29% over state senator George "Bill" Burrows, then achieved a narrow victory over incumbent Republican Charles Thone, 51% to 49%. He served as one term, 1983 to 1987, and did not run for reelection. During his governorship, Kerrey pursued policies including welfare reform, education reform, job training, and environmental conservation. Several of these programs became models for other states and the federal government.

In 1986, Kerrey served as chair of the Midwestern Governors Association. As governor, he was known for his transparency and criticism of "politics as usual" obfuscating and clichés. He was the subject of nationwide news coverage in July 1986, when he ordered the Nebraska State Patrol to halt a train after the federal government failed to notify him of a rail shipment of nuclear waste that would pass through Nebraska, and directed the Nebraska Army National Guard to park a tank on the tracks at the Kansas-Nebraska border to ensure that the train did not proceed. After Kerrey's chief of staff and the head of the state patrol met with federal authorities in Kansas, the train was allowed to proceed, with representatives of the federal government agreeing to notify state officials of the dates, times and routes for similar trains in the future.

In 1988, Kerrey ran for the U.S. Senate seat held by recently appointed incumbent Republican David Karnes. He won the Democratic primary with 92% of the vote. In the general election, he defeated Karnes 57% to 42%.

Kerrey won re-election to a second term defeating businesswoman Jan Stoney 55% to 45%

Kerrey ran again for his old Senate seat after the retirement of incumbent Democratic Senator Ben Nelson in 2012, but was defeated by Republican candidate State Senator Deb Fischer.

Senator Kerrey was a member of the Agriculture Committee and the Finance Committee, and was a member of the Appropriations Committee from 1989 to 1996. He also served as vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee from 1995 to 1999. He was the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for the 104th Congress before retiring in 2001.

Kerrey voted for the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act which repealed the Glass–Steagall Act in 1999, defending his position against opposition by stating, "The concerns that we will have a meltdown like 1929 are dramatically overblown". Most famously, Kerrey cast the deciding vote in favor of President Bill Clinton's 1993 budget plan.

In September 1991, Kerrey announced his candidacy for the 1992 Democratic nomination for president. In a small field of five second-tier candidates devoid of an early frontrunner, Kerrey was seen as the early favorite. However, his performance on the campaign trail sometimes seemed lackluster, especially in comparison to that of Arkansas governor Bill Clinton.

Kerrey finished third in the New Hampshire primary in February 1992, despite spending heavily on television advertising. He briefly rebounded after winning the South Dakota primary but soon dropped out of the race after finishing fourth in the Colorado primary. Kerrey was on Clinton's "short list" of vice presidential candidates, but Tennessee Senator Al Gore received the nod instead.

After his retirement from the Senate, Kerrey served on the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission. The commission was created by Congressional legislation to investigate the circumstances of the attacks on September 11, 2001, and to provide recommendations of actions that could help prevent future similar attacks. It was a bipartisan commission of five Democrats and five Republicans. The commission issued its final report, the 9/11 Commission Report on July 22, 2004.

Kerrey criticized the 2014 Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture as "unfair" and "partisan".