I don't think it took Reagan long to get us out of the carter doldrums. Things were already looking up by 1982.
But a Kerry Presidency would be forever disastrous. The terrorists would be emboldened beyond belief, and we wouldn't have any allies who trusted us.
I don't care a whit about who likes us - or likes our President. I only care about whether the evil people in the world are too afraid to test us. I want them all to come to the same conclusion Qaddafi did.
Bush scares the bejeesus out of terrorists; Kerry scares the bejeesus out of many Americans. I can only hope that's most of the voters.