I would suspect that John regrets that vote now. But the point is that he is not on Bush's payroll. He is doing this not for politics but out of patriotism. Many of those who came forward would be voting for the RAT nominee if it were not Kerry.
O'Neill said the same thing during Matthews "Softball" attack this week (Perot twice, then Gore). He voted for Humphreys (not Nixon) and his parents were long time Democrats.