I read it as John Kerry, as well! I just couldn't remember his name.
One thing you really need to do when drawing real-life people is rely heavily on references. At least until you start to learn how to draw the person in question. Until then, I'd suggest you look at a reference for pretty much every pixel you put down on a portrait that size. Maybe I'm just saying that because I suck at drawing people, but references do always help a lot.