Singer/songwriter and environmentalist Carole King came to Iowa State to talk about the environment, but instead focused on Sen. John Kerry. King spent most of her time Monday talking why Kerry should win the presidency.

“We have to keep our eyes on the prize. The prize is beating George W. Bush in November,” King said.

She said she supports Kerry, D-Mass., because she thinks he is the only candidate who can win. She acknowledged Kerry voted for the war in Iraq, but said he would not have done so had he known what President Bush had planned to do in Iraq.

“John Kerry did vote [for the war in Iraq], but painfully and reluctantly,” she said.

King will be honored at the 2004 Grammy Awards with the Trustee Award, which is for those who have given something other than music to the music industry. King created her own record label, which allows new artists to be more easily recognized.

The 61-year-old singer/songwriter was also honored in Rolling Stone magazine when her “Tapestry” album was named No. 36 of the top 500 albums of all time. King wrote songs for the Beatles; the Monkees; Aretha Franklin; Blood, Sweat & Tears and Semisonic.

King has been pushing to pass the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act to protect an area of the Rockies near Montana and Idaho since the mid-1990s. King said it was worth the effort.

“Politics can be a very dirty, ugly business, but it is really America at its best,” King said.

Penny Rice, coordinator for the Margaret Sloss Women’s Center, said she appreciated the comments about Kerry but wanted to hear more on the environment.

“I have a lot of respect for anyone who takes the time to share their passion,” Rice said. “That commitment to the environment can help me decide which way to go [at the caucus] … Endorsements help me too, but in the end I will go with my heart.”