Battling Kerry vows to restore 'trust and credibility'
Democrat presidential candidate Senator John Kerry challenged US president George Bush’s Iraq policy in blunt, biting terms today, in the climactic speech of the Democratic National Convention, pledging to be a commander in chief “who will never mislead us into war”.
“Saying there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq doesn’t make it so,” said the four-term Massachusetts senator, a decorated Vietnam War veteran battling an incumbent president in the age of terrorism.
“Saying we can fight a war on the cheap doesn’t make it so. And proclaiming mission accomplished certainly doesn’t make it so,” Kerry added in remarks to thousands of delegates packed into Boston’s FleetCenter and a television audience of millions.
The 60-year-old made a triumphant entrance into the hall, walking a happy gauntlet of delegates who reached out eagerly to greet him. “I’m John Kerry and I’m reporting for duty,” he said moments later from the podium, snapping off a salute before beginning his speech.
Over and over, he said: “America can do better. And help is on the way,” turning the phrase into an all-purpose refrain in the speech that marked the beginning of his general election campaign.
Kerry vowed to reverse policies that he says sends US jobs overseas and promised to expand health care, improve education and “fight a smarter, more effective war” against terror.
“As president, I will restore trust and credibility to the White House,” he said, a variation on Bush’s 2000 campaign pledge to bring honour and dignity to the Oval Office.
Kerry’s speech capped a four-day convention designed to persuade millions of undecided voters in the battleground states that he is a man tested by war and ready to assume command.
Nothing was left to chance – from a new campaign video designed to show his softer side to brief remarks from the podium by fellow Vietnam veteran Jim Rassmann.
“John Kerry saved my life,” he said.
Eager to strike out from their convention city, Kerry and vice presidential running mate John Edwards leave today for a 3,500-mile coast-to-coast campaign swing through 21 states.
After spending the week at his Texas ranch, Bush resumes campaigning this weekend with a bus tour of battleground states and a new message. “We have turned the corner, and we are not turning back,” he says in a new stump speech, excerpts of which were obtained by The Associated Press.
Kerry began the week tied or slightly ahead of Bush in the polls, a strong position for a challenger.
Whatever sort of surge in support he receives from four days of his highly-choreographed convention, Republicans hope to counter next month when they meet in New York to nominate Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for re-election.
In his speech, Kerry painted a portrait of a nation suffering economically after four years of Republican rule.
“Wages are falling, health care costs are rising and our great middle class is shrinking. People are working weekends; they’re working two jobs, three jobs and they’re still not getting ahead,” he said.
“We can do better and we will. We’re the optimists,” adding: “We value an America where the middle class is not being squeezed, but doing better.”
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