Posted on: Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Party icons light Democrats' fire

Speeches by former Vice President Al Gore, former President Bill Clinton, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Jimmy Carter praised Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry as a strong leader ready for the White House and portrayed President Bush as a failure. Associated Press photos

By David Espo
Associated Press

BOSTON — Bill Clinton stirred the opening night of the Democratic National Convention yesterday with a summons to send John Kerry to the White House, accusing President Bush of botching both the economy and the war on terror.

"Strength and wisdom are not opposing values," the former president said of the man who followed him into office. He said Republicans "need a divided America, but we don't."

Eager to draw attention to Kerry's record of military service, Clinton said the Yale graduate could easily have stayed out of the Vietnam War three decades ago. The former president said he, Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney all did so, but not Kerry. "He said, 'Send me.' "

The party's 44th national convention opened under extraordinarily tight security as Kerry campaigned in Florida.

The 42nd president was the cleanup speaker on the first night of a convention of Democrats both unified and hungry for a return to power. He joined a parade of party elders in oratory designed to present Kerry as a man ready to serve as commander in chief — and George W. Bush as a failed president.

The Massachusetts senator "will lead the world, not alienate it. Lower the deficit, not raise it. Create good jobs, not lose them. Solve a healthcare crisis, not ignore it," said New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in her turn at the podium.

The pre-convention polls show Kerry tied or slightly ahead of Bush, although the same surveys show the president with a clear advantage over his challenger in handling the war on terror.

With the Kerry campaign choreographing the proceedings to the minute, the famous and the nationally unknown were put into service to make the case for the four-term senator's White House bid.

"When policies are clearly not working, we can change them. If our leaders make mistakes, we can hold them accountable — even if they never admit their mistakes," said Al Gore, who lost the 2000 election despite winning the popular vote.

"Lt. Kerry was known for taking the fight to the enemy," said the Rev. David Alston, who served on a Vietnam swiftboat commanded by Kerry a generation ago. He brought the delegates to their feet when he called the senator "my former skipper, my friend and our next commander in chief."

Rep. Bob Menendez of New Jersey said Kerry's "courage earned him a Bronze Star, a Silver Star, and three Purple Hearts, risking his life to save others." The lawmaker read aloud from one of Kerry's medal citations.

Clinton was buffeted by charges of dodging the draft throughout his 1992 campaign and presidency, and in a moment of self-criticism made the point that Kerry volunteered for the Southeast Asian conflict.

"During the Vietnam War, many young men including the current president, the vice president and me could have gone to Vietnam but didn't. John Kerry came from a privileged background and could have avoided it, too.

"Instead he said, 'Send me,' " Clinton said.

"When they sent those swift-boats up the river in Vietnam, and told them their job was to draw hostile fire to show the American flag and bait the enemy to come out and fight, John Kerry said, 'Send me,' " Clinton continued.

There were moments of solemnity, as well, at the first national political convention since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The hall went nearly dark, the only light provided by thousands of small flashlights held aloft by delegates for a remembrance of the strikes that killed nearly 3,000 people. The haunting sounds of "Amazing Grace" floated across the arena from the violin of a 16-year-old musician.

The first night of the convention included only muted references to the social issues that divide America politically. "John Kerry and John Edwards won't prevent you from getting the reproductive healthcare you need," said Gloria Feldt of Planned Parenthood.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin said Kerry will guarantee the right to family health benefits to all our families — including domestic partners.

'Isolated' U.S.

Former President Carter, elected to the White House in 1976, accused Bush of squandering the international goodwill that flowed to the United States in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"Unilateral acts and demands have isolated the United States from the very nations we need to join us in combatting terrorism," Carter said.

Clinton, who twice led his party to victory, declared himself "a foot soldier" in Kerry's army and urged Americans to rally behind the candidate's upbeat message.

"Democrats and Republicans have very different ideas on what choices we should make, rooted in fundamentally different views of how we should meet our common challenges at home and how we should play our role in the world," the former president said.

"Democrats want to build an America of shared responsibilities and shared opportunities ... Republicans believe in an America run by the right people — their people," he said.

Republicans dispatched a team of surrogates to the Democrats' convention city to try to slow Kerry's campaign momentum. "The Extreme Makeover Convention," they called it, deriding the senator as a liberal trying to run from a record of more than two decades in Congress.

Bush, at his ranch in Texas, fell while bicycling on steep dirt paths during the day. He waved away his medics and continued his ride despite a small cut on his knee.