'Reporting for duty'
Now officially the Democratic nominee, John Kerry introduces himself and his plan for the country.
By BILL ADAIR and STEVE BOUSQUET
Published July 30, 2004
BOSTON - Accepting the Democratic nomination for president Thursday night, Sen. John Kerry described himself as a Vietnam veteran who understands the risks of war and would strike a balance between force and diplomacy.
"As president, I will bring back this nation's time-honored tradition: The United States of America never goes to war because we want to, we only go to war because we have to," he said.
He would not hesitate to use force when it is required, he said, but he would make sure the United States is respected around the world. "We need to make America once again a beacon in the world. We need to be looked up to and not just feared."
He said he wanted to end the partisanship that has dominated political campaigns and vowed to appoint Republicans to his administration.
"Maybe some just see us divided into red states and blue states, but I see us as one America - red, white, and blue," he said.
He also criticized the Bush administration for misleading the nation about the Iraq war. Kerry vowed to "restore trust and credibility to the White House."
The campaign showed a video that included old home movies of Kerry sledding as a boy and playing guitar in high school. His daughter Alexandra Kerry described how he rescued a hamster that had fallen in the water.
The arena was packed with thousands of Democrats, many dressed in red, white and blue hats and shirts. They waved small American flags and sang along as Carole King, a yuppie icon of '70s pop, sang You've Got a Friend, with the new tag line "... in John Kerry."
The candidate entered the FleetCenter from the ground floor to Bruce Springsteen's No Surrender and shook hands with delegates before taking the stage.
"I'm John Kerry," he said as he saluted the crowd, "and I'm reporting for duty."
In his speech, Kerry noted that he was born in "the West wing" of an Army hospital in Colorado. He was a Cub Scout who played baseball and built model planes. He said his mother was a passionate environmentalist who "taught me to see trees as the cathedrals of nature."
His father was a World War II pilot, he said, and later took an assignment with the State Department in Berlin. Kerry recalled venturing into Soviet East Berlin on his bicycle. "And when I proudly told my dad, he promptly grounded me."
Kerry's speech capped the final night of the Democratic National Convention and struck the same moderate tone as speakers on previous nights. The Bush-Cheney campaign has painted Kerry as an out-of-touch liberal, but he urged voters "to judge me by my record."
As a prosecutor, he said, he fought for victim's rights. As a senator, he broke with many Democrats to vote for a balanced budget. He boasted that he worked with Republican John McCain - a hero to many moderate voters - to investigate POWs in Vietnam.
He also offered sharp, if indirect, criticism of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
"I will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war," Kerry said. "I will have a vice president who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws."
He turned the tables on Bush and Cheney, who have criticized him for being a flip-flopper.
"Now I know there are those who criticize me for seeing complexities - and I do - because some issues just aren't all that simple," he said. "Saying there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq doesn't make it so. Saying we can fight a war on the cheap doesn't make it so. And proclaiming, "Mission accomplished,' certainly doesn't make it so."
He said he would seek other nations to "share the burden" in Iraq and would add 40,000 active duty troops around the world to fortify the U.S. military. We said he would double the special forces to fight terrorism and equip soldiers with more modern weapons.
Kerry spoke about the plight of workers and cancer patients and the homeless, ending each anecdote with the refrain: "America can do better. And help is on the way."
He said he would offer incentives to revitalize manufacturing and would close the tax loopholes that reward companies that ship jobs overseas.
In response to charges by the Bush campaign that Kerry would raise taxes, the Massachusetts senator said he planned to cut taxes for the middle class and would reduce the tax burden on small businesses. He said he would "roll back" the tax cuts Congress has given to people who earn more than $200,000.
He fired back at Republicans who describe themselves as representing "family values." Said Kerry, "It is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families."
He said his swift boat in Vietnam was a metaphor for the nation, a melting-pot of soldiers of all different backgrounds.
"That is the kind of America I will lead as president - an America where we are all in the same boat."
He concluded his 46-minute speech by invoking Reaganesque imagery. "Never has there been a more urgent moment for Americans to step up and define ourselves. I will work my heart out. But, my fellow citizens, the outcome is in your hands more than mine.
"It is time to reach for the next dream. It is time to look to the next horizon. For America, the hope is there. The sun is rising. Our best days are still to come."