TOLEDO, Ohio - A good politician never misses an opportunity, and the Boston Red Sox certainly gave John Kerry his: The team's World Series victory, its first since 1918, became Kerry's favorite metaphor Thursday for heart, hard work and the American way.
"A year ago, when my campaign was really down in the dumps, somebody called a radio talk show, and thinking they were just cutting me to the quick, said, "John Kerry won't be president until the Red Sox win the World Series,"' Kerry told a raucous crowd at the University of Toledo. "We're going to win! We're going to win!"
The Red Sox overcame a three-game deficit against the New York Yankees to make it to the series, then swept the St. Louis Cardinals. The victory put Kerry in tearing high spirits.
"It's a great American story, because we are a country with heart, and we're going to show it to the world," he told the crowd in Toledo.
The Bush campaign, meanwhile, wasted no time Thursday morning e-mailing reporters the postgame comments of Boston pitching star Curt Schilling: "Make sure you tell everyone to vote, and vote Bush next week."
