BOSTON – With 100 campaign days remaining, Sen. John Kerry sought votes in the quintessential battleground state of Ohio on Sunday while thousands of Democratic National Convention delegates converged on a citadel of liberalism to nominate him for the White House.
“Four more years of what?” Kerry responded pointedly to a group of President Bush’s supporters who greeted him noisily at his appearance in Columbus.
“Four more years of jobs being lost. Four more years of the deficit growing bigger and bigger? Four more years of losing our allies around the world? We know we can restore our alliances around the world and make America strong again,” added the four-term Massachusetts senator, running even to slightly ahead of Bush in the pre-convention polls.
A few hundred miles away, security was an overarching concern at the first political convention in the post-Sept. 11 era of terrorism.
Camouflaged military police took up positions along elevated rail lines overlooking the FleetCenter, where 4,350 delegates will meet beginning today for four days of political pageantry.
A helicopter circled overhead as two groups of protesters marched noisily just outside a seven-foot-tall temporary security fence that ringed the convention hall complex. The two – one protesting the war in Iraq, the other opposed to abortion – crossed paths at one point and a brief scuffle ensued.
Whatever the street scene, there was no evidence of dissension among the Democrats gathering to nominate Kerry – no platform fight, no battle over floor credentials, not even a sour note from Kerry’s rivals in last winter’s primaries.
“It’s not normally how this party operates,” laughed Terence McAuliffe, the party chairman.
“I think it’s one of the most unified parties we’ve had in recent history,” said New Jersey Rep. Bob Menendez, who will speak to the delegates tonight. “It’s a coalescence both against the president’s policies … and it’s also a very strong sense of purpose of taking the country in a new direction.”
Presidential candidates rarely appear in their convention cities until the political proceedings are under way. Kerry made an exception Sunday night, making an unannounced flight to town to throw out the first pitch at a major league baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and their fiercest rivals, the New York Yankees.
Asked in the clubhouse before the game who he would cheer for, he said: “I’ve got to win New York, but I do want the Red Sox to win.”
Kerry and his vice presidential pick, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, spoke for 15 to 20 minutes on Sunday, comparing notes on their respective speeches. Kerry has given Edwards considerable latitude on the speech, although Kerry aides are reviewing various drafts so that the two speeches are compatible, said a campaign official.
The four-day list of convention orators ran to more than 100 speakers, with the coveted prime-time slots reserved for a few.
Former President Clinton is tonight’s headline speaker, to be introduced by his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York. Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, who lobbied strongly to bring the convention to his home state, has a key slot the second night.
Wednesday night’s prime-time hour is designed to showcase Edwards. The tentative schedule also had delegates formally bestowing their nomination on Kerry the same night after midnight.
Kerry delivers his acceptance speech Thursday, then sets out on a cross-country trip he hopes will lead to the White House.
Associated Press
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry greets supporters Sunday at a campaign stop in Columbus, Ohio.
Associated Press
Riot police line up inside the fenced-off area that surrounds Boston’s Fleet Center, as protesters shout through the fence Sunday. The Democratic convention begins today under tight security.
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