Newsweek Poll Shows Small Bounce For Kerry

In an article entitled “A Baby Bounce?” Newsweek reports a new poll found only a small 4% bounce from the Democratic convention:

Coming out of the Democratic National Convention in Boston, Sen. John Kerry now holds a seven-point lead over President George W. Bush in a three-way race with independent Ralph Nader, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll. Three weeks ago, Kerry’s lead was three points.

[. . .]

Kerry’s four-point “bounce” is the smallest in the history of the NEWSWEEK poll.

From California Yankee.

Kerry Campaign Stops Includes Awkward Moment With Marines

John Kerry, stopping at a Wendy’s fast food restaurant, talked to a few Marines who happened to be Bush supporters:

Spotting a group of US Marines, Kerry, who has made his Vietnam War service a cornerstone of his campaign, went over to chat. The Marines, who all turned out to be staunch Bush reporters, were not impressed.

“He imposed on us and I disagree with him coming over here shaking our hands,” one of them told reporters afterwards. “I’m 100 percent against” Kerry, he said. “We support our commander-in-chief 100 percent.”

Said another:

A sergeant with 10 years of service under his belt said, “I speak for all of us. We think that we are doing the right thing in Iraq,” before saying he is to be deployed there in a few weeks and is “eager” to go and serve.

Election Speeches Available On iTunes

Note to iPod users: Apple has made key speeches from the convention, including Clinton, Kerry, others, available as audio books via iTunes. The downloads are free.

Nader accuses Kerry of dirty tricks

AL-JAZEERA: Nader accuses Kerry of dirty tricks

Launching a tirade against Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, Nader on Friday also denied charges that he was heavily supported by Republicans.

“I say to Senator John Kerry, call off your dogs,” Nader said in Los Angeles. He accused Kerry supporters of “harassing, obstructing and impeding” his efforts to get on the ballot in all 50 states.

“Stop encouraging these dirty tricks or you will be held responsible,” he added.

Bush Goes After Kerry's Record

The AP’s article shows Bush questioning Kerry’s Senate record:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - President Bush attacked John Kerry’s 19-year record in the Senate on Friday, answering the Democratic convention mantra “America can do better” with a new GOP refrain: “Results matter.”

Bush repeated the slogan to crowds here and in Springfield, Mo., the first two stops on a swing through four key election states. He also is campaigning in Ohio and Pennsylvania, wrapping up his latest tour with a rally Saturday in Pittsburgh, just hours after Kerry speaks in a nearby suburb.

“After 19 years in the U.S. Senate, my opponent has had thousands of votes, but few signature achievements,” Bush told supporters who waved large blue and red cutouts of the letter “W.”

“During eight years on the Senate intelligence committee, he voted to cut the intelligence budget, yet he had no record of reforming America’s intelligence capability,” said Bush, whose advisers are combing the Sept. 11 commission’s recommendations to revamp the nation’s intelligence-gathering ability.

Kerry Favors Trying Bin Laden In U.S. Court

The Associated Press reports that Kerry favors trying Osama bin Laden in U.S. courts:

“I want him tried for murder in New York City, and in Virginia and in Pennsylvania,” where planes hijacked by al-Qaida operatives crashed Sept. 11, 2001, Kerry said in his first interview as the Democratic presidential nominee.

From California Yankee.

Convention Round-Up

Here’s today’s round-up of news and blogospheric reaction to the speech.

Plus: comic relief.

And if you missed them, the prior round-ups from earlier in the week:

Balloon "Incident" Audio

CNN picked up audio of a panic stricken Convention Director as the balloons were slow to fall.

Audio can be heard here.

T quietly ran trains for delegates

BOSTON GLOBE: T quietly ran trains for delegates

The MBTA quietly provided special Orange Line trains for people exiting the FleetCenter on all four nights of the Democratic National Convention, opening the otherwise closed North Station so that some 3,200 delegates, journalists, and others with convention credentials could be whisked to Back Bay Station, free of charge.

Five to six of the special trains were swept for bombs at a railyard and then pulled into North Station, starting at about 10:30 each night. The trains departed regularly, and each made an express run to Back Bay until about midnight, primarily as a security measure to clear the FleetCenter area quickly, said Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Regular trains ran in between the special trains, so there was ”no impact on service,” Pesaturo said. People on the platforms at the five stations between the FleetCenter and Back Bay ”saw a train full of people go by, but there was a train right behind it” to pick them up, he said.

Still, word of the special service did not sit well with T riders who have had to put up with baggage inspections and forced transfers to shuttle buses.

”It seems like they’ve overlooked the people of Boston and regular commuters,” said Susan McLay, 23, of Billerica, who takes commuter rail and the Orange Line to the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions in Charlestown. North Station has been closed to everyone but the conventioneers, she said, which has caused major disruptions in daily routines.

”That doesn’t smell very good to me,” said Julianne Ture, an Orange Line rider who took the week off. ”The whole convention has been such a fiasco.”

Bush Campaign Steps Out With New Themes

[Via CNN]

The president will be traveling intensively in August, and aides said it will look more like a traditional campaign, with impromptu stops and visits along the way.
The Bush campaign has dubbed this next phase of the campaign as the “Heart and Soul Tour: Moving America Forward,” a slogan that will be displayed on his campaign bus and will be accompanied by new ads mirroring the theme that will also start Friday.

• The first two weeks will focus on “strengthening families and the changing economy,” with a special emphasis on promoting what the president calls the “ownership society.”

• The third week will be focused on national security, where the president will talk about the “need for success” in the war on terror, though he is not likely to unveil new policies.

• In the last week going into the GOP convention, the president will talk about a different issue each day and discuss policy initiatives in detail.

Kerry assures Sharon of his commitment to Israel's security

HAARETZ: Kerry assures Sharon of his commitment to Israel’s security

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Friday assured Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of his commitment to Israel’s security, aides to Kerry said.

Kerry made the comments during a phone call from Sharon to congratulate him on his official nomination as the Democratic candidate in November’s presidential elections.

The Massachusetts senator also offered his condolences for the suicide attack on the Israeli embassy in Uzbekistan earlier in the day, in which two Uzbeki members of the embassy’s security team were killed.

Vote for an Iranian Voice at the Republican Convention

MTV has a contest on called “Stand Up and Holla” - and the prize for the candidate with the most votes is a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention!

Reza Torkzadeh is one of the 10 finalists. As his profile notes:

“Born in 1979 in Tehran, Iran, Reza and his family had to flee the country amidst the Iranian Revolution to save their lives. While leaving the country, one of his uncles was executed by the governing regime because of his political beliefs and aspirations.”

As things in Iran head toward a crisis point, Reza is absolutely the right choice. The RNC needs to hear an Iranian voice - and you can help, by voting for him on MTV’s site.

Posting Forecast

I’ve just returned home after catching a very early flight out of Boston. I’m in the office today and my posting will be light (although others will post today I’m sure), but tonight I’ll be posting photos, reflections, etc.

Still Chaos Here

… I’m going to try to make it back to the hotel and process some of these photos …

Full Speech Text: John Kerry

Chaos here. This from the DNC:

We are here tonight because we love our country. We are proud of what America is and what it can become.

My fellow Americans: we are here tonight united in one simple purpose: to make America stronger at home and respected in the world.

A great American novelist wrote that you can’t go home again. He could not have imagined this evening. Tonight, I am home. Home where my public life began and those who made it possible live. Home where our nation’s history was written in blood, idealism, and hope. Home where my parents showed me the values of family, faith, and country.

Thank you, all of you, for a welcome home I will never forget.

I wish my parents could share this moment. They went to their rest in the last few years, but their example, their inspiration, their gift of open eyes, open mind, and endless world are bigger and more lasting than any words.

I was born in Colorado, in Fitzsimmons Army Hospital, when my dad was a pilot in World War II. Now, I’m not one to read into things, but guess which wing of the hospital the maternity ward was in? I’m not making this up. I was born in the West Wing!

My mother was the rock of our family as so many mothers are. She stayed up late to help me do my homework. She sat by my bed when I was sick, and she answered the questions of a child who, like all children, found the world full of wonders and mysteries.

She was my den mother when I was a Cub Scout and she was so proud of her fifty year pin as a Girl Scout leader. She gave me her passion for the environment. She taught me to see trees as the cathedrals of nature. And by the power of her example, she showed me that we can and must finish the march toward full equality for all women in our country.

My dad did the things that a boy remembers. He gave me my first model airplane, my first baseball mitt and my first bicycle. He also taught me that we are here for something bigger than ourselves; he lived out the responsibilities and sacrifices of the greatest generation to whom we owe so much.

When I was a young man, he was in the State Department, stationed in Berlin when it and the world were divided between democracy and communism. I have unforgettable memories of being a kid mesmerized by the British, French, and American troops, each of them guarding their own part of the city, and Russians standing guard on the stark line separating East from West. On one occasion, I rode my bike into Soviet East Berlin. And when I proudly told my dad, he promptly grounded me.

But what I learned has stayed with me for a lifetime. I saw how different life was on different sides of the same city. I saw the fear in the eyes of people who were not free. I saw the gratitude of people toward the United States for all that we had done. I felt goose bumps as I got off a military train and heard the Army band strike up “Stars and Stripes Forever.” I learned what it meant to be America at our best. I learned the pride of our freedom. And I am determined now to restore that pride to all who look to America.

Mine were greatest generation parents. And as I thank them, we all join together to thank that whole generation for making America strong, for winning World War II, winning the Cold War, and for the great gift of service which brought America fifty years of peace and prosperity.

My parents inspired me to serve, and when I was a junior in high school, John Kennedy called my generation to service. It was the beginning of a great journey - a time to march for civil rights, for voting rights, for the environment, for women, and for peace. We believed we could change the world. And you know what? We did.

But we’re not finished. The journey isn’t complete. The march isn’t over. The promise isn’t perfected. Tonight, we’re setting out again. And together, we’re going to write the next great chapter of America’s story.

We have it in our power to change the world again. But only if we’re true to our ideals - and that starts by telling the truth to the American people. That is my first pledge to you tonight. As President, I will restore trust and credibility to the White House.

I ask you to judge me by my record: As a young prosecutor, I fought for victim’s rights and made prosecuting violence against women a priority. When I came to the Senate, I broke with many in my own party to vote for a balanced budget, because I thought it was the right thing to do. I fought to put a 100,000 cops on the street.

And then I reached across the aisle to work with John McCain, to find the truth about our POW’s and missing in action, and to finally make peace with Vietnam.

I will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war. I will have a Vice President who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws. I will have a Secretary of Defense who will listen to the best advice of our military leaders. And I will appoint an Attorney General who actually upholds the Constitution of the United States.

My fellow Americans, this is the most important election of our lifetime. The stakes are high. We are a nation at war - a global war on terror against an enemy unlike any we have ever known before. And here at home, 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.

We’re told that outsourcing jobs is good for America. We’re told that new jobs that pay $9,000 less than the jobs that have been lost is the best we can do. They say this is the best economy we’ve ever had. And they say that anyone who thinks otherwise is a pessimist. Well, here is our answer: There is nothing more pessimistic than saying America can’t do better.

We can do better and we will. We’re the optimists. For us, this is a country of the future. We’re the can do people. And let’s not forget what we did in the 1990s. We balanced the budget. We paid down the debt. We created 23 million new jobs. We lifted millions out of poverty and we lifted the standard of living for the middle class. We just need to believe in ourselves - and we can do it again.

So tonight, in the city where America’s freedom began, only a few blocks from where the sons and daughters of liberty gave birth to our nation - here tonight, on behalf of a new birth of freedom - on behalf of the middle class who deserve a champion, and those struggling to join it who deserve a fair shot - for the brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every day and the families who pray for their return - for all those who believe our best days are ahead of us - for all of you - with great faith in the American people, I accept your nomination for President of the United States.

I am proud that at my side will be a running mate whose life is the story of the American dream and who’s worked every day to make that dream real for all Americans - Senator John Edwards of North Carolina. And his wonderful wife Elizabeth and their family. This son of a mill worker is ready to lead - and next January, Americans will be proud to have a fighter for the middle class to succeed Dick Cheney as Vice President of the United States.

And what can I say about Teresa? She has the strongest moral compass of anyone I know. She’s down to earth, nurturing, courageous, wise and smart. She speaks her mind and she speaks the truth, and I love her for that, too. And that’s why America will embrace her as the next First Lady of the United States.

For Teresa and me, no matter what the future holds or the past has given us, nothing will ever mean as much as our children. We love them not just for who they are and what they’ve become, but for being themselves, making us laugh, holding our feet to the fire, and never letting me get away with anything. Thank you, Andre, Alex, Chris, Vanessa, and John.

And in this journey, I am accompanied by an extraordinary band of brothers led by that American hero, a patriot named Max Cleland. Our band of brothers doesn’t march together because of who we are as veterans, but because of what we learned as soldiers. We fought for this nation because we loved it and we came back with the deep belief that every day is extra. We may be a little older now, we may be a little grayer, but we still know how to fight for our country.

And standing with us in that fight are those who shared with me the long season of the primary campaign: Carol Moseley Braun, General Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, Dick Gephardt, Bob Graham, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Lieberman and Al Sharpton.

To all of you, I say thank you for teaching me and testing me - but mostly, we say thank you for standing up for our country and giving us the unity to move America forward.

My fellow Americans, the world tonight is very different from the world of four years ago. But I believe the American people are more than equal to the challenge.

Remember the hours after September 11th, when we came together as one to answer the attack against our homeland. We drew strength when our firefighters ran up the stairs and risked their lives, so that others might live. When rescuers rushed into smoke and fire at the Pentagon. When the men and women of Flight 93 sacrificed themselves to save our nation’s Capitol. When flags were hanging from front porches all across America, and strangers became friends. It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us.

I am proud that after September 11th all our people rallied to President Bush’s call for unity to meet the danger. There were no Democrats. There were no Republicans. There were only Americans. How we wish it had stayed that way.

Now I know there are those who criticize me for seeing complexities - and I do - because some issues just aren’t all that simple. 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.

As President, I will ask hard questions and demand hard evidence. I will immediately reform the intelligence system - so policy is guided by facts, and facts are never distorted by politics. And 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.

I know what kids go through when they are carrying an M-16 in a dangerous place and they can’t tell friend from foe. I know what they go through when they’re out on patrol at night and they don’t know what’s coming around the next bend. I know what it’s like to write letters home telling your family that everything’s all right when you’re not sure that’s true.

As President, I will wage this war with the lessons I learned in war. Before you go to battle, you have to be able to look a parent in the eye and truthfully say: “I tried everything possible to avoid sending your son or daughter into harm’s way. But we had no choice. We had to protect the American people, fundamental American values from a threat that was real and imminent.” So lesson one, this is the only justification for going to war.

And on my first day in office, I will send a message to every man and woman in our armed forces: You will never be asked to fight a war without a plan to win the peace.

I know what we have to do in Iraq. We need a President who has the credibility to bring our allies to our side and share the burden, reduce the cost to American taxpayers, and reduce the risk to American soldiers. That’s the right way to get the job done and bring our troops home.

Here is the reality: that won’t happen until we have a president who restores America’s respect and leadership — so we don’t have to go it alone in the world.

And we need to rebuild our alliances, so we can get the terrorists before they get us.

I defended this country as a young man and I will defend it as President. Let there be no mistake: I will never hesitate to use force when it is required. Any attack will be met with a swift and certain response. I will never give any nation or international institution a veto over our national security. And I will build a stronger American military.

We will add 40,000 active duty troops - not in Iraq, but to strengthen American forces that are now overstretched, overextended, and under pressure. We will double our special forces to conduct anti-terrorist operations. We will provide our troops with the newest weapons and technology to save their lives - and win the battle. And we will end the backdoor draft of National Guard and reservists.

To all who serve in our armed forces today, I say, help is on the way.

As President, I will fight a smarter, more effective war on terror. We will deploy every tool in our arsenal: our economic as well as our military might; our principles as well as our firepower.

In these dangerous days there is a right way and a wrong way to be strong. Strength is more than tough words. After decades of experience in national security, I know the reach of our power and I know the power of our ideals.

We need to make America once again a beacon in the world. We need to be looked up to and not just feared.

We need to lead a global effort against nuclear proliferation - to keep the most dangerous weapons in the world out of the most dangerous hands in the world.

We need a strong military and we need to lead strong alliances. And then, with confidence and determination, we will be able to tell the terrorists: You will lose and we will win. The future doesn’t belong to fear; it belongs to freedom.

And the front lines of this battle are not just far away - they’re right here on our shores, at our airports, and potentially in any town or city. Today, our national security begins with homeland security. The 9-11 Commission has given us a path to follow, endorsed by Democrats, Republicans, and the 9-11 families. As President, I will not evade or equivocate; I will immediately implement the recommendations of that commission. We shouldn’t be letting ninety-five percent of container ships come into our ports without ever being physically inspected. We shouldn’t be leaving our nuclear and chemical plants without enough protection. And we shouldn’t be opening firehouses in Baghdad and closing them down in the United States of America.

And tonight, we have an important message for those who question the patriotism of Americans who offer a better direction for our country. Before wrapping themselves in the flag and shutting their eyes and ears to the truth, they should remember what America is really all about. They should remember the great idea of freedom for which so many have given their lives. Our purpose now is to reclaim democracy itself. We are here to affirm that when Americans stand up and speak their minds and say America can do better, that is not a challenge to patriotism; it is the heart and soul of patriotism.

You see that flag up there. We call her Old Glory. The stars and stripes forever. I fought under that flag, as did so many of you here and all across our country. That flag flew from the gun turret right behind my head. It was shot through and through and tattered, but it never ceased to wave in the wind. It draped the caskets of men I served with and friends I grew up with. For us, that flag is the most powerful symbol of who we are and what we believe in. Our strength. Our diversity. Our love of country. All that makes America both great and good.

That flag doesn’t belong to any president. It doesn’t belong to any ideology and it doesn’t belong to any political party. It belongs to all the American people.

My fellow citizens, elections are about choices. And choices are about values. In the end, it’s not just policies and programs that matter; the president who sits at that desk must be guided by principle.

For four years, we’ve heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They’re what we live by. They’re about the causes we champion and the people we fight for. And it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families.

You don’t value families by kicking kids out of after school programs and taking cops off our streets, so that Enron can get another tax break.

We believe in the family value of caring for our children and protecting the neighborhoods where they walk and play.

And that is the choice in this election.

You don’t value families by denying real prescription drug coverage to seniors, so big drug companies can get another windfall.

We believe in the family value expressed in one of the oldest Commandments: “Honor thy father and thy mother.” As President, I will not privatize Social Security. I will not cut benefits. And together, we will make sure that senior citizens never have to cut their pills in half because they can’t afford life-saving medicine.

And that is the choice in this election.

You don’t value families if you force them to take up a collection to buy body armor for a son or daughter in the service, if you deny veterans health care, or if you tell middle class families to wait for a tax cut, so that the wealthiest among us can get even more.

We believe in the value of doing what’s right for everyone in the American family.

And that is the choice in this election.

We believe that what matters most is not narrow appeals masquerading as values, but the shared values that show the true face of America. Not narrow appeals that divide us, but shared values that unite us. Family and faith. Hard work and responsibility. Opportunity for all - so that every child, every parent, every worker has an equal shot at living up to their God-given potential.

What does it mean in America today when Dave McCune, a steel worker I met in Canton, Ohio, saw his job sent overseas and the equipment in his factory literally unbolted, crated up, and shipped thousands of miles away along with that job? What does it mean when workers I’ve met had to train their foreign replacements?

America can do better. So tonight we say: help is on the way.

What does it mean when Mary Ann Knowles, a woman with breast cancer I met in New Hampshire, had to keep working day after day right through her chemotherapy, no matter how sick she felt, because she was terrified of losing her family’s health insurance.

America can do better. And help is on the way.

What does it mean when Deborah Kromins from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania works and saves all her life only to find out that her pension has disappeared into thin air - and the executive who looted it has bailed out on a golden parachute?

America can do better. And help is on the way.

What does it mean when twenty five percent of the children in Harlem have asthma because of air pollution?

America can do better. And help is on the way.

What does it mean when people are huddled in blankets in the cold, sleeping in Lafayette Park on the doorstep of the White House itself - and the number of families living in poverty has risen by three million in the last four years?

America can do better. And help is on the way.

And so we come here tonight to ask: Where is the conscience of our country?

I’ll tell you where it is: it’s in rural and small town America; it’s in urban neighborhoods and suburban main streets; it’s alive in the people I’ve met in every part of this land. It’s bursting in the hearts of Americans who are determined to give our country back its values and its truth.

We value jobs that pay you more not less than you earned before. We value jobs where, when you put in a week’s work, you can actually pay your bills, provide for your children, and lift up the quality of your life. We value an America where the middle class is not being squeezed, but doing better.

So here is our economic plan to build a stronger America:
First, new incentives to revitalize manufacturing.

Second, investment in technology and innovation that will create the good- paying jobs of the future.

Third, close the tax loopholes that reward companies for shipping our jobs overseas. Instead, we will reward companies that create and keep good paying jobs where they belong - in the good old U.S.A.

We value an America that exports products, not jobs - and we believe American workers should never have to subsidize the loss of their own job.

Next, we will trade and compete in the world. But our plan calls for a fair playing field - because if you give the American worker a fair playing field, there’s nobody in the world the American worker can’t compete against.

And we’re going to return to fiscal responsibility because it is the foundation of our economic strength. Our plan will cut the deficit in half in four years by ending tax giveaways that are nothing more than corporate welfare - and will make government live by the rule that every family has to follow: pay as you go.

And let me tell you what we won’t do: we won’t raise taxes on the middle class. You’ve heard a lot of false charges about this in recent months. So let me say straight out what I will do as President: I will cut middle class taxes. I will reduce the tax burden on small business. And I will roll back the tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals who make over $200,000 a year, so we can invest in job creation, health care and education.

Our education plan for a stronger America sets high standards and demands accountability from parents, teachers, and schools. It provides for smaller class sizes and treats teachers like the professionals they are. And it gives a tax credit to families for each and every year of college.

When I was a prosecutor, I met young kids who were in trouble, abandoned by adults. And as President, I am determined that we stop being a nation content to spend $50,000 a year to keep a young person in prison for the rest of their life - when we could invest $10,000 to give them Head Start, Early Start, Smart Start, the best possible start in life.

And we value health care that’s affordable and accessible for all Americans.

Since 2000, four million people have lost their health insurance. Millions more are struggling to afford it.

You know what’s happening. Your premiums, your co-payments, your deductibles have all gone through the roof.

Our health care plan for a stronger America cracks down on the waste, greed, and abuse in our health care system and will save families up to $1,000 a year on their premiums. You’ll get to pick your own doctor - and patients and doctors, not insurance company bureaucrats, will make medical decisions. Under our plan, Medicare will negotiate lower drug prices for seniors. And all Americans will be able to buy less expensive prescription drugs from countries like Canada.

The story of people struggling for health care is the story of so many Americans. But you know what, it’s not the story of senators and members of Congress. Because we give ourselves great health care and you get the bill. Well, I’m here to say, your family’s health care is just as important as any politician’s in Washington, D.C.

And when I’m President, America will stop being the only advanced nation in the world which fails to understand that health care is not a privilege for the wealthy, the connected, and the elected - it is a right for all Americans.

We value an America that controls its own destiny because it’s finally and forever independent of Mideast oil. What does it mean for our economy and our national security when we only have three percent of the world’s oil reserves, yet we rely on foreign countries for fifty-three percent of what we consume?

I want an America that relies on its own ingenuity and innovation - not the Saudi royal family.

And our energy plan for a stronger America will invest in new technologies and alternative fuels and the cars of the future — so that no young American in uniform will ever be held hostage to our dependence on oil from the Middle East.

I’ve told you about our plans for the economy, for education, for health care, for energy independence. I want you to know more about them. So now I’m going to say something that Franklin Roosevelt could never have said in his acceptance speech: go to johnkerry.com.

I want to address these next words directly to President George W. Bush: In the weeks ahead, let’s be optimists, not just opponents. Let’s build unity in the American family, not angry division. Let’s honor this nation’s diversity; let’s respect one another; and let’s never misuse for political purposes the most precious document in American history, the Constitution of the United States.

My friends, the high road may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And that’s why Republicans and Democrats must make this election a contest of big ideas, not small-minded attacks. This is our time to reject the kind of politics calculated to divide race from race, group from group, region from region. Maybe some just see us divided into red states and blue states, but I see us as one America - red, white, and blue. And when I am President, the government I lead will enlist people of talent, Republicans as well as Democrats, to find the common ground - so that no one who has something to contribute will be left on the sidelines.

And let me say it plainly: in that cause, and in this campaign, we welcome people of faith. America is not us and them. I think of what Ron Reagan said of his father a few weeks ago, and I want to say this to you tonight: I don’t wear my own faith on my sleeve. But faith has given me values and hope to live by, from Vietnam to this day, from Sunday to Sunday. I don’t want to claim that God is on our side. As Abraham Lincoln told us, I want to pray humbly that we are on God’s side. And whatever our faith, one belief should bind us all: The measure of our character is our willingness to give of ourselves for others and for our country.

These aren’t Democratic values. These aren’t Republican values. They’re American values. We believe in them. They’re who we are. And if we honor them, if we believe in ourselves, we can build an America that’s stronger at home and respected in the world.

So much promise stretches before us. Americans have always reached for the impossible, looked to the next horizon, and asked: What if?

Two young bicycle mechanics from Dayton asked what if this airplane could take off at Kitty Hawk? It did that and changed the world forever. A young president asked what if we could go to the moon in ten years? And now we’re exploring the solar system and the stars themselves. A young generation of entrepreneurs asked, what if we could take all the information in a library and put it on a little chip the size of a fingernail? We did and that too changed the world forever.

And now it’s our time to ask: What if?

What if we find a breakthrough to cure Parkinson’s, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and AIDs? What if we have a president who believes in science, so we can unleash the wonders of discovery like stem cell research to treat illness and save millions of lives?

What if we do what adults should do - and make sure all our children are safe in the afternoons after school? And what if we have a leadership that’s as good as the American dream - so that bigotry and hatred never again steal the hope and future of any American?

I learned a lot about these values on that gunboat patrolling the Mekong Delta with young Americans who came from places as different as Iowa and Oregon, Arkansas, Florida and California. No one cared where we went to school. No one cared about our race or our backgrounds. We were literally all in the same boat. We looked out, one for the other - and we still do.

That is the kind of America I will lead as President - an America where we are all in the same boat.

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.

Goodnight, God bless you, and God bless America.

A Great Line

This wasn’t an applause line, and it came right after the “misuse the Constitution” line, which garnered thunderous applause … but I think it was some of the best, and most simple, prose in the speech:

My friends, the high road may be harder, but it leads to a better place.

Of course, this was pretty good, too, and it did get thunderous applause:

I don’t want to claim that God is on our side. As Abraham Lincoln told us, I want to pray humbly that we are on God’s side.

Recalling The Crisis Of Confidence Speech

I’m making this post during John Kerry’s acceptance speech. I’m a bit of a student of American 20th century presidential rhetoric, and in hearing Kerry deliver this tonight …

Well, here is our answer: There is nothing more pessimistic than saying America can’t do better.

We can do better and we will. We’re the optimists. For us, this is a country of the future. We’re the can do people. And let’s not forget what we did in the 1990s. We balanced the budget. We paid down the debt. We created 23 million new jobs. We lifted millions out of poverty and we lifted the standard of living for the middle class. We just need to believe in ourselves - and we can do it again.

… I was instantly reminded of this passage from Jimmy Carter’s “crisis of confidence” speech, delivered on 15 July 1979:

We ourselves are the same Americans who just ten years ago put a man on the moon. We are the generation that dedicated our society to the pursuit of human rights and equality. And we are the generation that will win the war on the energy problem and in that process, rebuild the unity and confidence of America.

We are at a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path I’ve warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure.

All the traditions of our past, all the lessons of our heritage, all the promises of our future point to another path — the path of common purpose and the restoration of American values. That path leads to true freedom for our nation and ourselves.

I’m not saying Kerry is Carter … don’t take it that way. The Kerry language just recalled the Carter language, and I wanted to put them side-by-side as a point of comparison.

I’m going to spend the rest of the speech watching, not blogging …

Biggest Crowd Reaction So Far

For this line:

I will appoint an Attorney General who actually upholds the Constitution of the United States.

Kerry Speaks

This speech is going well … his style is more relaxed than he often is on the stump … the crowd, of course, is rapt with attention …

Full Speech Text: Cleland

This was a compelling speach to see and hear. Via the DNC; full body in the extended entry.

The Honorable Max Cleland’s Speech Before the Democratic National Convention Thursday, July 29, 2004

Thanks so much, Jim.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to share with you my story of how I came to know and love John Kerry. In April of 1968, while I was being airlifted out of Vietnam on a stretcher, Ensign John Kerry was headed in a different direction. He was on a Navy ship in the Pacific requesting to be transferred into Vietnam — into the line of fire. He had graduated from college. There were a lot of other things he could have done with his life. But he went to serve because he had been raised to believe that service to one’s country is honorable, noble, and good.

While John Kerry was earning a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts, I was being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. I was 25 years old. My body was broken and my faith was shattered. One day, on leave from the hospital, a friend was pushing me around the city, in my new wheelchair. In front of the White House, it hit a curb. I fell forward out of the wheelchair. There were cigarette butts and trash all around me. I remember trying to lift myself up off the street. I was angry at the war. Saddened that veterans weren’t getting good care. And frustrated that people in power weren’t listening. Those were difficult days for me.

But, I ultimately realized that although I had lost a lot, I still had a lot left, and I resolved to make something of my life. I decided to run for the State Senate in Georgia. I won, but when I got there, in 1971, I was a lone voice.

Then I heard this young veteran on TV speaking about the war. It was John Kerry. He put everything I was feeling into words.

Tonight, I’d like to let you know, that even before I met John Kerry, he was my brother. Even before I knew John Kerry, he was my friend. Even before I spoke with John Kerry, he gave me hope.

The Bible tells me that no greater love has a man than to lay down his life for his friends. John Kerry’s fellow crewmates — the men I am honored to share the stage with — are living testimony to his leadership, his courage under fire, and his willingness to risk his life for his fellow Americans. There is no greater act of patriotism than that.

As I look back over the last 36 years, I now realize John Kerry’s service to his country didn’t end in Vietnam. It began there. Since Vietnam, John Kerry’s life has become an object lesson in what was once described as the true definition of patriotism — “the long and steady dedication of a lifetime.”

When we make John Kerry our next president, he will put America back on the long and steady road toward the vision of the country we fought for — a vision of the country we can become once again. A country that doesn’t alienate our allies, but works with them. A country that doesn’t lose jobs, but creates them. A country that doesn’t limit educational opportunity, but expands it. A country that doesn’t make health care less available, but more affordable. A country that doesn’t spoil our environment, but protects it. A country that is strong a country that is respected, a country that is worthy of generations of sacrifice, and our children’s highest hopes.

That is the America John Kerry volunteered to fight for. That is the America John Kerry will lead.

When John Kerry declared he was a candidate for the presidency of the United States, on a hot, steamy day in Charleston, South Carolina, a little less than a year ago, I joined the band of brothers at his side. After the ceremony, I grabbed his arm and pressed a Bible into his hand. It was the Bible I once read from as a child. I knew that he would need its strength, its guidance and its comfort in the days ahead. At first, he said he was afraid he might lose it, he refused to take it. I insisted. I told him: “Hold on to this… You’ll need it like your country needs you now.” He took the Bible, and said softly, “I won’t let you down.”

My fellow Americans — John Kerry has never let me down. He’ll never let you down. He is an authentic American hero. He is the next captain of our ship of state. And he will be the next president of the United States.

In every hour of challenge — in every hour of danger — American heroes have answered their country’s call. Just blocks from where we are tonight, some 230 years ago, a group called the Sons of Liberty assembled to demand democracy, and a voice in their future. Mere steps from where we are, a former slave named Crispus Attucks gave his life for freedom. And around the corner from where we are, a beacon of light from the old North Church set Paul Revere on a mission to save this country’s people from danger.

Those were fateful hours for our young nation. Tonight I am honored to introduce to you another son of liberty, a brother in arms, a man called by destiny at this fateful hour in our nation’s history.

He is my brother. He is my friend. He is my hero. Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, John Kerry answers the call.

Source: Democratic National Convention Committee

Cleland Scores ...

… with this passage:

When we make John Kerry our next president, he will put America back on the long and steady road toward the vision of the country we fought for — a vision of the country we can become once again. A country that doesn’t alienate our allies, but works with them. A country that doesn’t lose jobs, but creates them. A country that doesn’t limit educational opportunity, but expands it. A country that doesn’t make health care less available, but more affordable. A country that doesn’t spoil our environment, but protects it. A country that is strong a country that is respected, a country that is worthy of generations of sacrifice, and our children’s highest hopes.

That is the America John Kerry volunteered to fight for. That is the America John Kerry will lead.

Had ‘em in the palm of his hand.

Countering Swiftvets.com

The right has made much of Swift Boat Veternas For Truth, a website in which veterans who knew Kerry during the Vietnam war take a stance against his candidacy. The Dems are taking their own stance tonight, with 12 or 13 Swift Boat veterans on stage, and about 40,000 Veterans for Kerry/Edwards signs in the crowd. And Max Cleland comes next.

But Seriously

The production values were very high … Teresa’s segment received a huge round of applause, and as the lights came up near the end the night’s first chant of “Kerry! Kerry!” filled the air.

Then, a brief intermission, and another video begins. This video at first,= seems to focus on first responders, telling the story of a firefighter, Thomas Spencer, killed in the line of duty (read about him here). It then turns to Kerry, who reached out to the family in a personal way.

No link online yet, but I’ll keep looking for one.

Shawshank Flashback

The pre-acceptance speech video is now playing, which if I understand correctly was “supervised” by Steven Spielberg. It’s narrated by Morgan Freeman, though, and as the opening sequence rolled and Freeman’s voice filled the hall I thought for a moment: “Huh. I didn’t know Kerry was in Shawshank …”

Speech Text: Alexandra Kerry

Full text in the extended entry, via DNC. Alexandra, too, gave a light but sincere speech … and quite heartfelt at the end. This section drew laughs:

We were standing on a dock waiting for a boat to take us on a summer trip. Vanessa, the scientist, had packed all her animals including her favorite hamster. Our over-zealous golden retriever got tangled in his leash and knocked the hamster cage off the dock. We watched as Licorice, the unlucky hamster bubbled down to a watery doom. That might have been the end of the story. But my dad jumped in, grabbed an oar, fished the cage from the water, hunched over the soggy hamster and began to administer CPR. There were some reports of mouth-to-mouth, but, I admit that’s probably a trick of memory. He was never quite right after that, but Licorice lived. Like I said, it may sound silly. We still laugh about it today. But, to us it was serious and that’s what mattered to my father.

Alexandra Kerry’s Speech Before the Democratic National Convention, Thursday, July 29, 2004

It’s great to be here tonight. It hasn’t been easy to sift through years of memories about my father and find those few that might best tell you who John Kerry really is. Let me just begin with one July day when Vanessa and I were kids. It’s a silly story, but it’s true, and it’s one of my favorite memories of my father.

We were standing on a dock waiting for a boat to take us on a summer trip. Vanessa, the scientist, had packed all her animals including her favorite hamster. Our over-zealous golden retriever got tangled in his leash and knocked the hamster cage off the dock. We watched as Licorice, the unlucky hamster bubbled down to a watery doom. That might have been the end of the story. But my dad jumped in, grabbed an oar, fished the cage from the water, hunched over the soggy hamster and began to administer CPR. There were some reports of mouth-to-mouth, but, I admit that’s probably a trick of memory. He was never quite right after that, but Licorice lived. Like I said, it may sound silly. We still laugh about it today. But, to us it was serious and that’s what mattered to my father.

Years later, when I was driving back to college with him, brooding as only a nineteen-year-old can, my father told me to look outside. He said, “Ali, this is a beautiful day. Feel the sun. Look at the country you live in.” The passion of his words makes me remember them, still, ten years later. He said: “I know men your exact age, who thought they had the same future you have. Whose families were never born, who never again walked on American soil. They don’t feel this sun. Ali,” he said. “If there’s something you don’t like, something that needs to be changed, change it. But never, ever give up. Remember that you are alive. And that you are an American. Those two things make you the luckiest girl in the world.”

Even now, I look back at that and think about what my dad’s been through in his life. Because he’s quiet about those things, my sister and I had to sneak upstairs, when we were kids, to read his letters from Vietnam. Who knew a 23 year-old could have seen so much, so young?

To every little girl her father is a hero. It’s taken some getting used to, that my father actually is one. And not just in the obvious ways. Because he likes to listen as much as he likes to talk; because he’s studious in the way someone is when everything in the whole world interests them; because he leads by example; because he trusts people with the truth and doesn’t pander or play to our baser instincts.

And let me tell you this, when he loves you — as he loves me and my sister and his family, as he loves the men who fought beside him — there is no sacrifice too great. When he cares for you, as he cares for this country, there are no surer hands, and no wiser heart.

And so when he teaches you, by the life he has led, as he has taught me and my sister all of our lives, there is no better lesson: That the future of this country is not only his life’s work. It’s mine and yours. It is all of our life’s work, all of us.

And if we want our children to breathe clean air and drink clean water, if we want them to control their own bodies, if we want them to protect the liberties and opportunities that are our birthrights, we must be involved in the struggle. Because on that day, my father was right, we are the luckiest people in the world. We walk on this soil. We feel this sun. And we are Americans. And now, we’d like to present, our dad, John Kerry!

Source: Democratic National Convention Committee

Speech Text: Vanessa Kerry

Vanessa Kerry, as predicted, delivered a sincere and humorous speech meant to present her father in a familiar and human light. And from this seat, it seems the crowd believes she did just that. Take, for example, her first line:

Thank you. As someone who knows all 6 foot 4 inches of my dad best — 6 foot 6 if you count the hair — I’m here to share some secrets.

Full text in the extended entry.

Vanessa Kerry’s Speech Before the Democratic National Convention, Thursday, July 29, 2004

Thank you. As someone who knows all 6 foot 4 inches of my dad best — 6 foot 6 if you count the hair — I’m here to share some secrets.

Over the years, I’ve come to know him in many ways — through the silly moments, when he laughs with his head thrown back and his shoulders rocking, and through sad moments such as when my grandmother lay dying and also through warm moments when he enveloped me in that Dad hug that overwhelmed me with a feeling of safety.

People ask why Alex and I are so close to our dad — especially since he loved to mortify us when we were little by showing up to our sports games in a bright orange hunting hat and cheered what seemed just a tad too loudly. As I’ve thought about it, I realize it is because he and our mother have given us great gifts: a willing ear, unwavering respect for our choices, and unconditional love.

During the course of this campaign, I’ve heard people talk about John Kerry the father and John Kerry the public servant as if they were two people divided. But, I can assure you all they are truly one and the same. I know his values-revealed in quiet 11 p.m. phone calls of frustration from what he’s seen at work, or the simple reminder that we never turn our backs on those in need. What drives my father to serve is exactly what has made this public servant the father I’m proud of, look up to, and love.

I would like to give you all an inside scoop on this past December. I traveled with my father almost every day of that long, cold month. And I promise you there was not one moment where he doubted his ability to win. Not one week when he lost his fight. He was convinced when others were not. He had the courage to take risks and to fight for his beliefs when others may have given up. He never wavered, he never faltered and he stayed the course.

In that snowy month at a Derry, N.H., chili feed, my father looked to the packed crowd and said, “I want you to look at my heart, my mind and my gut and ask yourself, what kind of president will I be?” It is an important question. What will guide the conscience of a man in his toughest hours, amid the hardest decisions?

Here’s my answer. My father loves this country and is ready to lead it. He believes in challenging oneself to dream and to follow. He believes that fear is limiting, while determination, innovation and optimism will allow us to surpass our own best hopes. And at my father’s core is integrity.

I was reminded of this one fall day two years ago. My grandmother was ailing, and no longer able to leave her bed. She loved autumn, and my father wanted to find a way to bring the foliage to her. Together, we devised a plan that involved copper wire, collected leaves and a little imagination. I watched my 6’4” father hunch over a tiny 8” copper tree. And I watched the focus and the love with which he twisted the wire into a trunk, teasing out the branches and finally weaving the foliage into a rounded tree top. And I noticed the gleam in my grandmother’s eye as her son brought a little bit of autumn to her bedside.

A little while later, he told her his plan to run for president. With a sigh of relief, she said “It’s about time.” And then she smiled, and said, “Johnny, remember integrity.” But it was not so much a reminder as a value she knew her son shared. A statement of need for the times we face today.

We are in a season of great possibility and great hope. And for me that possibility is marked by a tree now on my father’s desk. The leaves are a little worn but the message is still strong. It is one of promise, and hope, of a willing ear and unconditional love, of unwavering respect, and the most important quality which makes all else possible (and I assure you is in his gut) — integrity. And now I’d like to introduce my sister, Alexandra Kerry.

Source: Democratic National Convention Committee

FLASH: DNC STEALS FROM APPLE!!

For some time, Apple has had a section of their web site, called “Switch,” devoted to PC owners who have seen the light.

The Democratic Party has appropriated the concept.

Last night and this, during intermissions and between speakers, the DNC has projected a photo of some citizen with a tag line like this (an actual example from tonight):

REGISTERED REPUBLICAN

Wants her grandchildren to grow up in a safe and secure world.

This hangs over the crowd for a moment, before a line strikes through the “Registered Republican” and these words appear:

Voting Kerry/Edwards in 2004.

And each time, the crowd goes wild. We in the Roost are all quite interested to see the response at the RNC.

The John Kerry Sing-Along

As an intermission to get the crowd moving, the DNC is now playing a version of Rollin’ on the River with modified words that adulate John Kerry. See pic below (and click to enlarge).

The immediate reaction from Blogger’s Roots: “Wow. This is bad.” In the end, though, and cheesy as it was, much of the crowd got into it.

Rhetorical Flourishes: Barbara Jordan

They’re playing the “great Dem leader quotes” flourishes in a series. They followed the JFK quote below with this from Barbara Jordan:

Earlier today we heard the beginning of the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, We the people. It is a very eloquent beginning. But when that document was completed, on the seventeenth of September in 1787, I was not included in that We, the people. I felt somehow for many years that George Washington and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake. But through the process of amendment, interpretation, and court decision I have finally been included in We, the people.

They’re interesting moments … the hall darkens, and the sound of the speaker’s voice over the PA can actually be quite haunting.

JFK Moment

The hall just darkened, and the DNC put a photo of JFK on-screen with this quote (which they also played over the PA) from his inagural address:

Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans - born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage - and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoings of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Blog Spotting: Nate Knows Nada

I’ve spent nearly the entire night next to Nate of Nate Knows Nada. Like everybody else I’ve come to read here, Nate writes a damn fine blog, and my affinity is amplified by his being a genuinely nice guy.

Full Speech Text: Nancy Pelosi

From the DNC, in the extended entry.

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi’s Speech Before the Democratic National Convention Thursday, July 29, 2004

Good evening Democrats! Hello California! I am honored to stand before you as the Democratic Leader in the House of Representatives, and I am proud of my Democratic colleagues for bringing our nation closer to the ideal of equality that is both our heritage and our hope!

Centuries ago, the first settlers came here to realize their dreams for their families, their faith, and their freedom. This week, Democrats come to renew that dream, to reclaim a better future for our families! To express our faith in God and country! And to preserve the freedom we cherish!

Tonight, we will hear from the next president of the United States! John Kerry is an exceptional leader. And he will make an outstanding president! John Kerry has brought Democrats together with optimism! With strength! And with determination to restore the values that have always made America strong at home and respected in the world! But let us be very clear: Our work will not be complete until we give president Kerry and the American people a Democratic Congress!

When I was elected House Democratic leader, I pledged that never again would Democrats go into an election without telling the American people who we are, what we stand for, and what we are willing to fight for! Now here this: every day, in every debate in every vote, House Democrats are standing up and fighting to bring prosperity, opportunity, and security to every corner of America.

First and foremost, we are fighting for those who are wearing America’s uniform so that our military, including our National Guard and Reserves is second to none! Republicans have sent our troops into battle in Iraq without a plan and have cut veterans’ benefits without remorse. Democrats have it right protect our troops and honor our veterans!

Democrats have put forth a positive agenda to grow the economy, create millions of good jobs here at home, and promote small businesses! Republicans offer tax loopholes to outsource American jobs. Democrats have it right! Invest in America and in our people.

Democrats are dedicated to expanding access to quality affordable health care! Republicans stood by while millions lost their health insurance, and they put the interests of HMOs and big drug companies ahead of everyday Americans. Democrats have it right. Health care is a right, not a privilege!

Democrats will keep our promise to our children for safe, fully funded, and accountable schools, with highly-skilled and well-paid teachers. And we will provide every child the opportunity to go to college without going deeply into debt! Republicans have broken their promises on education — from pre- school to college. Democrats have it right. Every student deserves a world class education.

Democrats honor our historic commitment to seniors so they can retire with security and dignity. Republicans raided the Social Security Trust Fund to pay for tax cuts for the richest Americans and created the biggest deficits in our history. Democrats have it right: Protect Social Security with responsible budgets that pay as you go.

And Democrats are committed to a healthy environment to strengthen and enforce the laws that keep our air clean and our water safe. Republicans continue their assault on bipartisan environmental protection. Democrats have it right: Polluters should pay for the messes they make!

My friends, you are the people we work for! These are the values we stand for! These are the priorities we fight for! Prosperity! Opportunity! And security for all Americans! With our clear message, Democrats in the House are more united than at any time in the last 40 years! With our clear message, we have already taken two House seats from the Republicans in special elections this year, in Kentucky and in South Dakota. With our third straight win last week in North Carolina, House Democrats are leading the way in turning red states into blue!

And with our clear message, Democrats will win the House of Representatives in November! We will win because ours is the Party that embodies the values and hopes of our great country. Democrats do not exploit fear to divide and distract the nation. The American people have wisely rejected those cynical tactics in time of war, in time of economic downturn, and in the ongoing struggle against all forms of discrimination.

We are confident that the American people will choose hope and unity in November. In our fight for the American people and the future of our country, we are fortunate to be led by John Kerry, a patriot of vision and courage. John Kerry loves America. He was willing to sacrifice his life for our country.

As president, he will build a future worthy of the vision of our Founding Fathers, worthy of the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform and worthy of the aspirations of our children.

John Kerry has already shown great judgment in choosing John Edwards - a tireless fighter who gives voice to the hopes and dreams of America’s families. John Edwards understands the value of hard work, opportunity, and service. His is the story of the American Dream. With John Kerry as president, John Edwards as vice president, and a democratic majority in Congress - America will be stronger at home and respected in the world!

My friends, we can win for the American people. We can do it. And on November 2, we will do it! Working together, we will win the House of Representatives and elect the first woman speaker of the House!

We can do it! Working together, we will win the Senate and make Tom Daschle the majority leader once again! We can do it! And working together, we will win the White House by electing John Kerry and John Edwards the next president and vice president of the United States!

We can do it!! We can do it! And, working together, we will do it!

Source: Democratic National Convention Committee

Nancy Pelosi

Lot’s of folks talking over Nancy Pelosi, which surprises me some. I expected her to have the rapt attention due a darling of the party.

Not Everyone Can Hit A Home Run

Not everyone here can be the strongest speaker of the night, and Joe Lieberman didn’t exactly knock ‘em dead. Indeed, David Sifry just asked the bloggers to send him “stuff on Lieberman” (that CNN can use as pull quotes) and my reply was “Has he been on yet?”

Good thing they followed him with “Jump” as the musical bumper.

Full Speech Text: Lieberman

From the DNC, and in the extended entry. You’ll notice that “Hope is on the way” continues as the refrain.

The Honorable Joseph Lieberman’s Speech Before the Democratic National Convention Thursday, July 29, 2004

It is great to be standing before this Democratic National Convention where four years ago I had the high honor of accepting your nomination for Vice President of the United States of America. I shall forever be grateful to Al Gore and the members of this great party for that barrier-breaking opportunity. You proved that the American Dream is alive and well - which is what the Democratic Party has always been all about.

That was a heck of a campaign in 2000, wasn’t it? And when it was all over, Al and I won, didn’t we? But campaigns are about the future - not the past. And I am proud to stand before you tonight and say that America’s future will be a lot brighter with John Kerry and John Edwards in the White House. They’re not only going to win the popular vote, as Al and I did — they’re actually going to get to take office, and then they’re going to lead an America that is strong at home, strong abroad, and respected the world over.

America looks very different today than it did four years ago. People are worried about their jobs, their rising health care bills, their kids’ education, their retirement, and their environment. John Kerry and John Edwards have practical, sensible plans to relieve those worries. But all of these plans won’t mean much unless we can restore Americans’ sense of personal security; unless we can free the American people from the fear of terrorism. On September 11, 2001, we were brutally attacked by Islamist terrorists who hate us more than they love their own lives; fanatics who are as great a threat to our security and freedom as the Nazis and Communists we defeated in the last century. Make no mistake: this war, like those earlier conflicts, is a war of values.

Our enemies reject our founding faith that every child on earth is endowed by our Creator with the right to life, liberty, and opportunity. To make America safe again, we need strong leaders who know when to use American power to destroy these Islamist terrorists. But we also need wise leaders who also know when and how to build bridges with Islamic people throughout the world; bridges that are built on the faith we share in one God, and the dreams we share of a better future for all of our children. In other words, we need the strong and balanced leadership of John Kerry and John Edwards. To make America safe again, we must keep our military strong. We must support our brave and brilliant troops - the new greatest generation - who have liberated Afghanistan and Iraq from murderous tyrannies, and who are fighting tonight in both nations to defeat terrorists and allow free and stable governments to grow there.

John Kerry and John Edwards are committed to finishing that work, to honoring the service of our soldiers, and to supporting them and their families when they come home. We owe them our support in this noble cause. To make America safe again, we must strengthen our defenses here at home. I am proud that we Democrats led the way in creating the Department of Homeland Security after September 11th, and I know that John Kerry and John Edwards will keep us united in the common defense of America’s homeland.

In this campaign, we will vigorously disagree with the other side. But we should not resort to personally demonizing them to win the election. Such tactics are wrong, regardless of who practices them, because they divide and diminish America at a time when we must stand united and strong. Instead, we will support John Kerry and John Edwards’ vision for a positive, hopeful future for the American people.

Look at this week’s convention: we have set the standard. And if we keep it up, we will win the voters whose support we need - Americans yearning to cast a vote, not of protest, but of promise. And when we do that, we will send John Kerry and John Edwards to the White House. These two leaders are guided by the values and commitments that Democratic presidents have put into action over the decades: Woodrow Wilson’s commitment to make the world safe for democracy; FDR’s commitment to end isolationism and defeat fascism; Harry Truman’s commitment to stop communism with the swords of America’s military and the plowshares of the Marshall Plan; John F. Kennedy’s commitment to muscular and idealistic internationalism; and Bill Clinton’s commitment to strengthen our alliances throughout the world.

John Kerry and John Edwards are on the right side of this proud history. They are heirs to this legacy of leadership, and they will carry it forward as our next President and Vice President. We know that to some generations much is given, and from others, much is asked. Ours is a unique generation that has both been given much, and asked much. I have known John Kerry for four decades since we met at college, and I can tell you that throughout his life, he has cared about his community and answered his country’s call to duty with patriotism and purpose. He is ready now to be the leader this generation of Americans needs. So let us go forward from this convention to give him and our country that great opportunity for a better tomorrow. Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America.

Source: Democratic National Convention Committee

Full Text Of Clark's Home Run

From the DNC, his speech is in the extended entry.

General Wesley Clark’s Speech Before the Democratic National Convention Thursday, July 29, 2004 Final Text as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you, my fellow Democrats. I am an American soldier.

Our country was attacked. We are at war. Our nation is at risk, engaged in a life-or- death struggle against terrorists who are seeking nuclear and biological weapons. And as I speak tonight, our armed forces are in combat.

Our freedoms were won in war, and protected by generation after generation of selfless service and sacrifice. From Bunker Hill to Bastogne, from the frozen hills of Korea to the jungles of Vietnam, from Kabul to Baghdad, American men and women in uniform have served with honor; they’ve given us so much, and they’ve asked for so little.

Tonight we honor them: our soldiers, our veterans, their families. I want to thank my wife, Gert, my son Wesley, his wife and son and all the military families who stand behind those who serve. Now I ask you to observe with me a moment of silence to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, so that we could have the freedom we exercise tonight.

War. I’ve been there. Heard the thump of enemy mortars. Seen the tracers fly. Bled on the battlefield. Recovered in hospitals. Received and obeyed orders. Sent men and women into battle. Awarded medals, comforted families, attended funerals. And this soldier has news for you: Anyone who tells you that one political party has a monopoly on the best defense of our nation is committing a fraud on the American people. Franklin Roosevelt said it best: “Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.”

This hall and this party are filled with veterans who have served under this flag - our flag. We rose and stood reveille to this flag. We saluted this flag. We fought for this flag. And we’ve seen brave men and women buried under this flag. This flag is ours! And nobody will take it away from us.

The safety of our country demands urgent and innovative measures to strengthen our armed forces. The safety of our country demands credible intelligence. The safety of our country demands cooperation with our allies. The safety of our country demands making more friends and fewer enemies. The safety of our country demands an end to the doctrinaire, ineffective policies that currently grip Washington.

Enough is enough! A safe America - a just America - that’s what we want, that’s what we need. And with John Kerry and John Edwards, that’s what we will achieve.

John Kerry has lived the values of service and sacrifice. In the Navy, as a prosecutor, as a Senator. He proved his physical courage under fire. He’s proved his moral courage, too. John Kerry fought a war and came home to fight for peace - his combination of physical courage and moral values is my definition of what we need in a Commander-in-Chief.

And John Edwards, with his leadership and competence, will be a great member of this command team. John Kerry is a man who - in times of war - can lead as a warrior, and who - in times of peace - will heed the call of scripture to beat swords into plowshares. John Kerry will lead America with strength and wisdom. He has the will to fight, and the moral courage born in battle to pursue and secure a strong peace.

Under John Kerry we will attack and destroy the terrorist threat to America. He’ll join the pantheon of great wartime Democrats.

Great Democrats like Woodrow Wilson, who led us to victory in World War I. Great Democrats like Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, who turned back the tide of fascism to win World War II. Great Democrats like John Kennedy, who stood firm and steered us safely through the Cuban Missile Crisis. And great Democrats like Bill Clinton, who confronted ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia, and with diplomacy - backed by force - brought peace to a shattered land.

My fellow Americans, Democrats are leaders. Democrats are fighters. John Kerry is a leader and fighter and he will be a great Commander-in-Chief.

John Kerry knows that the power of America is our values and ideals. John Kerry knows that our soldiers embody the best of America’s values: Service. Sacrifice. Courage. Compassion.

They’re serving to build something greater than themselves. They’re serving to build something worth fighting for. They’re serving to build something worth dying for. They are a company of heroes. Everyone who fights for the best in American life is also a hero: Firefighters. Police officers. Teachers, and so many others.

John Kerry’s time to lead this company of heroes has arrived. Right here. Right now. In this town. Tonight, from this place, we set out together to put our country back on track to security, freedom and opportunity. America: Hear this soldier.

Choose a leader whose physical courage, moral values and sound judgment will - with the grace of God and our determined commitment - strengthen our country, protect our liberty, renew our spirit and secure a future for our children that is worthy of our heritage.

Make John Kerry the next president of the United States.

Thank you, and God bless America.

Source: Democratic National Convention Committee

But …

I was surprised that this line received applause, but tepid applause:

Under John Kerry we will attack and destroy the terrorist threat to America.

That’s from the text (which I’ll post next) … I thought he used the word “kill” when he delivered … If he did indeed say “kill,” he ad libbed it.

Wes Clark, In Command

Wes Clark is working the crowd into an absolute lather, and each applause line is more robust than the rest. First it was for this:

War. I’ve been there. Heard the thump of enemy mortars. Seen the tracers fly. Bled on the battlefield. Recovered in hospitals. Received and obeyed orders. Sent men and women into battle. Awarded medals, comforted families, attended funerals. And this soldier has news for you: Anyone who tells you that one political party has a monopoly on the best defense of our nation is committing a fraud on the American people.

Then it was for this:

This hall and this party are filled with veterans who have served under this flag - our flag. We rose and stood reveille to this flag. We saluted this flag. We fought for this flag. And we’ve seen brave men and women buried under this flag. This flag is ours! And nobody will take it away from us.

His style: in command but very relaxed. Clearly knows his speech extremely well, and not at all wedded to the TelePrompTer. If the point is for the Hero General to anoint a Commander In Chief, Clark’s doing it. Whatever you may say of the content, he’s nailing the delivery. Unless he falls of the dais, it’s a home run.

Running Early?

I noticed in the DNC email that the Biden speech was embargoed (meaning I can’t post it) until delivery, scheduled for 8:11 PM. He wrapped about 8:03, by my watch … is it possibille that the Dems are actually running early?

If they can finish this thing ahead of schedule, maybe they should run the government …

Full Speech Text: Joe Biden

Via the DNC, posted in the extended entry. From the reaction here, this was the key line:

Just as Joshua’s trumpets brought down the walls of Jericho — just as American values brought down the Berlin Wall — so will radical fundamentalism fall to the terrible, swift power of our ideas as well as our swords.

The Honorable Joseph Biden’s Speech Before the Democratic National Convention, Thursday, July 29, 2004

Nearly 100 years ago, the great Irish poet William Butler Yeats told us the world has “changed utterly … A terrible beauty has been born.” Tonight, our country stands at the hinge of history. America’s destiny is at stake. But we can shape that destiny, if we seize the opportunities before us.

The overwhelming obligation of our next President is clear. Make America stronger. Make America safer. And win the death-struggle between freedom and radical fundamentalism. That struggle breached our shores on September 11th, 2001, and delivered this generation of Americans to this moment of awesome responsibility.

After 9/11, I believed — and still do — that if we exercised the full measure of our power — including our ideas and our ideals — we could unite this nation and other nations in common cause. 9/11 was a moment of profound pain, but also enormous opportunity. Americans stood in blood lines for hours — even though no more blood was needed. The French ran a headline that said: “We Are All Americans Now.”

Imagine how Franklin Roosevelt or John Kennedy would have seized that moment. Imagine if this president had spoken to the nation and the world and summoned that sense of solidarity. Imagine if he had said: “It’s time for all who are able to do something for America. I’m calling for a new program of national service and an energy policy that will liberate us from the suffocating grip of Middle East oil. And I call on our allies to join us in a compact for freedom, because we are always stronger — safer — better — more secure together than we are alone.”

Just imagine.

I do not question the motives of this administration. But I profoundly disagree with their judgments. History will judge them harshly not for the mistakes made — we all make mistakes — but for the opportunities squandered. Today, we are rightly confident in the example of our power. But we have forgotten the power of our example.

And for all of America’s great might, we are more alone in the world than ever before. As a result, we are less secure than we could or should be. Our allies and friends, the international organizations we have built over the past half-century do not hold America down. They help us share the burdens of leadership.

We were told we would pay no price for going it alone. That was wrong. Because we waged the war in Iraq virtually alone, we are responsible for the aftermath virtually alone. The price is clear. Nearly 90 percent of the troops and the casualties are American. And because intelligence was hyped to justify going to war, America’s credibility and security have suffered a terrible blow.

Forty years ago, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy sent former Secretary of State Dean Acheson to Europe to seek support. Acheson explained the situation to French President de Gaulle. Then, he offered to show classified intelligence information as proof. De Gaulle said, “That’s not necessary. I know President Kennedy. I know he would never mislead me on a question of war and peace.” Would a single foreign leader react the same way today?

My friends, it doesn’t have to be this way. America and the world deserve a president whose judgment they can trust. Americans are bigger and better than the past four years have led the world to believe. Americans know our military is the strongest on earth, but we are not arrogant.

Americans are proud, not petty. Instead of dividing the world, we must unite it. Instead of bullying, we must build. Instead of walking alone, we must lead. It’s only leadership if others follow.

But let no enemy mistake our basic decency for lack of resolve. Americans will fight with every fiber of our being to protect our country and our people. When John Kerry is commander-in-chief, he will not hesitate to unleash the unparalleled power of our military, on any nation or group that does us harm — without asking anyone’s permission.

This is man tested in combat, who will never send our sons and daughters into harm’s way before exhausting every other option — and giving them every tool they need. When John Kerry is president, military preemption will remain — as it has always been — an option, when we face a genuine, imminent threat.

But John Kerry will build a true prevention strategy — to defuse dangers long before the only choice is war. When John Kerry is president, our friends and allies will have no excuse to sit on the sidelines. And above all, when John Kerry is president, he will level with the American people. For he will inherit a nation and a world that will require him to ask much of us and our allies.

I have no doubt this generation of Americans — like every generation that has come before it — will rise to the moment, for it longs to do great things. John Kerry is a student of history. He understands why we prevailed when our nation faced grave peril in the past. He understands that the terrorists may be beyond the reach of reason. We must defeat them. But hundreds of millions of hearts and minds are open to our ideas and our ideals. We must reach them.

Just as Joshua’s trumpets brought down the walls of Jericho — just as American values brought down the Berlin Wall — so will radical fundamentalism fall to the terrible, swift power of our ideas as well as our swords.

It is time to recapture the totality of America’s strength. It is time to restore our nation to the respect it once had. It is time to reclaim America’s soul. It is time to elect John Kerry the next president of the United States.

Source: Democratic National Convention Committee

Anarchists And Open Source Protesting

Earlier I promised a post about the anarchists I came across today in Copley Square. Let’s simply say it was a motley group.

One thing that struck me was the number of participants who had their faces covered, ala Hamas and the evil doers in Iraq. Seemed I bold move, I thought, visually associating yourself with terrorists, so I decided to interview one of the covered.

I didn’t bother to ask for a name.

He was 18, from New Jersey, and a self-proclaimed “anarchist.” And a quick one, too … when I asked who their candidate was he replied “We don’t have one … we’re anarchists.” So at least he’s got that figured out.

When I asked him why he covered his face and head, he said, in essence, that he was afraid for his personal security. “There’s always undercover police in the crowd,” he said, “taking pictures. I don’t want to end up in some FBI file.”

Uh huh. And then they’ll follow you home, I’m sure.

Say what you will about the Patriot Act … it’s had a chilling effect on the anarchists.

“I’m surprised you’d do something that is visually reminiscient of the folks in Iraq who are cutting off peoples’ heads,” I said. He was quick to disavow any terrorist leanings, though. Wanted me to make it clear to everyone that he’s not a terrorist. Just an anarchist.

Here’s something else I found interesting: the protest was not organized … it just emerged from the morning ether. Seems there’s a local organization that was giving out free breakfast and dinner to people in from out of town to protest, and it was at this breakfast that the assorted anarchists, Greens, and Radical Cheerleading Squad members ginned up their event.

So there you go: Open-source protesting.

The View

Before the hall filled today I went down to the media gallery (just behind and to the left and right of the podium) and took this panoramic shot of the Fleet Center. It stiched together quite well, and all bloggers (and anyone else) who wants it is welcome to download it. (Click to enlarge.)

More Official Business

Bill Richardson has now called the convention to order, to great applause, and the strains of America the Beautiful are filling the hall.

More On The Scene

Dave Pell also nicely describes the scene:

The place is packed. It’s hot. We’re crammed in, sweaty shoulder to shoulder. It’s like being bumped around in an issues-oriented mosh pit. And the buzz is remarkable. At least inside the arena, even a phone book reading by Kerry will completely dwarf the rest of the week’s events.

The video montages are getting ovations.

Don't Stand So Close To Me

The current source of animation in Blogger’s Roost: Not enough seats, not because the DNCC didn’t supply adequate seating in our section, but because squatters have realized the quality of the view. It’s beyond crowded up here … and getting a bit ripe, candidly. Tempers, too, are getting short.

They should, though. My sense is that the blogging contingent isn’t flush with cash—especially some of the 20-somethings up here—and making it to Boston is a real commitment. They should at least be able to sit down.

“When Bloggers Collide.” Film at 11.

P Diddy

I’ve spent the past hour trying to secure temporary floor pass, but it seems the DNCC has rescinded that opportunity now that the prime time show has begun. While walking about, however, I stumbled upon P Diddy, who was working the convention for MTV. Indeed, I almost got to know Mr. Diddy too well: One of the MTV cameraman’s cords looped around the button on my blazer, and I was nearly dragged into the elevator with the entourage.

Quick … ask your kids, right now: “What’s more cool … seeing John Kerry accept the nomination, or standing 6 inches from P Diddy.” Don’t let me know the answer.

The Scene, V 2.0

We’re two hours into the first round of speeches, and the scene is already quite different from this time last night. There are more people in the hall, for one, and they’re generally more attentive to the speakers than at this time yesterday.

There’s also a different energy in the hall tonight, both in quality and in volume. Everything is simply a bit more “amped” … the conversation a bit more loud, the press a bit more hungry (if they’re chasing other stories in the same fashion their chasing the Bloggers in The Roost), they eyes of the crowd a bit more wide. Security, too, is more keyed-up: They deployed earlier in the day and have been more rigorous about where you stand and go than yesterday.

It is, in the end, a qualitative matter, and I suppose I’m struggling for words. But the sense one has being here is a sense of not just of building energy and anticipation, but of a building eagerness … almost a fever. The people here know that tonight they will see It. It might be their political hero, it might be their opportunity for political victory, it might be their window for policy change. Or, it might simply be history.

But they all expect to see it, and they all know it’s just around the corner. Like kids eagerly awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus, they’re awake with a nervous, excited, and building tension … except here there’s no bedtime, and they get to sit around the fireplace and watch him arrive.

Edwards: "Aye"

Every once in a while you look down from your perch here and realize there’s some official business going on. Just now I did just that, as the body officially nominated John Edwards as the VP candidate by unanimous proclamation (delivered with a rousing “Aye!”).

So he is now, oficially, almost The Man.

Pre-released Excerpts From Kerry's Speech

This just came from the DCN via email:

My fellow Americans, this is the most important election of our lifetime. The stakes are high. We are a nation at war — a global war on terror against an enemy unlike any we have ever known before. And here at home, 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.

***

We can do better and we will. We’re the optimists. For us, this is a country of the future. We’re the can do people. And let’s not forget what we did in the 1990s. We balanced the budget. We paid down the debt. We created 23 million new jobs. We lifted millions out of poverty and we lifted the standard of living for the middle class. We just need to believe in ourselves — and we can do it again.

***

So tonight, in the city where America’s freedom began, only a few blocks from where the sons and daughters of liberty gave birth to our nation — here tonight, on behalf of a new birth of freedom — on behalf of the middle class who deserve a champion, and those struggling to join it who deserve a fair shot —- for the brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every day and the families who pray for their return - for all those who believe our best days are ahead of us - for all of you — with great faith in the American people, I accept your nomination for President of the United States.

***

As president, I will ask hard questions and demand hard evidence. I will immediately reform the intelligence system - so policy is guided by facts, and facts are never distorted by politics. And 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.

***

I defended this country as a young man and I will defend it as President. Let there be no mistake: I will never hesitate to use force when it is required. Any attack will be met with a swift and certain response. I will never give any nation or international institution a veto over our national security. And I will build a stronger American military.

***

In these dangerous days there is a right way and a wrong way to be strong. Strength is more than tough words. After decades of experience in national security, I know the reach of our power and I know the power of our ideals.

We need to make America once again a beacon in the world. We need to be looked up to and not just feared.

We need to lead a global effort against nuclear proliferation - to keep the most dangerous weapons in the world out of the most dangerous hands in the world.

We need a strong military and we need to lead strong alliances. And then, with confidence and determination, we will be able to tell the terrorists: You will lose and we will win. The future doesn’t belong to fear; it belongs to freedom.

***

And the front lines of this battle are not just far away - they’re right here on our shores, at our airports, and potentially in any town or city. Today, our national security begins with homeland security. The 9-11 Commission has given us a path to follow, endorsed by Democrats, Republicans, and the 9-11 families. As president, I will not evade or equivocate; I will immediately implement the recommendations of that commission. We shouldn’t be letting ninety-five percent of container ships come into our ports without ever being physically inspected. We shouldn’t be leaving our nuclear and chemical plants without enough protection. And we shouldn’t be opening firehouses in Baghdad and closing them down in the United States of America.

***

My fellow citizens, elections are about choices. And choices are about values. In the end, it’s not just policies and programs that matter; the president who sits at that desk must be guided by principle.

For four years, we’ve heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They’re what we live by. They’re about the causes we champion and the people we fight for. And it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families.

***

We value jobs that pay you more not less than you earned before. We value jobs where, when you put in a week’s work, you can actually pay your bills, provide for your children, and lift up the quality of your life. We value an America where the middle class is not being squeezed, but doing better.

Dear Comrade ...

Earlier I posted the post-speech spin email sent by the DNC to folks on their mailing list, when opens with this:

Dear Friend,

What a remarkable day today is going to be. You and I are going to have the great pleasure of watching John Kerry stand before America and lay out his plans for leading our country in a new, more promising direction.

Then I see this in the comments, posted by KH:

That’s pretty scary… it reads like something Chariman Mao would sign…

Dear Comrade,

What a remarkable day today is going to be. You and I are going to have the great pleasure of watching our Glorious Chairman stand before our heroic workers and lay out his plans for leading our great nation in a new, more promising direction.

I laughed out loud . Nothing against Edwards or Kerry here, but the email does have a sort of soviet-propoganda feel, no?

At The Bottom?

GWBUSH2004 contracts are trading in a tight range of 50.2 - 52.0 over at TradeSports. This pricing … which suggests that Bush winning reelection is nearly an even-money proposition … is down from a high of 75 near the turn of the year, and marginally up from a lifetime low of 49—depths that were plumbed just recently (click the pic to enlarge).

We’ll see what happens tomorrow, but I think the “bounce” has already been priced into the market given the narrow trading range today … although the first post-convention polls will have some influence.

My Interview With Ed Rendell

I just completed a face-to-face interview with Ed Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania and former chair of the Democratic National Committee. He was cordial, serious but friendly, and here are some highlights (typed verbatim from my recording of our conversation):

Me: Looking down the road 10 or 15 years, how do you expect the [Democratic] party will change or will need to change in order to continue to broaden it’s appeal?

ER: I actually think the most important movement historically for the DP was the DLC movement that started in the late 80s to begin to get the democrats to focus more on moderate, middle of the road issues, to change our image as being the party of big spenders, not fiscally stable, to change our image to get us involved in law enforcement and things to fight crime, and to get us back into a party that people could feel comfortable with on defense or terrorism. I think that was the sea change and I think that will continue to be the dominant strain for the democratic party for the next 10 or 15 years.

Even Senator Kerry, who’s been … tried to be portrayed by the Republican campaign as extraordinarily liberal, isn’t. I mean he voted for welfare reform, he voted to support the crime bill, he voted for a number of balanced budgets and deficit reduction measures. So he’s by no means a garden variety 50’s or 60’s liberal. And I think that’s important for people to understand. Same thing with John Edwards, who’s for fiscal stability and who’s for a balanced budget.

You know the world has sort of turned upside down. Here you have the Republican party running up the biggest deficit in history, and it was only 10 years ago that the Contract for America wanted a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. Where would we be today had that passed? So I think the Democratic Party has become the party of fiscal conservatism, fiscal stability, it’s become the party that’s best suited to fight crime. And I think best suited to fight wars as well.

I think the sea change took place gradually between 88 and 2004, and I think that sea change is going to continue to dominate and control the Democratic Party for the next 10 or 15 years.

[… later …]

It’s a great juxtaposition. There are people on the left who think John Kerry’s too conservative, as well as the Bush administration that’s trying to paint him as a wild-spending liberal. I mean, how they can have the hubris to paint anybody as wild-spending, fiscally liberal is beyond me. I mean they are the epitome of spending money we don’t have and causing us serious problems.

Me: Have they [the Republicans] broken the kind of unwritten rule of moratorium [on campaigning] during the convention?

ER: I think the Vice President has to a degree. I think he has … you’re right, there was always this moratorium that the one party would step aside and let the other party have the four days, and I think to some extent they’ve broken the unwritten rule.

Me: Have you taught the good Senator how to order a cheese steak?

ER: Well, he won’t ever order Swiss cheese again, I can assure you of that … fortunately, Senator Kerry is a good learner.

He was beyond gracious to give the blogosphere some of his valuable time, so “thanks” to him and his press folks.

Observation #4: Blogger Media Savvy

An hour or so ago I sat here watching Byron from Burnt Orange Report do an interview with ABC news, which is trolling Blogger’s Roost for on-air material. I’ve seen many of these interviews now, and I have to say that the bloggers are now officially media savvy. Byron, as an example, knows how to give the reporter his name (spelling the surname), plug his site, address the camera, smile knowingly, even work his PC so the camerman can get some good B-roll of him scrolling his blog, and most important, talk in sound bites.

And he’s not alone … many of us up here in the Roost have acquired this skill, learning very quickly on the fly and from those around us. As Byron just told me, “Well, after a few days you get good at it.” But by day 4 it’s clear: The DNC credentialed bloggers … but they’ve created media-savvy hothouse flowers in the process.

The Roost

Some more photoblogging … here’s the view of Blogger’s Roost from the media gallery just to the right of the podium. That’s us … waaay up at the top there, just in front of the klieg lights.

The 2004 DNC, Brought To You By ...

… beer.

Update

I’ve spent the past hour walking the Fleet, taking photos, and interviewing Ed Rendell. Posts on all to follow, and I haven’t forgotten about those anarchists I promised …

Blog Spotting

Today I’m sitting next to Brian Montopoli of Campaigndesk.org. He’s 27, and obviously the kind of nice, smart 27-year-old that can only piss off somebody as inherently jealous of others as I. Read his latest post here.

Spin Spam

Each morning the K/E campaign is sending broadcast emails, “authored” by the prior night’s headline act, to their registered distribution list. Here’s today’s message from John Edwards:

Dear Friend,

What a remarkable day today is going to be. You and I are going to have the great pleasure of watching John Kerry stand before America and lay out his plans for leading our country in a new, more promising direction.

And then, we’re going to have the awesome responsibility of carrying his vision of a stronger America to the White House.

Last night in my speech at the convention, I tried to make it clear how much is at stake in this election. I talked about the values you and I share, the principles we cherish, and the belief we have that our optimism and energy can not only carry us to victory in November, but — far more importantly — carry America forward over the next four years.

At the heart of our campaign, there are literally millions of people who are pouring their hearts and souls into winning this election. If ever there were a day for you to give voice to the depth of this support for John Kerry, this is it.

This is John Kerry’s big day. But it’s your big day too. I urge you to use it to make a strong personal statement of your support for John Kerry. Attend a house party tonight. Ask your friends to sign up on JohnKerry.com. Commit to registering a friend to vote. Make a contribution. How you participate is up to you. But whatever you do, don’t sit on the sidelines.

There are only 14 weeks until November 2 — the day America chooses between Kerry-Edwards and Bush-Cheney. We’ve got to make every one of those days count. But most important right now, we’ve got to make this day count. Today is the day that John Kerry sets forth his vision for America’s future — and the day we need you and others like you all across America to help spread that vision.

That’s the path to victory in November and to a stronger America. Let’s start our journey together right now.

Sincerely,

John Edwards

Somehow, I don’t think he sat down and pecked this one out himself. But I could be wrong.

System Shockers

It’s not every day that you come across a squad of radical cheerleaders. Today, however, is one of those days.

As I left Copley Square with today’s credential, I came across a demonstration of many colors … greens, anarchists in black (who I’ll get to in a moment), and these folks in pink (click to enlarge).

They are a squad of radical cheerleaders: the Syracuse System Shakers (no website as yet). They’re part of an international national network of “Radical Cheerleading Squads” that like to demonstrate with a twist. The basic premise: offer a political message in a manner this manner—pink and fishnets with politically-themed cheers—a bit more palatable than the typical point-and-shout demonstration

I spent some time talking with Kate Cooper, a System Shaker and Radical Cheerleader from Syracuse who’s been here since Monday night. The outfits were pink (“We just wear it ‘cause it’s hot.”), and the message was anti-Kerry.

“We’re here to kind of deescalate the situation,” she said. “We’re very effective in getting our message across to people in a way that’s not too confrontational … we’re here specifically to tell people about John Kerry’s record, and that it’s not that much different than Bush’s.”

While she’s voting for Nader, the group hasn’t issued an endorsement. I particularly enjoyed this guy (again, click to enlarge). Where does a man find fishnets like that, anyway?

Latino Focus

The Boston Globe notes that only two prominent Latinos—Bob Menendez and Bill Richardson—had prime-time podium spots this week, despite the party’s heavy focus on the latino vote.

The Kerry Speechwriting Process

USATODAY has a profile of the Kerry speechwriting process, and tells us that he alone wrote the first draft, longhand, before turning it over two his four-person speechwriting team. Snippet:

John Kerry could call upon a four-person campaign speechwriting team. He was paying Bob Shrum and other strategists with reputations for crafting sparkling lines. Family members and leading Democrats were eager to advise him on what to say.

But the nomination acceptance speech that Kerry delivers here Thursday night started with a draft that was all his own. He wrote it in his own hand on a legal pad, mostly in the comfort of his Massachusetts homes in Boston and Nantucket.

After three months of thinking sporadically about the vital speech, the senator sat down in earnest to write about three weeks ago, according to interviews with Kerry confidants familiar with how the speech evolved. They asked not to be identified, citing a campaign policy of staff anonymity except for designated spokespersons.

When his first try was on paper, Kerry still didn’t turn the process over to a committee. He reached out for suggestions through a hub-and-spoke system. He was the hub. Friends, consultants and others whose opinions he respected spoke directly with him. He didn’t ask them for polished lines or complete sections.

Preview: Kerrys' Speech

I’ve not yet been sent a copy of Kerry’s speech (which will be “embargoed” until he’s delivered it) or excerpts of his remarks (which I can post as soon as I get them), but the print media is already forecasting its content.

The Boston Globe notes a heavy national security focus, while USATODAY writes:

History also will infuse Kerry’s address. He has reread speeches by Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and other orators. He has thought about people and moments in Massachusetts history, including John Adams and the battles of Lexington and Concord.

Kerry says he’ll talk in broad terms about what he wants to do. That’s the part political analysts say Americans most want to hear. “He doesn’t have to have a very detailed program,” presidential biographer Robert Dallek says. “He needs something that convinces the public it will get something fresh. He needs to talk about the new direction he’s going to take.”

More On Ohio

I noticed last night that Minesota’s delgation yielded to Ohio, which then put Kerry over the top and secured his nomination. This, according to the Toledo Blade, is reflective of Ohio’s importance as a battleground state.

Robert Kennedy Speech Text

Good morning. Everybody up and at ‘em.

I noted yesterday the Robert Kennedy, Jr. was the first yesterday to use his convention speech to turn up the level of partisan rhetoric, especially regarding the environment. The DNC has now sent me the speech, which you may read in the extended entry.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. President, Waterkeeper Alliance and Chief Prosecuting Attorney, Riverkeeper

In 20 years as an environmental advocate, I’ve been disciplined about being non-partisan in my approach to the environment. If you talk to the CEOs of almost any environmental organization, they’ll say that the worst thing that could happen to the environment would be if it became a partisan issue, the province of a single political party. Five years ago, if you asked experts what they thought was the gravest threat to our environment, they’d mention a whole range of issues, from over-population to global warming, to toxins in our food and air. But today, they’ll give you just one answer: It’s George W. Bush.

You simply cannot talk honestly about the environment today without speaking critically about this administration. This administration has promoted 400 major rollbacks that threaten to eviscerate 30 years of environmental progress. They’ve put polluters in charge of the very agencies that are supposed to regulate them. The second in command of the EPA is a former Monsanto lobbyist. The second in command of the Forest Service is a former timber industry lobbyist.

This administration says that we have to choose between environmental protection on one hand and economic prosperity on the other. But that is a false choice. Good environmental policy and good economic policy are identical. If we treat this earth as a business, converting our natural resources to cash as fast as possible, we might have a few years of pollution- based prosperity. But our children would have to pay for it - pay for it with a barren landscape, poor health, and astronomical clean up costs.

Environmental injury is deficit spending - putting the cost of our generation’s prosperity on the backs of our children. This entire Administration is about deficit spending. They’ve squandered a $5 trillion surplus. And they’ve squandered the goodwill of the world.

When I was a little boy, I went to Europe with my uncle and my father. Thousands of people came out to welcome us. They were proud to name their streets after American presidents such as Teddy Roosevelt and JFK. But in just three and half years, the international goodwill that took America more than 200 years to earn has been squandered.

John Kerry understands that we’ve got to protect our environment not just for the sake of the fishes and the birds, but for our own sake. John Kerry understands that we’ve got to protect our environment because it enriches us - not just economically, but historically, culturally and spiritually.

When we destroy nature, we diminish ourselves. John Kerry understands that.

And that’s why we need to join John Kerry in protecting our environment - in standing up to polluters, preserving our environmental monuments, and keeping our air and water safe for our children.

Source: Democratic National Convention Committee

Full Speech Text: John Edwards

From the DNC, and I’ve posted it in the extended entry (given the length of the speech).

Remarks of Senator John Edwards (As Prepared for Delivery) 2004 Democratic National Convention Wednesday, July 28, 2004 Fleet Center Boston, Massachusetts

Thank you. Now, you know why Elizabeth is so amazing.

I am a lucky man: to have the love of my life at my side. We have been blessed with four beautiful children: Wade, Cate, Emma Claire, and Jack.

My mother and father, Wallace and Bobbie Edwards are here tonight. You taught me the values that I carry with me in my heart: faith, family, responsibility, and opportunity for everyone. You taught me that there’s dignity and honor in a hard days work. You taught me that you look out for your neighbors, you never look down on anybody, and you treat everyone with respect.

Those are the values John Kerry and I believe in, and nothing makes me prouder than standing with him in this campaign. I am so humbled to be your candidate for Vice President of the United States.

I want to talk about our next president. For those who want to know what kind of leader he’ll be, I want to take you back about thirty years. When John Kerry graduated college, he volunteered for military service. He volunteered to go to Vietnam and to captain a swift boat, one of the most dangerous duties you could have. And as a result he was wounded and honored for his valor.

If you have any question about what he’s made of, you need to spend three minutes with the men who served with him then and stand by him today.

They saw up close what he’s made of. They saw him reach down and pull one of his men from the river and save his life. And in the heat of battle, they saw him decide in an instant to turn his boat around, drive it straight through an enemy position, and chase down the enemy to save his crew.

Decisive. Strong. Aren’t these the traits you want in a Commander in Chief?

We hear a lot of talk about values. Where I come from, you don’t judge someone’s values based on how they use that word in a political ad. You judge their values based upon what they’ve spent their life doing.

So when a man volunteers to serve his country, and puts his life on the line for others — that’s a man who represents real American values.

This is a man who is prepared to keep the American people safe and to make America stronger at home and respected in the world.

John is a man who knows the difference between what is right and what is wrong. He wants to serve you — your cause is his cause. And that is why we must and we will elect John Kerry as our next president.

For the last few months, John has been talking about his positive, optimistic vision for the country — talking about his plan to move this country in the right direction.

But we’ve seen relentless negative attacks against John. So in the weeks ahead, we know what’s coming — don’t we — more negative attacks.

Aren’t you sick of it?

They are doing all they can to take this campaign for the highest office in the land down the lowest possible road.

This is where you come in. Between now and November-you, the American people-you can reject the tired, old, hateful, negative, politics of the past. And instead you can embrace the politics of hope, the politics of what’s possible because this is America, where everything is possible.

I am here tonight because I love my country. And I have every reason to love my country because I have grown up in the bright light of America.

I grew up in a small town in rural North Carolina. My father worked in a mill all his life, and I will never forget the men and women who worked with him. They had lint in their hair and grease on their faces. They worked hard and tried to put a little something away every week so their kids and their grandkids could have a better life. They are just like the auto workers, office workers, teachers, and shop keepers on Main Streets all across America.

My mother had a number of jobs. Her last job was working at the post office so my parents could have health care. And she owned her own small business — refinishing furniture to help pay for me go to college.

I have had such incredible opportunities in my life, and I was blessed to be the first person in my family to go to college. I worked my way through, and I have had opportunities way beyond what I could have ever imagined.

And the heart of this campaign — your campaign — is to make sure that everyone has those same opportunities that I had growing up-no matter where you live, who your family is, or what the color of your skin is. This is the America we believe in.

I have spent my life fighting for the kind of people I grew up with. For two decades, I stood with families and children against big HMOs and big insurance companies. And as a Senator, I fought those same fights against the Washington lobbyists and for causes like the Patients’ Bill of Rights.

I stand here tonight ready to work with you and John to make America strong again.

And we have so much work to do. Because the truth is, we still live in two different Americas: one for people who have lived the American Dream and don’t have to worry, and another for most Americans who work hard and still struggle to make ends meet.

It doesn’t have to be that way. We can build one America

We can build one America where we no longer have two healthcare systems. One for people who get the best healthcare money can buy and then one for everybody else, rationed out by insurance companies, drug companies, and HMOs- millions of Americans who don’t have any health insurance at all.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

We have a plan that will offer everyone the same health care your Senator has. We can give tax breaks to help pay for your health care. And we will sign into law a real Patients’ Bill of Rights so you can make your own health care decisions.

We shouldn’t have two public school systems in this country: one for the most affluent communities, and one for everybody else.

None of us believe that the quality of a child’s education should be controlled by where they live or the affluence of their community.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

We can build one public school system that works for all our children. Our plan will reform our schools and raise our standards. We can give our schools the resources they need. We can provide incentives to put quality teachers in the places and the subjects where we need them the most. And we can ensure that three million kids with a safe place to go after school. This is what we can do together.

We shouldn’t have two different economies in America: one for people who are set for life, their kids and grandkids will be just fine, and then one for most Americans who live paycheck to paycheck.

And you know what I’m saying. You don’t need me to explain it to you, you know — you can’t save any money, can you? Takes every dime you make just to pay your bills, and you know what happens if something goes wrong — a child gets sick, somebody gets laid off, or there’s a financial problem, you go right off the cliff.

And what’s the first thing to go. Your dreams.
It doesn’t have to be that way.

We can strengthen and lift up your families. Your agenda is our agenda-so let me give you some specifics.

First, we can create good paying jobs in America again. Our plan will stop giving tax breaks to companies that outsource your jobs. Instead, we will give tax breaks to American companies that keep jobs here in America. And we will invest in the jobs of the future — in the technologies and innovation to ensure that America stays ahead of the competition.

We will do this because for us a job is about more than a paycheck — it’s about dignity and self respect. Hard work should be valued in this country and we’re going to reward work, not just wealth.

We don’t want people to just get by; we want people to get ahead. So let me give you some specifics about how we’re going to do that.

To help you pay for health care, a tax break and health care reform to lower your premiums up to $1,000. To help you cover the rising costs of child care, a tax credit up to $1,000 to cover those costs so your kids have a safe place to go while you work. And to help your child have the same chance I had and be the first person in your family to go to college, a tax break on up to $4,000 in tuition.

So now you ask how are we going to pay for this? Well, here’s how we’re going to pay for it. Let me be very clear, for 98 percent of Americans, you will keep your tax cut-that’s 98 percent. But we’ll roll back the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, close corporate loopholes, and cut government contractors and wasteful spending. We can move our country forward without passing the bill and the burden on to our children and grandchildren.

We can also do something about 35 million Americans who live in poverty every day. Here’s the reason we should not just talk about it, but do something about millions of Americans who still live in poverty, because it is wrong. We have a moral responsibility to lift those families up.

I mean the very idea that in a country of our wealth and our prosperity, we have children going to bed hungry. We have children who don’t have the clothes to keep them warm. We have millions of Americans who work full-time every day for minimum wage to support their family and still live in poverty — it’s wrong.

These are men and women who are living up to their part of the bargain: working hard and taking care of their families. Those families are doing their part; it’s time we did ours.

We will do that when John is in the White House. We will raise the minimum wage, finish the job on Welfare Reform, and bring good paying jobs to the places that need them. And we will say no forever to any American working full-time and living in poverty-not in our America, not in our America.

Let me talk about why we need to build one America. I saw up close what having two Americas does to our country.

>From the time I was very young, I saw the ugly face of segregation and
>discrimination. I saw young African-American kids sent upstairs in
>movie theaters. I saw white only signs on restaurant doors and luncheon
>counters. I feel such an enormous responsibility when it comes to
>issues of race and equality and civil rights.

I have heard some discussions and debates about where, and in front of what audiences we should talk about race, equality, and civil rights. Well, I have an answer to that question. Everywhere.

This is not an African-American issue, not a Latino issue, not an Asian- American issue, this is an American issue. It’s about who we are, what our values are, what kind of country we want to live in.

What John and I want — what we all want — is for our children and our grandchildren to be the first generations to grow up in an America that’s no longer divided by race.

We must build one America. We must be one America, strong and united for another very important reason — because we are at war.

None of us will ever forget where we were on September 11th. We share the same terrible images: the Towers falling, the Pentagon in flames, and the smoldering field in Pennsylvania. And we share the profound sadness for the nearly three thousand lives lost.

As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I know that we have to do more to fight terrorism and protect our country. And we can do that. We are approaching the third anniversary of September 11th, and I can tell you that when we’re in office, it won’t take us three years to get the reforms in our intelligence we need to protect our country. We will do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to make sure that never happens again, not to our America.

When John is president, we will listen to the wisdom of the September 11th Commission. We will build and lead strong alliances and safeguard and secure weapons of mass destruction. We will strengthen our homeland security and protect our ports, safeguard our chemical plants, and support our firefighters, police officers and EMT’s. We will always use our military might to keep the American people safe.

And we will have one clear unmistakable message for al Qaida and the rest of these terrorists. You cannot run. You cannot hide. And we will destroy you.

John understands personally about fighting in a war. And he knows what our brave men and women are going through in another war — the war in Iraq.

The human cost and extraordinary heroism of this war, it surrounds us. It surrounds us in our cities and towns. And we will win this war because of the strength and courage of our own people.

Some of our friends and neighbors saw their last images in Baghdad. Some took their last steps outside of Fallujah. And some buttoned their uniform for the final time before they went out to save their unit.

Men and women who used to take care of themselves, they now count on others to see them through the day. They need their mother to tie their shoe. Their husband to brush their hair. And their wife’s arm to help them across the room.

The stars and stripes wave for them. The word hero was made for them. They are the best and the bravest. They will never be left behind. You understand that. And they deserve a president who understands that on the most personal level what they have gone through — what they have given and what they have given up for their country.

To us, the real test of patriotism is how we treat the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to defend our values. And let me tell you, the 26 million veterans in this country won’t have to wonder if they’ll have health care next week or next year — they will have it always because they took care of us and we will take care of them.

But today, our great United States military is stretched thin. More than 140,000 are in Iraq. Nearly 20,000 are serving in Afghanistan. And I visited the men and women there and we’re praying for them as they keep working to give that country hope.

Like all of those brave men and women, John put his life on the line for our country. He knows that when authority is given to the president, much is expected in return. That’s why we will strengthen and modernize our military.

We will double our Special Forces, and invest in the new equipment and technologies so that our military remains the best equipped and best trained in the world. This will make our military stronger so we’re able to defeat every enemy in this new world.

But we can’t do this alone. We have to restore our respect in the world to bring our allies to us and with us. It’s how we won the World Wars and the Cold War and it is how we will build a stable Iraq.

With a new president who strengthens and leads our alliances, we can get NATO to help secure Iraq. We can ensure that Iraq’s neighbors like Syria and Iran, don’t stand in the way of a democratic Iraq. We can help Iraq’s economy by getting other countries to forgive their enormous debt and participate in the reconstruction. We can do this for the Iraqi people and our soldiers. And we will get this done right.

A new president will bring the world to our side, and with it — a stable Iraq and a real chance for peace and freedom in the Middle East, including a safe and secure Israel. And John and I will bring the world together to face our most dangerous threat: the possibility of terrorists getting their hands on a nuclear, chemical or biological weapon.

With our credibility restored, we can work with other nations to secure stockpiles of the worlds most dangerous weapons and safeguard this dangerous material. We can finish the job and secure all loose nukes in Russia. And we can close the loophole in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty that allows rogue nations access to the tools they need to develop these weapons.

That’s how we can address the new threats we face. That’s how we can keep you safe. That’s how we can restore America’s respect around the world.

And together, we will ensure that the image of America — the image all of us love — America this great shining light, this beacon of freedom, democracy, and human rights that the world looks up to-that that beacon is always lit.

The truth is every child, every family in America will be safer and more secure if you grow up in a world where America is once again looked up to and respected. That’s the world we can create together.

Tonight, as we celebrate in this hall, somewhere in America, a mother sits at the kitchen table. She can’t sleep. She’s worried because she can’t pay her bills. She’s working hard to pay the rent and feed her kids. She’s doing everything right, but she still can’t get ahead.

It didn’t use to be that way in her house. Her husband was called up in the Guard and he’s been serving in Iraq for more than a year. She thought he’d be home last month, but now he’s got to stay longer.

She thinks she’s alone. But tonight in this hall and in your homes — you know what? She’s got a lot of friends. We want her to know that we hear her. And it’s time to bring opportunity and an equal chance to her door.

We’re here to make America stronger at home so she can get ahead. And we’re here to make America respected in the world so that we can bring him home and American soldiers don’t have to fight the war in Iraq and the war on terror alone.

So when you return home, you might pass a mother on her way to work the late-shift-you tell her … … hope is on the way.

When your brother calls and says that he’s working all the time at the office and still can’t get ahead-you tell him … … hope is on the way.

When your parents call and tell you their medical bills are through the roof-you tell them … …hope is on the way.

When your neighbor calls you and says that her daughter has worked hard and wants to go to college-you tell her … … hope is on the way.

When you talk to your son or daughter who is serving this country and protecting our freedoms in Iraq-you tell them … … hope is on the way.

And when you wake up and sit with your kids at the kitchen table, talking to them about the great possibilities in America, you make sure that they know that John and I believe at our core that tomorrow can be better than today.

Like all of us, I have learned a lot of lessons in my life. Two of the most important are that first, there will always be heartache and struggle — you can’t make it go away. But the other is that people of good and strong will, can make a difference. One lesson is a sad lesson and the other’s inspiring. We are Americans and we choose to be inspired.

We choose hope over despair; possibilities over problems, optimism over cynicism. We choose to do what’s right even when those around us say “You can’t do that.” We choose to be inspired because we know that we can do better — because this is America where everything is still possible.

What we believe — what John Kerry and I believe — is that you should never look down on anybody, that we should lift people up. We don’t believe in tearing people apart. We believe in bringing people together. What we believe — what I believe — is that the family you’re born into and the color of your skin in our America should never control your destiny.

Join us in this cause. Let’s make America stronger at home and respected in the world. Let’s ensure that once again, in our one America — our one America — tomorrow will always be better than today.

Thank you and God bless you.

Source: Democratic National Convention Committee

Thank God He Didn’t Dance

Another thing about Edwards: He didn’t try to do that stupid little on-stage dance that white politicians always try to do. To his great credit, he played the part of a dignified but humble leader, held his son’s hand, and waved to the crowd.

Boy, the quality of the news here is stunning …

Rock Star, Continued

The fanfare for Edwards is genuine adulation … the star appeal is palpable, and the crowd won’t let him go. Whatever happens in this election cycle … the next time Edwards runs in the Democratic primaries, he’s not finishing second.

The Money Shot

The image of Edwards on stage, after the speech, with his youngest daughter in his arms … that’s on the cover of every paper in America tomorrow morning.

More On Edwards

Biggest applause line of the night:

I have heard some discussions and debates about where, and in front of what audiences we should talk about race, equality, and civil rights. Well, I have an answer to that question. Everywhere.

This, too, is from the primary stump speech (almost verbatim, if memory serves). Nothing wrong with that, of course … I simply thought they would chart larger tracts of new water …

… which he’s doing now with the national security section.

If You Spent Any Time Watching CSPAN ...

… you realize that Edwards is delivering large portions of his stump speech from the primaries.

Candidate Web Site Content Analyses

I was tipped to this today, and it’s pretty cool: NextStage Analytics’ demographic analysis of the Bush, Kerry and Nader web site home pages. The analysis compares how well the sites are communicating to different age, gender and personality-type demographic groups. From the site:

Curiosity got the better of us here at NextStage, and we turned our language engines loose on the homepages of the presidential candidates. We wanted to know who these sites are appealing to and how well they’re communicating their messages.
We did this once before - during the recent democratic primaries - with stunning results.

While national polls had Governor Dean as a 20-point front-runner before the Iowa caucuses and NH Primaries, our research pointed to a much different result - that Dean had effectively stopped communicating with 2/3 of all voters, and Kerry and Edwards were heads and shoulders above everyone in projecting winning campaign messages.

And so, to once again showcase the predictive capabilities of our Media Content Analysis( MCA) and Message Projection Analysis (MPA) behavioral analytics tools, we are presenting this free Demographic Analysis of the Bush, Kerry, and Nader home pages everyday for the rest of this election season.

You can visit the main page for the analyses here, and visit the most recent analyses here. They show, for example, that all the major candidate’s home pages skew strongly in their appeal toward male audiences, and that the Bush site has generally greater message comprehension across all age groups except 25-34, where they all run roughly equal.

John Edwards ...

… rock star. Seriously. The crowd is delirious. I hope someone is timing the ovation.

Cate Edwards

21 years old and at Princeton. And she’s doing a fine job. Read her bio here.

The General

Wes Clark just took the stage … didn’t say a word … but his mere presence brought the crowd to its feet, and then the crowd broke into a change of “USA! USA!” as he left the stage.

So THAT'S How It's Done

I’ve been wondering all night how the delegates get all that crap they hold up at just the right time … flags, signs … even shirts to wear.

As if they’re reading my mind, the DNCC tells us how, and it’s called the Visibility Team.

Brian Mason and Matt Burton manage a team of 70 or so of the world’s hardest working volunteers. They spend their days backstage stapling and their nights running around the FleetCenter in fluorescent vests, lugging huge bags and boxes of posters, and delivering them to every section building. And they do so without a second to spare. Tonight, for instance, in just the last of their many assignments, they will be handing out 10,000 “Edwards” signs.

It is not easy. For the week, our Floor Manager Shelly Loos estimates that the volunteers will have moved almost 150,000 signs into the bowl of the Fleet.

Tip to Winer’s kick ass aggregator.

I Don’t Feel The Vibe

We’ve seen a number of instances of the “I repeat the line or question and then you repeat / chant in unison” cliché today. The most recent example is Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, who has asked the crowd several times “Who will stand up?” and such, to which the crowd responds “John Kerry will!”

But here’s the issue: in each instance, people have played the game, but the vibe hasn’t really been there. Some of that might be that we’re all wise to the game … that it really has become cliché. It might also be that people are simply in the middle of the convention and the energy level isn’t yet fully tweaked. But I don’t think either of those elements are the whole of the matter. Sharpton had people chanting vigorously when he wished, and sometimes when he didn’t, and the vibe of the crowd was beyond enthusiastic when doing so.

I’m left to wonder: Is it the timing, or the speaker and his or her ability to motivate, or is it the subject? Is the crowd really that passionate about Kerry?

I have to tell you, I’m not feeling it. Now, let’s be clear: the crowd is VERY passionate. And they are VERY passionate about winning the election, and I get lots of “we love the party” vibe and lots of “we love certain party stars” vibe and lots of “boot Bush” vibe. But I haven’t picked up any widespread “we love Kerry vibe.” I don’t hear anyone talking about how excited they are to hear him speak, or how electrified they expect to be when he takes the floor (although, with the continued building of anticipation, I imagine electrified they will be). If anything, the discursive expectations are built around Edwards tonight, who everyone expects to knock it out of the park.

It’s like the woman I interviewed the other night, the dyed-in-the-wool Massachusetts democrat who described Kerry as the “lesser of two evils.” I’ve only been here one day, and it’s too early to say this with any certainty—after all, tomorrow the vibe may be very different—but right now, this feels to me very much a convention for the party and for the upsetting of the incumbent, but not a convention to anoint a favorite leader.

And in the end, it may be that it’s not important … that the point is to motivate the faithful and move the message. But it’s not what I expected to see.

Sharpton For Six Minutes? I Think Not.

The word up at Blogger’s Roost is that Al Sharpton was to have 6 minutes … he took 20. Looking at his speech copy (943 words), and assuming a speech rate a bit faster than average, it’s probably closer to 7 or 8 … but still not anywhere close to 20.

John Mellencamp

None shall call him Cougar. Here’s a snap of the scene (click to enlarge).

Full Speech Text: Ed Rendell

In the extended entry …

The Honorable Governor Edward Rendell’s Speech Before the Democratic National Convention Wednesday, July 28, 2004

My fellow Americans, my Democrats, my fellow Pennsylvanians — thank you for that warm welcome. The greatness of the American people is that we are at our best in times of crisis.

In 1945, America faced a Europe with a shattered infrastructure, a decimated economy, and threatened by an encroaching Soviet Union. To meet that challenge, we launched the Marshall Plan, formed NATO, and changed the course of history.

Today, the crisis is on our shores. The challenge before us is here at home. The price of gas at the pump is at record levels. The cost of energy to run our factories is wreaking havoc on our industrial competitiveness. And families are finding it harder and harder to afford to heat their homes.

Instead of responding with big ideas that put Americans to work, we are exporting jobs, exporting dollars, and we are exporting opportunity — the opportunity to strengthen our economy by becoming the world’s leader in new environmental technologies: the clean cars, efficient appliances, and alternative fuels that are the wave of the future.

And more than that: because we lack a sound energy policy, we are forced to deal with tyrants who fund terrorists in order to keep the lights on in our homes and fuel in our cars.

Our foreign policy is skewed. Our values are compromised. And we are paying a price. John Kerry said it best, “No young American solider should fight and die because of our dependence on foreign oil.”

My friends, we are losing jobs. Our economy is hurting. And middle-class families are feeling the squeeze all because America is dependent on foreign oil, oil that flows at the whim of world events … and too often from the wells of dictators.

John Kerry knows that to build a stronger America, we must do better. We can no longer rely on foreign oil fields to power our economy. We can no longer compromise the interests of our security just to make sure that the pipelines from faraway kingdoms flow freely.

That is why, tonight - here in the birthplace of the American revolution - - we must declare our independence - our energy independence. We must elect a President to lead us toward a safer, stronger America free from the tyranny of foreign oil. We must elect John Kerry.

John Kerry has a plan to move America away from its dependence on Mideast oil. First, to bring down our fuel costs, he will do what it takes to deliver clean natural gas to our factory doors in abundant supply — and at a reasonable price.

And John Kerry will roll up his sleeves to work with coal companies to scrub their plants and create new technologies to generate clean coal energy to heat our homes.

In Pennsylvania, we are already using waste coal to generate electricity and coal mine gas is being converted into energy. And when John Kerry is President, we will become a world leader in the clean coal economy.

Second, John Kerry knows that moving toward energy independence means creating more jobs. There are thousands of people who are choosing to drive new hybrid cars that get great gas mileage. Yet, the waiting lists stretch for six months — with spots on those list being auctioned on e-bay for $500 or more. Yet where are these cars being made? In Korea and Japan.

To make sure those jobs are created here, John Kerry will invest $10 billion in tax incentives for American car manufacturers to convert factories to build these cars of the future right here in the United States and tax credits for consumers to purchase those vehicles.

Third, John Kerry will put America ahead of the rest of the world by boosting demand for alternative sources of energy to 20 percent — and to meet that demand and to put more Americans to work, he intends to make America the world’s largest producer of alternative fuels.

Now, I don’t have a PhD in energy policy. But I do know this: if I use less energy in my house, my electric bill goes down. It’s commonsense - commonsense for me, commonsense for America.

That’s why John Kerry will cut the federal energy bill by $14 billion — freeing up resources for us to invest in education and the economy. And he will help every American family and business to do the same, driving down their energy bills too.

Two hundred and twenty eight years ago — in my hometown of Philadelphia - - a native son of Boston — John Hancock — signed his name to the Declaration of Independence knowing full well the risk of taking this action.

There is only one candidate for president who will courageously offer his signature to American’s new declaration of energy independence because he knows full well the risk of not doing so — that person is the next President of the United States of America, John Kerry.

Thank you, and good night.

Source: Democratic National Convention Committee

Yes, Virginia ...

… reporters wear tennis shoes with their suits.

Full Speech Text: Bob Graham

In case you didn’t get enough the first time ‘round, here’s the full copy of Graham’s speech (via the DNC):

Fellow Democrats, thank you. And most especially, fellow Floridians, thank you for granting me the honor and privilege of serving you for nearly four decades. My family and I are so grateful to all of you for the wonderful adventure of public service you have made possible. Florida, you’ve made the difference for me; I know you’re going to make the difference for John Kerry and John Edwards. And this time, when the votes are counted, fellow Floridians, we are going to make a huge difference for America.

My fellow Americans, I want to tell you why I am casting my vote for John Kerry and John Edwards. The preamble to the Constitution tells us that one of the most important responsibilities of the government is to “provide for the common defense.” It has now been over one thousand days since the September 11th terrorist attacks changed our nation. One thousand days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, America had already landed on the beaches of Normandy and was rolling to victory in World War II. In that same amount of time in this new war on terror, we have not yet secured the beachhead. John Kerry and John Edwards will.

In this new century, we have seen the rise of perilous new threats. And yet we have not stopped them; we haven’t even stood up to them. John Kerry and John Edwards will. At a time when all freedom-loving people are looking for leadership to unite the world in a war against terrorism, America has not provided it. My friends, John Kerry and John Edwards will.

As Governor of Florida, I learned how little the FBI and CIA communicate with the state and local law enforcement agencies that are our first line of defense against terrorist attack. As Florida’s senator, I saw seaports where the greatest security was often little more than a chain-link fence. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I have seen the places in the world where the worst biological weapons were manufactured, where nuclear materials go unprotected, and where the next generation of terrorists is being recruited. And as chairman of that committee, I investigated the September 11th attacks and saw how they should have been prevented.

From all of my service, I’ve come to this conclusion: Yes, there are real threats. But there are also real solutions.

Just last week, the September 11th commission was the latest to recommend major changes in the way we fight the war on terror. Few of these are new. Most are obvious. Sadly, over one thousand days after September 11th, none of them are in place. The ideas are there. It’s the leadership that has been missing.

We know that North Korea and Iran have nuclear aspirations, if not nuclear weapons. And yet only John Kerry and John Edwards have a plan to keep the world’s deadliest weapons from falling into the world’s most dangerous hands. We know that money is the terrorists’ lifeline, and yet it was John Kerry, long before September 11th, who had a plan to cut off the sources of terrorist funding.

We know that our bridges, tunnels, trains, buses, chemical plants, food and water supplies, are still vulnerable to attack, and yet only John Kerry and John Edwards are willing to make the investments we need to truly be safe. And we know that Iraq didn’t attack the United States on September 11th; Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda did.

And that is why John Kerry and John Edwards will not only win the peace in Iraq, but will fight the war on terror wherever it needs to be fought: the palaces of the Middle East, the banks of Europe, the ports in Florida, the firehouses of Boston. John Kerry recognizes that victory in the war on terror requires all of the resources of the United States-diplomatic, economic, intelligence, and military.

Today, “recruiting billboards” for al Qaeda are being erected on the main streets of the Middle East. We need to work with our allies and like-minded people of the Islamic world to tear down those billboards and drain the swamp of terror. Providing for the common defense is not a piece of rhetoric from a founding document - it is the most solemn responsibility we entrust to our leaders. This is a war that demands new resources and new ideas. But most of all, it is a war that demands new leadership.

And when Americans ask, “Who will provide that leadership?” I can tell you, John Kerry and John Edwards will. For our children and grandchildren, for our security, for our country, we must elect John Kerry the next president of the United States.

Seriously: Graham's Getting Ignored

Now I really feel sorry for the guy. Nobody in Blogger’s Roost is listening. Nobody in the upper deck is listening. He’s getting applause of about the same volume that we heard during the 4:00 speeches. The Florida delegation is doing their best to give the crowd CPR … but I think I see EMT’s checking the Utah delegation for a pulse.

No kidding: the crowd didn’t realize he’d finished until the post-speech bumper music started. They picked “Jump,” thank God, and the crowd’s coming back to life.

It’s too bad for him, really.

I Feel Sorry For Bob Graham

Going from Al Sharpton to Bob Graham is like going from, well, Al Sharpton to Bob Graham. Not an easy slot for anybody … but right now in the hall, Graham’s speech feels like the post-climax afterglow, and everyone’s gone out for a smoke.

Oh … hey … he’s still talking …

Full Speech Text (At Least What He Didn't Ad Lib): Al Sharpton

The Reverend Al Sharpton’s Speech Before the Democratic National Convention Wednesday, July 28, 2004 (via DNC):

Good evening, Mr. Chairman, Assembled Delegates, Honored Guests and Friends: Throughout the history of this nation, Americans have fought to protect our freedoms at home and to secure our nation against foreign and domestic threat.

We gather tonight in Boston where 228 years ago, people fought to establish American freedom. At that time, the first person to die in the Revolutionary War was a Black man from Barbados, Crispus Attucks, who is buried not far from this Fleet Center. Forty years ago, in 1964, Fannie Lou Hamer and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic party stood at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City fighting to preserve voting rights for all Americans and all Democrats, regardless of race or gender. Hamer’s stand led to Dr. King marching in Selma, which inspired the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Twenty years ago, Rev. Jesse Jackson stood at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, again, appealing to the preservation of those freedoms.

Tonight, we stand with those freedoms at risk and our security as citizens in question. I have come here tonight to say, that the only choice we have to protect and preserve our freedoms at this point in history is the election of John Kerry as the president of the United States.

I stood with both John Kerry and John Edwards on over 30 occasions during the primary season. I debated them. I watched them. I observed their deeds. I am convinced that they are men who say what they mean and mean what they say.

I am also convinced that at a time, when there is a vicious spirit in the body politic of this country that attempts to undermine America’s freedoms - our civil rights, and civil liberties - we must leave this city and go forth and organize this nation toward victory for John Kerry and John Edwards in November. This is not just about winning an election, it’s about preserving the principles upon which this nation was founded.

Look at the current view of our nation worldwide and the results of our unilateral foreign policy. We went from unprecedented international support and solidarity on September 12, 2001, to hostility and hatred as we stand here tonight. How did we squander the opportunity to unite the world for democracy and to commit to a global fight against hunger and disease? We did it with a go-it-alone foreign policy based on flawed intelligence. We were told that we were going into Iraq because there were weapons of mass destruction. We’ve lost hundreds of soldiers. We’ve expended over 200 billion dollars at a time when we face record state deficits. And when it became clear, that the weapons were not there, the president sought to shift the purpose of the war and to challenge our patriotism.

We are also faced with the prospect, in the next four years, that two or more of the Supreme Court Justice seats will become available. This year, as we celebrated the anniversary of Brown vs. the Board of Education, this court voted 5 to 4 on critical issues of women’s rights and civil rights. It is frightening to think that the gains of the civil and women’s rights movements of the last century could be reversed if this administration sits in the White House for four more years.

This is not about a party. It is about living up to the promise of America.

The promise of America says that we will guarantee quality education for all children, and not spend more for metal detectors than computers in our schools.

The promise of America guarantees health care for all of its citizens, and does not force seniors to travel to Canada to buy prescription drugs they cannot afford here.

The promise of America provides that those who work in our health care system can afford to be hospitalized in the very beds that they clean everyday.

The promise of America is government that does not seek to regulate your behavior in the bedroom but to guarantee your right to provide food in the kitchen.

The promise of America is that we stand for human rights - whether it’s fighting slavery in Sudan, AIDS in Lesotho, or police brutality in this country.

The promise of America is one immigration policy for all who seek to enter our shores, whether they come from Mexico, Haiti, or Canada.

The promise of America is that every citizen’s vote is counted and protected, and election schemes do not decide elections.

I often hear the Republican party preach about family values, but I can tell them something about family values. Family values don’t just exist for those with two-car garages and retirement plans. Family values exist in homes with only one parent in the household making a way against the odds.

I stand here tonight, the product of a single parent home, from the depths of Brooklyn, New York. My mother was a domestic worker who scrubbed floors in other people’s homes for me. And because she scrubbed those floors, I was proud to stand as a presidential candidate.

Those are family values.

I recall that a few days after the September 11 terrorist attacks I was in a radio station that played “America the Beautiful,” as sung by Ray Charles.

As you know, we lost Ray several weeks ago, but I can still hear him singing: “Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain.”

We must leave here committed to making Ray Charles’ song a reality and to making America beautiful for everyone.

Good night, God bless you all, and God bless America!

Is Al Riffing? I Think So ...

FYI, the content on Lincoln and the emancipation proclamation, which produced by far the largest reaction of the speech to that point, was not in the version of the speech pre-released to journalists. I don’t know if he was riffing or if it was a late change … but it sure worked.

Update: This, too wasn’t in the pre-released speech: “With all due respect, Mr. president, read my lips: Our vote is not for sale.” He is riffing large parts of this speech, I believe, including much of the alliteration in the close. There’s simply too much new content for these to be late changes.

Amazing stuff …

Al's Raising The Roof

The largest applause line for Al Sharpton so far:

We are also faced with the prospect, in the next four years, that two or more of the Supreme Court Justice seats will become available. This year, as we celebrated the anniversary of Brown vs. the Board of Education, this court voted 5 to 4 on critical issues of women’s rights and civil rights. It is frightening to think that the gains of the civil and women’s rights movements of the last century could be reversed if this administration sits in the White House for four more years.

Interview With Melissa Fitzgerald

The celebrities are stumping the blogs.

Melissa Fitzgerald, who plays Carol, EA to CJ Craig on the West Wing, just spent a few minutes in Blogger’s Roost pitching for her favorite cause: Environment2004.

Rather than ask about her views on the environment, though, I asked what she thought of those who suggest celebrities should be less outspoken regarding political matters. Her response was immediate and strident:

Everyone has a right to speak and an obligation to speak … [those people] should get involved in the debate.”

Her bottom-line: she has just as much a right to make her voice heard as anyone else, and rather that critique, those who disagree should speak out as well.

I thought this was the most interesting exchange, though:

Me: “When are you starting your own blog?”

Melissa: “I just heard this word for the first time yesterday.”

Ahhh … but your PR agency … they know the word quite well, it appears.

Huge Applause For Kucinich

He comes on stage to the strands of “Power to the People,” and you’d have thought it was Elvis. Close, but no. His voice, high and narrow in range, measured in its meter, has a nearly hypnotic quality in the hall, especially as it echoes through the chamber and off the rafters. In fact, it reminds me of the recordings of Hitler (JUST the voice, trust me … no emails saying I compared DK to AH, please) in its tenor, timber, and pacing. Very surreal …

Full Speech Text: Jesse Jackson

Via the DNC:

Tonight the pendulum swings from pain to possibilities. From hurt to hope. Darkness to light. The line of progress is unbroken:

1944: My father’s generation served in the war - duty without honor.

1954: 335 years of legal race supremacy was ended. Brown versus Board of
Education.

1964: Dr. King. The Public Accommodations bill. Fannie Lou Hamer knocking
on the door at Atlantic City.

1984: The first Rainbow presidential campaign in San Francisco.

2004: Barak Obama symbolizes the line of progress and growth.

These movements enabled Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, and Clinton to be great.

In 1984 a generation of youth - Mayor Kilpatrick of Detroit, Congressman Harold Ford, Congressman Jackson, Junior, Congressman Lee, Congressman Meeks, Alicia Reece, and Reverend Al Sharpton, Congressman Bobby Rush, and Senator Tony Hill of Florida. Senator Paul Wellstone. Seeds sown are now bearing fruit. The pendulum swings, the morning cometh.

In the darkness of 2000, the winners lost and the losers won. Jewish voters in West Palm Beach, immigrants stopped at the polls, a million black votes cast, but not counted. Pain.

In the dark, our nation’s record budget surplus turned into a $500 billion deficit. In the dark, a net loss of jobs in every state. The ignored genocide in the Sudan, and the induced coup in Haiti. And yet, as the darkness abounds, hope abounds even more. For the 44 million people without health care insurance, help is on the way. For parents too afraid to call a doctor for their children because they do not know how to pay the bills, help is on the way. For our seniors, whose Social Security is at risk and who must choose between paying their rent or paying for the soaring costs of their prescription drugs, help is on the way.

This president speaks of leaving no child behind, but leaves 2 million children behind to protect the tax cut for the top 1%. Millions of youth today cannot afford college tuition and cannot find a job. Every child in America deserves a Constitutional Right to an Equal High Quality Education. Yes: Hope cometh in the morning.

In the dark, a president chooses tax cuts for millionaires but job cuts for steel and auto workers, firefighters and police. A president who talks of homeland security but wants to let AK-47’s and Uzi’s back on the street.

Hope cometh in the morning for the children of Appalachia, for coal miners dying of black lung disease every six hours.

Hope cometh in the morning, for our children who were sent to war in Iraq with bad intelligence and worse leadership. Sent to fight for a foreign policy that is foreign to our values and leaves us weaker and less secure. Sent to war in Iraq where words of mass deception are more apparent than weapons of mass destruction. It’s a moral disgrace, I tell you. A moral disgrace. A moral disgrace. America, we deserve better. Hope, cometh in the morning.

But a new day is dawning. A new America turning pain into power. Beyond the extreme right wing is a beautiful rainbow of all of God’s children. Out of the darkness of the bushes, we see the soaring of an authentic American eagle on the horizon. Hope cometh in the morning.

When I campaigned for John Kerry’s Senate campaign in 1996, he was resolved in his convictions, cool under fire. Dr. King said you measure the character of leaders in the fire of crisis. John Kerry stood in the valleys and the shadow of death in the Mekong Delta. Though wounded, he got away. A lesser man might say, “I’m lucky,” and speed away. When he heard comrades had fallen, he led his men back through the Delta to save them. When courage and duty called, he said, “Send me.” John Kerry had the faith and knew God had the power.

In the exalted realm of valor under fire, in this campaign of courage and faith and leadership and honor, John Kerry stands alone, a beacon of hope who will make America stronger, safer, and a more secure America, who will restore the values that make America great. John Kerry sees a new America through a door, not a key hole.

With studied intellect and keen insight, he saw talent and strength in John Edwards — a man whose journey is the best of American folklore. He inherited little, but worked hard and earned much, embodying hope and inspiration. He dares to stand in the gap between rich and poor, black and white, urban and rural — a vision of a new America.

The Bible speaks of the difficulties of rich young rulers getting into the Kingdom. It’s because they are intoxicated by the rarified air of privilege. John Edwards understands using wallpaper for a windbreaker. Peanut butter sandwiches and Kool-Aid. The fear of winter without heat. He grew up on the edge but now stands at the middle of reconciling the breach in our nation.

John Kerry and John Edwards will reinvest in America and put America back to work. They represent hope and healing for a new America. John Kerry and John Edwards will fight for health care for all. John Kerry and John Edwards will fight for our environment and civil rights.

Hope cometh in the morning. In 96 days dark clouds roll away. Children can rejoice. Lady Liberty will be unmasked and unshackled. We can sing again: My country ‘tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died. Land of the Pilgrim’s pride. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. She can sing that song again. The shackles will leave her arms. She can stretch forth in all of her splendor, free of crippling civil rights and liberties. She can proclaim again, “Give me your tired, give me your poor, your huddled masses who yearn to breathe free,” come November.

Let eagles fly to Washington. It’s time to bring our troops home from Iraq and send Bush home to Texas. And it’s time to send John Kerry and John Edwards to the White House this November.

Keep Hope Alive.

Thank you very much.

Blog Spotting: Eschaton

This from Atrios:

One thing that I really want to stress is just how much this event is not a canned television event. It’s one of those things you always hear about conventions, that they’re just a canned event, that they’re a show put on for the audiences at home. It’s shocking how not true that is. Sure, they’re timing the event to fit in with the hour or so of network coverage that they’ve been granted, because while a football game can cut into the Sunday night lineup, something stupid like this can’t. But, otherwise this is a show for the people who are here. And, if the media don’t like the “canned” version, they’re free to cover it any way they want, which appears to involve interviewing people in funny hats.

Atrios (who’s sitting right behind me) on Command Post. Conservative readers of this page will now say we’ve jumped the shark.

Overdelivery 101

Don’t know if you can see it on your TV, but here in the hall Martin O’Malley, Mayor of Baltimore, is over-delivering his speech. Reminds me of Spinal Tap, “This goes to 11.” Definitely striving for Kennedy-esque … falling well short.

Audioblog Post

“Keep hope alive!”

Jesse Jackson Takes The Stage

You can see the speech on TV, so I won’t post about the speech just now. Instead, I’ll remark on the sudden feeling of gratitude that has just washed over me, like a cascade of warm, soft water from above, as I heard the crowd react to this hero of the Democratic party.

It is a very fortunate thing, to watch history as we are. And it is an even more fortunate thing to be party to it. Never in my life did I think I would sit here. This, the blog, the readers … it’s all a very remarkable thing. And while it can ultimately happen in many places on this earth, it could only first happen here, in the United States, and I’m glad to be a part.

So: thank you for reading, and for giving me this front row seat to this small part of our history.

Chill Moment

In an interlude between speakers, the DNC placed a photograph of Geraldine Ferraro on-screen, with this quote, while they played the audio live over the PA.

Ladies and gentlemen of the convention: My name is Geraldine Ferraro. I stand before you to proclaim tonight: America is the land where dreams can come true for all of us …. I proudly accept your nomination for vice president of the United States.

The hall drew more quiet, people looked up from their screens, many of the delegates rose to their feet, and an unexpected chill ran throughout the crowd.

These things you can plan, but the reaction you cannot. And this time, it worked, whether you like GF or not. Wish you were here.

Actually ...

… we’re all playing Quake.

Blog Spotting: TalkLeft

Given that we don’t really opine here on the CP news pages, I’m going to occasionally link to other credentialed bloggers who do opine … especially when I see something tasty. In this case, I’m sitting next to Jeralyn Merritt of TalkLeft, one of my cohorts up here in Blogger’s Roost. She’s a little … well … liberal would be the word. REALLY liberal. So liberal that she goes after Dianne Feinstein. Witness:

Dianne Feinstein just finished. We missed her speech but don’t mind because we think she is the least liberal Democrat in the Senate. She co-sponsored the ill-advised gang bill. She co-sponsored the unnecessary federal Victim’s Rights Amendment. She loves joining up with that paragon of democracy, Orrin Hatch. Spare us. If we were watching on tv, we’d mute her.

Asses In Action

While making my way through the Fleet I passed a woman, Julie Brickman, selling t-shirts that read “Donkeys In The Desert” on the front and “Asses In Action” on the back. I stopped to chat and explore the shtick, and as it turns out, she’s selling the shirts to raise money for the Iraq chapter of Democrats Abroad. DA organizes absentee ballot collection for expat registered Democrats worldwide.

Nice conversation, nice shirt … but here’s what I found interesting: by her account there is significantly greater activity in registering and organizing Dem absentee balloting than in 2000. “Significant?” I asked. “No question … it’s huge,” she said, with 20 new committees formed in recent months.

Given the razor-thin electoral margin many are predicting, this element of the Get Out The Vote effort is likely worth watching.

Visit Democrats Abroad here, and the Iraq chapter, Donkeys In The Desert here. There’s also some blogging about DITD here and here. Also see this New Yorker article.

What?

Dianne Feinstein: A warm welcome, but from up here, completely unintelligible. Somebody let me know if she said something insightful.

It Officially Begins

Over the PA: “Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the presidential nomination process.”

Then, Dianne Feinstein:

“I am pleased to place the name of John Kerry into nomination to become the 44th president of the United States.”

An Increase In Partisanship

To this point, one of the minor stories at the convention has been the limited number of direct references to president Bush during the speeches. The directness of attack was increased today, though, by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President, Waterkeeper Alliance and Chief Prosecuting Attorney, Riverkeeper. I’ll try to find the speech and post it, but it was quite aggressive, especially regarding environmental policy.

What To Expect From Shalikashvili

Via the DNC, an excerpt from the speech General John Shalikashvili will deliver before the Democratic National Convention:

“As a young man, he heeded his country’s call to service when it needed him. He commanded in combat and did so with bravery and distinction. He knows from experience a commander’s responsibility to his troops. He stands with our troops and with their families and that is why I stand with John Kerry.”

Excerpts Of Elizabeth Edwards' Convention Speech

Via the DNC, here are excerpts of the speech Elizabeth Edwards will deliver later tonight:

John Kerry was in the Navy, and so was my father. I grew up traveling around the world, living on Navy bases, but I always knew I was home when I saw the American flag. Like John Kerry, my father fought for this country; like John Kerry, he was decorated risking his life in her service. My father has another thing in common with John Kerry and with so many of our uniformed men and women across this country and around the world: he has the right stuff

***

I married the smartest, toughest, sweetest man I know … But none of the things I have mentioned are the reason I married John Edwards. I married him because he was the single most optimistic person I have ever known. He knew there was a brighter day ahead even as he swept the floors in the cotton mill as a high school student. He knew, if he worked hard enough, he could be the first in his family to go to college. He knew that he could outwork and any battalion of lawyers to find justice, and he continued that fight in Washington. Courageously, eloquently, with one over-arching and simple goal: to make the great opportunities of America available to all Americans.

We deserve leaders who allow their faith and moral core — our faiths and moral core — to draw us closer together, not drive us farther apart. We deserve leaders who believe in each of us.

Exceprts Of Edwards' Speech

Some of what you can expect to hear tonight from John Edwards’ (via DNC email):

These are the values John Kerry and I believe in, and nothing makes me prouder than standing with him in this campaign. I am so humbled to be your candidate for Vice President of the United States.

***

[John Kerry’s crewmates] saw up close what he’s made of. They saw him reach down and pull one of his men from the river and save his life. And in the heat of battle, they saw him decide in an instant to turn his boat around, drive it straight through an enemy position, and chase down the enemy to save his crew.

Decisive. Strong. Aren’t these the traits you want in a Commander in Chief?

***

The Republicans are doing all they can to take this campaign for the highest office in the land down the lowest possible road.

This is where you come in. Between now and November-you, the American people-you can reject the tired, old, hateful, negative, politics of the past. And instead you can embrace the politics of hope, the politics of what’s possible because this is America, where everything is possible.

***

Some of our friends and neighbors saw their last images in Baghdad. Some took their last steps outside of Fallujah. And some buttoned their uniform for the final time before they went off and saved their unit.

Men and women who used to take care of themselves, they now count on others to see them through the day. They need their mother to tie their shoe, their husband to brush their hair, and their wife’s arm to help them across the room.

The stars and stripes wave for them. The word hero was made for them. They are the best and the bravest. They will never be left behind, and you understand that. And they deserve a president who understands that on the most personal level what they have gone through — what they have given and what they have given up for their country.

The Scene

Wednesday’s convention is under way. There’s not really any “news” here at the moment, but perhaps I can offer a sense of what it’s like being here. First, the hall is perhaps a quarter full on the floor, and nearly empty in the bowl. Although the speakers have begun, the media seats are vacant, and it’s clearly a time in which delegates are making their way here from sightseeing, late caucus meetings, and other mid-day activities.

The delegates that are here are in full-on “mill mode,” making their way across the floor, visiting with each other and talking in small groups.

The early speeches are very brief … perhaps five minutes. The people who are seated appear generally attentive, but the listening audience is much smaller than the number of people in the hall. It’s also clear that the people who are here are skewed to the delegates of the speakers … the entire Washington delegation just rose and cheered for the latest speaker, a member of their elected representatives.

The delegation is very much the cast of characters you see in TV cut shots. From my perch (and we are on a perch, nearly at the top of the Fleet Center), a number of colorful floppy top hats are in view, as are a number of Statue of Liberty hats, American Flag hats, and the old convention standard: the Uncle Sam hat. Hats, it seems, are very much the thing, and I suppose the discerning delegate carefully considers their choice of hat.

My favorite delegate, though, is this gentleman, whom I’ve been calling “Orange Guy.” (Click the pic to see it full-sized.) He’s actually Michael J. “Orange Mike” Lowrey, a Dean delegate from Wisconsin’s 4th Congressional District in Milwaukee. He’s sort of a Hagrid in hunter’s-orange pants, shirt, and hat.

It takes a certain amount of courage to walk about the city of Boston in hunger-orange regalia. A certain level of confidence … and panache. Gotta admire a guy like Orange Mike. From now on, whenever I see the DNC, or hunter orange, I’ll think: Orange Mike … he’s the man.

Lieberman Or Cleland: What Would You Ask?

I’ve signed on to try and interview Joe Lieberman and Max Cleland tomorrow. No guarantees, but who knows … it might work out. So my question is: what’s your question? If there’s anything you’d like me to ask either gentleman, post it in the comments. I’m more than happy to say, “One of my readers wants to know.” BUT … keep it civil, respectful, and serious. Don’t make me sort through snarky questions, please.

Blogger’s Roost Visit: The K/E Campaign

Some of the folks from the Kerry / Edwards campaign just stopped by Blogger’s Roost to say hello. One in particular, Kerry advisor Peter Daou, blogs for the campaign himself … read his posts here.

Like everyone else I’m seeing up here: friendly, earnest, and frighteningly smart. I suspect he was part of the powers-that-be that got us here, and for that he (and the entire K/E camp) has my thanks.

Only Via Blogs

Just came across this in a convention blog post at Democracy for Vancouver:

Before I begin, I want to mention that Madeleine Albright fell on me and I didn’t recognize her. I said to the guy next to me, “some random old lady just fell on me” and he responded, “That was Madeleine Albright.”

Love it.

The Non-Story Story: Violence & Disruption Go To The Cape

I had breakfast with Dan Rubin this morning, and one of the things we talked about was what may be THE key story out of Boston so far:

There’s no story in Boston so far.

We expected the convention itself to be a “non-news” convention … the ticket’s wrapped up, it’s a party production (the DNC even hired an Emmy-winning TV award show producer to do the creative production), etc.

What I didn’t expect was the extreme lack of news outside the convention.

I have not seen protesters (the protester pen notwithstanding), save some friendly Lyndon LaRouche and Billionaires for Bush folks passing out literature. I have not seen any evidence of discord. I have not heard a police officer raise his or her voice. I have not even, truthfully, seen any people. Boston is empty (any locals with any sense abandoned the core of the city days ago). I expect my rush-hour ride in this morning took less time that it would on a Sunday morning.

And how’s this for a statistic: this morning I heard that as of last night there has not been a single convention-related arrest (something I’ll try to confirm).

And in my mind that’s a hell of a story … this convention is so far from 1968, it almost seems like it was 36 years ago. Let’s hope it stays that way …

WEC: Dems contesting Nader on S.C. ballot

Nader off S.C. ballot?

 Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader will not be on South Carolina’s Election Day ballots, state Democratic Chairman Joe Erwin predicted at a breakfast Wednesday for the state’s convention delegates.

Former U.S. Rep. John Jenrette, D-S.C., (pictured) was among those attending.

While Nader’s Web site reports more than 11,000 signatures have been collected in South Carolina, Erwin said the petitions do not have enough valid names. State Election Commission spokeswoman Hannah Majewski said the Nader campgain met the July 15 deadline and turned in about 800 signatures more than the 10,000 required to get on November’s ballot.

Thursday Schedule Of Events

This via the DNC (email). I plan to at least attend the National Security Advisors briefing.

11 am BRIEFING: EAST/MIDWEST POLITICAL BRIEFING

• LOCATION: Sheraton Boston Hotel
• State directors and top political leaders from Pennsylvania,
• Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Maine, and New Hampshire will brief media on John Kerry and John Edward’s messages and update reporters on the Kerry-Edwards fast-growing grassroots operation in the field.

11:30 am KERRY ARRIVES BOSTON LOGAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

• Location: Signature Flight Support, 240 Prescott Street, East Boston
• Event: Kerry will be met by his crewmates from Vietnam before they board a boat to cross Boston Harbor for an arrival ceremony at Charlestown Navy Yard, Pier 4

12 pm KERRY COMPLETE JOURNEY ON AMERICA’S FREEDOM TRAIL WITH AN ARRIVAL CELEBRATION IN BOSTON

• LOCATION: Charlestown Navy Yard, Pier 4, 197 8th Street, Flagship Wharf, Charlestown

12:30 pm BRIEFING: KERRY CAMPAIGN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISORS

• LOCATION; Back Bay A Ballroom, Sheraton Boston Hotel, 39 Dalton Street
• EXPECTED SPEAKERS: General Wesley Clark, General Tony McPeak (former chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force), Rand Beers (Kerry senior advisor on national security), Dr. Susan Rice, and Admiral Gunn

2:30 pm BRIEFING: DEMOCRATIC HISPANIC CANDIDATES DISCUSS HOW THE KERRY-EDWARDS PLAN WILL IMPACT THEIR LIVES

• LOCATION: Back Bay A Ballroom, Sheraton Boston Hotel, 39 Dalton Street
• SPEAKERS: Carissa Romero (college student, Ohio), Mark Haro (veteran, Florida), Dr. Laura Elias de la Torre (family practice physician, Arizona), Richardo Hernandez (educator, Arizona)

5 pm MAX CLELAND AND VETERANS VISIT HOMELESS SHELTERS

Observations 1 & 2: Youth & Beauty

It was early in my evening last night that I stumbled across my first two observations about the DNC: a disproportionate percentage of the people in attendance are (1) young and (2) very attractive. Seriously … many, many young, lean, well-dressed, attractive folks walking about. Four morphologies are dominant:

• Blue-Suited Young Staffer Guy: The Blue-Suited Young Staffer Guy, in his natural environment, tends to cluster in small groups. Mean age is 27; mean body fat is 5 percent. Likely is a Legislative Affairs staffer, or perhaps a media staffer. If left to roam in his preferred environment, he will make a self-important sounding call on his cell phone.

• Trim Skirt-Wearing Staffer Girl: The Trim Skirt-Wearing Staffer Girl walks always in pairs. Mean age is a bit older than Blue-Suited Young Staffer Guy … possibly 31, body fat percentage is even lower. Professionally, skews toward media. Often pursued by Blue-Suited Young Staffer Guy, but if left to roam in her preferred environment, will walk rapidly toward a location of presumed importance, but can be easily distracted by people of fame and import.

• Delegate: Delegates look much more like you and I, if you and I were to wear red, white, and blue Cat In The Hat hats. Delegates, if left to roam in their preferred environment, will gather together in large groups and seek the nearest source of complementary food and drink.

• Blogger: The least attractive people here … avoid the Blogger at all cost. (Candidly, the blogger contingent here is very impressive. I just listed to David Sifry describe Technorati’s thinking on power curves and media link distribution. The guy is incredibly smart, and the people up here in Blogger’s Roost impress me with their brains and diligence—present company excluded, of course).

So there was very much a “fraternity party” feel around the parts of the city I frequented last night. Not that there’s anything wrong with that … but the level of partying done by young, attractive people here isn’t something of which I had heard (or expected). Tonight we’ll see if it’s any different in the hall itself.

New Book: Kerry Acted-Out Vietnam Footage For His Own Camera

Naval Officer John E. O‘Neill reveals in his new book, “Unfit for Command,” that John Kerry acted-out footage of himself in Vietnam, after the underlying events were over, for the benefit of his own Super 8 video camera

In “Unfit for Command,” Naval Officer John E. O‘Neill reveals that John Kerry acted-out footage of himself in Vietnam, after the underlying events were over, for the benefit of his own Super 8 video camera and his anticipated political career.

Similar reports have been made by New York Times bestselling author Lt. Col. Robert “Buzz” Patterson, author of “Reckless Disregard.”

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Via the Drudge Report.

The link to the nikita demosthenes post is here.

Small Town

Time for a color post: John Mellencamp is rehearsing at the moment, and a small crowd had gathered to watch and listen. Here’s a pic, and click here to listen to a clip I’ve recorded.

In The Roost

I post this from Blogger’s Roost at the Fleet Center … I’ve uploaded a pic from the main / print media section of today’s setup. I’m sitting next to Hugh Hewitt, who’s every bit as pleasurable as he seems. Apologies for starting so late … it took some time to get credentials and make my way here. Forward …

Convention Coverage

Covering the DNC like butter on bread: it’s the a supplement to this week’s Toast-O-Meter.

The 11 Minute RNC Kerry on Iraq Video

The link to the 11 minute RNC video detailing John Kerry’s shifting positions on the subject of Iraq may be found here. It’s available in streaming Real Player and Windows Media format.

The video tracks, with video of interviews, various statements made by Senator Kerry, on the various positions he’s expressed on the subject of Iraq and Saddam Hussein over the years. It also highlights Senator Kerry’s apparent shift in position against the timeline of the Howard Dean phenomena leading up to the Democratic Primaries.

An interesting subject that will certainly be the fodder of debate in the coming months.

Wednesday at the DNC

Today’s theme is “A Stronger More Secure America”

The speaker lineup is:

• Steve Brozak, Ret. Lt. Col., USMC, Candidate for U.S.
  Representative from New Jersey
• Elijah Cummings, U.S. Representative from Maryland
• Cate Edwards, Daughter of John Edwards
• Elizabeth Edwards, Wife of John Edwards
• John Edwards, Democratic Vice-Presidential Nominee
• Bob Graham, U.S. Senator from Florida, 2004 Presidential
  Candidate
• Jennifer Granholm, Governor of Michigan
• Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 2004 Presidential Candidate
• Greg Meeks, U.S. Representative from New York
• Martin O’Malley, Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland
• Harry Reid, U.S. Senator from Nevada
• Ed Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania
• Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico
• Al Sharpton, 2004 Presidential Candidate

Bush Campaign: Tuesday Night Speakers "Centrist Democrats"

I received a rather unusual email this morning from the Bush campaign, signed by Jeb Bush; the opening lines caught my attention:

The extreme makeover of John Kerry continued last night in Boston.

Centrist Democrats paraded across your television screen to praise the most liberal Senator in Washington and his running mate - the 4th most liberal member of the Senate.

As this is the news page and not the op-ed, I’ll just note the oddity of describing a prime time lineup whose three elected Democrats were Ted Kennedy, Howard Dean and Barack Obama (see the full day’s speaker list here) as “Centrist Democrats.”

NASA Denies Dirty Trick

NASA denies the Kerry campaign’s dirty tricks charge. The Washington Times reports that NASA told Fox News that the Kerry team saw the “bunny suit” photos before publication and passed on the release of the photos:

A NASA spokesman told the top-rated cable network that the images were given to the Kerry campaign to review before several were posted on the Kennedy Space Center Web site.

In no way were photographs “leaked,” the spokesman said.

[. . .]

According to the Fox News Web site (www.foxnews.com), the NASA spokesman said the space agency provided a photographer to document Mr. Kerry’s tour, but said NASA released no images directly to the press.

From California Yankee.

Speech Text: THK

Courtesy the DNC (via email), here are tonight’s comments from Teresa Heinz Kerry:

Thank you, Christopher. Your father would be proud of you and your brothers. I love you and all our family.

My name is Teresa Heinz Kerry. And by now I hope it will come as no surprise to anyone that I have something to say.

And tonight, as I have done throughout this campaign I would like to speak to you from my heart. Y a todos los Hispanos, los Latinos; a tous les Americains, Francais et Canadiens; a tutti Italiani; a toda a familia Portugesa e Brazileria; to all my continental African family living in this country, and to all new Americans: I invite you to join our conversation, and together with us work towards the noblest purpose of all: a free, good, and democratic society.

I am grateful for the opportunity to stand before you and say a few words about my husband, John Kerry, and why I firmly believe he should be the next president of the United States.

This is such a powerful moment for me. Like many other Americans, like many of you, and like even more of your parents and grandparents, I was not born in this country. As you have seen, I grew up in East Africa, in Mozambique, in a land that was then under a dictatorship. My father-a wonderful, caring man who practiced medicine for 43 years, and taught me how to understand disease and wellness-only got the right to vote for the first time when he was 71 years old. That’s what happens in dictatorships.

As a young woman, I attended Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, South Africa, which was then not segregated. But I witnessed the weight of apartheid everywhere around me. And so, with my fellow students we marched against its extension into higher education. This was the late 50’s, the dawn of the civil rights marches in America. As history records, our efforts in South Africa failed and the Higher Education Apartheid Act was passed. Apartheid tightened its ugly grip, the Sharpsville riots followed, and a short while later Nelson Mandela was arrested and sent to Robin Island.

I learned something then, and I believe it still. There is a value in taking a stand whether or not anyone may be noticing and whether or not it is a risky thing to do. And if even those who are in danger can raise their lonely voices, isn’t more required of all of us, in this land where liberty had her birth?

I have a very personal feeling about how special America is, and I know how precious freedom is. It is a sacred gift, sanctified by those who have lived it and those who have died defending it. My right to speak my mind, to have a voice, to be what some have called “opinionated,” is a right I deeply and profoundly cherish. My only hope is that, one day soon, women-who have all

earned the right to their opinions-instead of being labeled opinionated, will be called smart or well-informed, just as men are.

Tonight I want to remember my mother’s warmth, generosity, wisdom, and hopefulness, and thank her for all the sacrifices she made on our behalf, like so many other mothers. This evening, I want to acknowledge and honor the women of this world, whose wise voices for much too long have been excluded and discounted. It is time for the world to hear women’s voices, in full and at last.

In the past year, I have been privileged to meet with Americans all across this land. They voiced many different concerns, but one they all seemed to share was about America’s role in the world-what we want this great country of ours to stand for.

To me, one of the best faces America has ever projected is the face of a Peace Corps volunteer. That face symbolizes this country: young, curious, brimming with idealism and hope-and a real honest compassion. Those young people convey an idea of America that is all about heart and creativity, generosity and confidence-a practical, can-do sense and a big, big smile. For many generations of people around the globe, that is what America has represented. A symbol of hope, a beacon brightly lit by the optimism of its people-people coming from all over the world.

Americans believed they could know all there is to know, build all there is to build, break down any barrier, tear down any wall. We sent men to the moon, and when that was not far enough, we sent Galileo to Jupiter, we sent Cassini to Saturn, and Hubble to touch the very edges of the universe at the very dawn of time. Americans showed the world what can happen when people believe in amazing possibilities.

And, that, for me, is the spirit of America-the America you and I are working for in this election. It is the America that people all across this nation want to restore-from Iowa to California, from Florida to Michigan, from Washington State to my home state of Pennsylvania. It is the America the world wants to see, shining, hopeful, and bright once again. And that is the America that my husband John Kerry wants to lead.

John believes in a bright future. He believes we can, and we will, invent the technologies, new materials, and conservation methods of the future. He believes that alternative fuels will guarantee that not only will no American boy or girl go to war because of our dependence on foreign oil, but also that our economy will forever become independent of this need. We can, and we will, create good, competitive, and sustainable jobs while still protecting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the health of our children, because good environmental policy is good economics.

John believes that we can, and we will, give every family and every child access to affordable health care, a good education, and the tools to become self-reliant. John Kerry believes we must, and we should, recognize the immense value of the caregivers in our country-those women and men who nurture and care for children, for elderly parents, for family members in need. These are the people who build and support our most valuable assets-our families. Isn’t it time we began working to give parents more opportunity to be with their children, and to afford to have a family life?

With John Kerry as president, we can, and we will, protect our nation’s security without sacrificing our civil liberties. In short, John believes we can, and we must, lead in the world-as America, unique among nations, always should-by showing the face, not of our fears, but of our hopes.

John is a fighter. He earned his medals the old-fashioned way, by putting his life on the line for his country. No one will defend this nation more vigorously than he will-and he will always be first in the line of fire.

But he also knows the importance of getting it right. For him, the names of too many friends inscribed in the cold stone of the Vietnam Memorial testify to the awful toll exacted by leaders who mistake stubbornness for strength. That is why, as president, my husband will not fear disagreement or dissent. He believes that our voices-yours and mine-must be the voices of freedom. And if we do not speak, neither does she.

In America, the true patriots are those who dare speak truth to power. The truth we must speak now is that America has responsibilities that it is time for us to accept again.

With John Kerry as president, global climate change and other threats to the health of our planet will begin to be reversed. With John Kerry as president, the alliances that bind the community of nations and that truly make our country and the world a safer place, will be strengthened once more.

The Americans John and I have met in the course of this campaign all want America to provide hopeful leadership again. They want America to return to its moral bearings. It is not a moralistic America they seek, but a moral nation that understands and willingly shoulders its obligations; a moral nation that rejects thoughtless and greedy choices in favor of thoughtful and generous actions; a moral nation that leads through the power of its ideas and the power of its example. We can and we should join together to make the most of this great gift we have been given, this gift of freedom, this gift of America.

In his first inaugural, speaking to a nation on the eve of war, Abraham Lincoln said, “We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearth- stone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

Today, the better angels of our nature are just waiting to be summoned. We only require a leader who is willing to call on them, a leader willing to draw again on the mystic chords of our national memory and remind us of all that we, as a people, everyday leaders, can do; of all that we as a nation stand for and of all the immense possibility that still lies ahead.

I think I’ve found just the guy. I’m married to him.

John Kerry will give us back our faith in America. He will restore our faith in ourselves and in the sense of limitless opportunity that has always been America’s gift to the world.

Together we will lift everyone up. We have to. It’s possible. And you know what? It’s the American thing to do. Goodnight and God bless.

Speech Text: Ron Reagan

Here’s the full text of Ron Reagan’s Democratic National Convention comments, via the DNCC (email):

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

A few of you may be surprised to see someone with my last name showing up to speak at a Democratic convention. Let me assure you, I am not here to make a political speech, and the topic at hand should not — must not — have anything to do with partisanship.

I am here tonight to talk about the issue of research into what may be the greatest medical breakthrough in our or in any lifetime: the use of embryonic stem cells — cells created using the material of our own bodies — to cure a wide range of fatal and debilitating illnesses: Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, lymphoma, spinal cord injuries, and much more. Millions are afflicted. Every year, every day, tragedy is visited upon families across the country, around the world.

Now, we may be able to put an end to this suffering. We only need to try. Some of you already know what I’m talking about when I say “embryonic stem cell research.” Others of you are probably thinking, hmm, that’s quite a mouthful, what is this all about?

Let me try and paint as simple a picture as I can while still doing justice to the incredible science involved. Let’s say that ten or so years from now you are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. There is currently no cure and drug therapy, with its attendant side-effects, can only temporarily relieve the symptoms.

Now, imagine going to a doctor who, instead of prescribing drugs, takes a few skin cells from your arm. The nucleus of one of your cells is placed into a donor egg whose own nucleus has been removed. A bit of chemical or electrical stimulation will encourage your cell’s nucleus to begin dividing, creating new cells which will then be placed into a tissue culture. Those cells will generate embryonic stem cells containing only your DNA, thereby eliminating the risk of tissue rejection. These stem cells are then driven to become the very neural cells that are defective in Parkinson’s patients. And finally, those cells — with your DNA — are injected into your brain where they will replace the faulty cells whose failure to produce adequate dopamine led to the Parkinson’s disease in the first place.

In other words, you’re cured. And another thing, these embryonic stem cells, they could continue to replicate indefinitely and, theoretically, can be induced to recreate virtually any tissue in your body. How’d you like to have your own personal biological repair kit standing by at the hospital? Sound like magic? Welcome to the future of medicine.

By the way, no fetal tissue is involved in this process. No fetuses are created, none destroyed. This all happens in the laboratory at the cellular level.

Now, there are those who would stand in the way of this remarkable future, who would deny the federal funding so crucial to basic research. They argue that interfering with the development of even the earliest stage embryo, even one that will never be implanted in a womb and will never develop into an actual fetus, is tantamount to murder. A few of these folks, needless to say, are just grinding a political axe and they should be ashamed of themselves. But many are well-meaning and sincere. Their belief is just that, an article of faith, and they are entitled to it.

But it does not follow that the theology of a few should be allowed to forestall the health and well-being of the many. And how can we affirm life if we abandon those whose own lives are so desperately at risk?

It is a hallmark of human intelligence that we are able to make distinctions. Yes, these cells could theoretically have the potential, under very different circumstances, to develop into human beings — that potential is where their magic lies. But they are not, in and of themselves, human beings. They have no fingers and toes, no brain or spinal cord. They have no thoughts, no fears. They feel no pain. Surely we can distinguish between these undifferentiated cells multiplying in a tissue culture and a living, breathing person-a parent, a spouse, a child.

I know a child — well, she must be 13 now — I’d better call her a young woman. She has fingers and toes. She has a mind. She has memories. She has hopes. And she has juvenile diabetes.

Like so many kids with this disease, she has adjusted amazingly well. The insulin pump she wears — she’s decorated hers with rhinestones. She can insert her own catheter needle. She has learned to sleep through the blood drawings in the wee hours of the morning. She’s very brave. She is also quite bright and understands full well the progress of her disease and what that might ultimately mean: blindness, amputation, diabetic coma. Every day, she fights to have a future.

What excuse will we offer this young woman should we fail her now? What might we tell her children? Or the millions of others who suffer? That when given an opportunity to help, we turned away? That facing political opposition, we lost our nerve? That even though we knew better, we did nothing?

And, should we fail, how will we feel if, a few years from now, a more enlightened generation should fulfill the promise of embryonic stem cell therapy? Imagine what they would say of us who lacked the will.

No, we owe this young woman and all those who suffer — we owe ourselves - - better than that. We are better than that. A wiser people, a finer nation. And for all of us in this fight, let me say: we will prevail.

The tide of history is with us. Like all generations who have come before ours, we are motivated by a thirst for knowledge and compelled to see others in need as fellow angels on an often difficult path, deserving of our compassion.

In a few months, we will face a choice. Yes, between two candidates and two parties, but more than that. We have a chance to take a giant stride forward for the good of all humanity. We can choose between the future and the past, between reason and ignorance, between true compassion and mere ideology. This is our moment, and we must not falter.

Whatever else you do come November 2nd, I urge you, please, cast a vote for embryonic stem cell research. Thank you for your time.

Speech Text: Barack Obama

From the DNCC via email, the full text of Barack Obama’s convention speech:

On behalf of the great state of Illinois, crossroads of a nation, land of Lincoln, let me express my deep gratitude for the privilege of addressing this convention. Tonight is a particular honor for me because, let’s face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a foreign student, born and raised in a small village in Kenya. He grew up herding goats, went to school in a tin-roof shack. His father, my grandfather, was a cook, a domestic servant.

But my grandfather had larger dreams for his son. Through hard work and perseverance my father got a scholarship to study in a magical place; America which stood as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so many who had come before. While studying here, my father met my mother. She was born in a town on the other side of the world, in Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs and farms through most of the Depression. The day after Pearl Harbor he signed up for duty, joined Patton’s army and marched across Europe. Back home, my grandmother raised their baby and went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the GI Bill, bought a house through FHA, and moved west in search of opportunity.

And they, too, had big dreams for their daughter, a common dream, born of two continents. My parents shared not only an improbable love; they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or “blessed,” believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success. They imagined me going to the best schools in the land, even though they weren’t rich, because in a generous America you don’t have to be rich to achieve your potential. They are both passed away now. Yet, I know that, on this night, they look down on me with pride.

I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents’ dreams live on in my precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible. Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation, not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night and know they are fed and clothed and safe from harm. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe or hiring somebody’s son. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted — or at least, most of the time.

This year, in this election, we are called to reaffirm our values and commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and see how we are measuring up, to the legacy of our forbearers, and the promise of future generations. And fellow Americans — Democrats, Republicans, Independents — I say to you tonight: we have more work to do. More to do for the workers I met in Galesburg, Illinois, who are losing their union jobs at the Maytag plant that’s moving to Mexico, and now are having to compete with their own children for jobs that pay seven bucks an hour. More to do for the father I met who was losing his job and choking back tears, wondering how he would pay $4,500 a month for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits he counted on. More to do for the young woman in East St. Louis, and thousands more like her, who has the grades, has the drive, has the will, but doesn’t have the money to go to college.

Don’t get me wrong. The people I meet in small towns and big cities, in diners and office parks, they don’t expect government to solve all their problems. They know they have to work hard to get ahead and they want to. Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don’t want their tax money wasted by a welfare agency or the Pentagon. Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone can’t teach kids to learn. They know that parents have to parent, that children can’t achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white. No, people don’t expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better. And they want that choice.

In this election, we offer that choice. Our party has chosen a man to lead us who embodies the best this country has to offer. That man is John Kerry. John Kerry understands the ideals of community, faith, and sacrifice, because they’ve defined his life. From his heroic service in Vietnam to his years as prosecutor and lieutenant governor, through two decades in the United States Senate, he has devoted himself to this country. Again and again, we’ve seen him make tough choices when easier ones were available. His values and his record affirm what is best in us.

John Kerry believes in an America where hard work is rewarded. So instead of offering tax breaks to companies shipping jobs overseas, he’ll offer them to companies creating jobs here at home. John Kerry believes in an America where all Americans can afford the same health coverage our politicians in Washington have for themselves. John Kerry believes in energy independence, so we aren’t held hostage to the profits of oil companies or the sabotage of foreign oil fields. John Kerry believes in the constitutional freedoms that have made our country the envy of the world, and he will never sacrifice our basic liberties nor use faith as a wedge to divide us. And John Kerry believes that in a dangerous world, war must be an option, but it should never be the first option.

A while back, I met a young man named Shamus at the VFW Hall in East Moline, Illinois. He was a good-looking kid, six-two or six-three, clear eyed, with an easy smile. He told me he’d joined the Marines and was heading to Iraq the following week. As I listened to him explain why he’d enlisted, his absolute faith in our country and its leaders, his devotion to duty and service, I thought this young man was all any of us might hope for in a child. But then I asked myself: Are we serving Shamus as well as he was serving us? I thought of more than 900 service men and women, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, friends and neighbors, who will not be returning to their hometowns. I thought of families I had met who were struggling to get by without a loved one’s full income, or whose loved ones had returned with a limb missing or with nerves shattered, but who still lacked long-term health benefits because they were reservists. When we send our young men and women into harm’s way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they’re going, to care for their families while they’re gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world.

Now let me be clear. We have real enemies in the world. These enemies must be found. They must be pursued and they must be defeated. John Kerry knows this. And just as Lieutenant Kerry did not hesitate to risk his life to protect the men who served with him in Vietnam, President Kerry will not hesitate one moment to use our military might to keep America safe and secure. John Kerry believes in America. And he knows it’s not enough for just some of us to prosper. For alongside our famous individualism, there’s another ingredient in the American saga.

A belief that we are connected as one people. If there’s a child on the south side of Chicago who can’t read, that matters to me, even if it’s not my child. If there’s a senior citizen somewhere who can’t pay for her prescription and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it’s not my grandmother. If there’s an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It’s that fundamental belief — I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sisters’ keeper — that makes this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family. “E pluribus unum.” Out of many, one.

Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America — there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don’t like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? John Kerry calls on us to hope. John Edwards calls on us to hope. I’m not talking about blind optimism here — the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don’t talk about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. No, I’m talking about something more substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker’s son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. The audacity of hope!

In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation; the belief in things not seen; the belief that there are better days ahead. I believe we can give our middle class relief and provide working families with a road to opportunity. I believe we can provide jobs to the jobless, homes to the homeless, and reclaim young people in cities across America from violence and despair. I believe that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices, and meet the challenges that face us. America!

Tonight, if you feel the same energy I do, the same urgency I do, the same passion I do, the same hopefulness I do — if we do what we must do, then I have no doubt that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon, from Washington to Maine, the people will rise up in November, and John Kerry will be sworn in as president, and John Edwards will be sworn in as vice president, and this country will reclaim its promise, and out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come. Thank you and God bless you.

Dean Speech

From the DNCC via email, Howard Dean’s convention remarks:

I was hoping for a reception like this. I was just hoping that it would be on Thursday night, instead of on Tuesday night.

I may not be the nominee, but I can tell you this: For the next hundred days, I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure that John Kerry and John Edwards take our country back for the people who built it. Because tonight, we’re all here to represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic party.

I’m proud of John Kerry’s leadership, and I intend to stand shoulder to shoulder with him as we fight for the things Harry Truman promised in 1948: health insurance for every American, a real jobs plan to create jobs instead of destroy them. Standing up for middle class and working Americans who got a tax increase, not a tax cut. And a foreign policy that relies on telling the truth to the American people before we send our brave American soldiers to fight in foreign lands. I’d like a commander-in-chief who supports our soldiers and our veterans, instead of cutting their hardship pay when they’re abroad, and their health benefits when they get home.

I’m Howard Dean. And I’m voting for John Kerry.

I’m voting for John Kerry and John Edwards because I’m tired of seeing hard-working Americans struggling with jobs that pay less than they did four years ago. I’m voting for John Kerry and John Edwards because I want a president and vice president as good and as strong as the American people. And I’m voting for John Kerry and John Edwards because I want to see America restored as the moral leader of the world.

America’s greatness rests on far more than the power of our arms. Our greatness is also measured by our goodness. It is in the capacity of our minds, the size of our hearts, and the strength of our democracy.

As I’ve traveled America, I’ve seen that strength. I’ve seen it in the people I’ve met and their desire to take our country back for the American people. I saw it in a college student in Pennsylvania who sold her bicycle and sent us a check for $100 with a note that said, “I sold my bicycle for democracy.” I saw it in a woman from Iowa who handed me $50-all in quarters. She saved it from her monthly disability check, because she wanted to make America well again. And I saw it in the 19-year-old from Alabama who had never been involved in politics before he got in his car and drove up to Vermont, because he didn’t feel like he was being heard in Washington.

He was just one of so many. They learned that politics was too important to be left to the politicians. They didn’t just pack their bags-they backed their hopes that we can take our country back. And you know what? We will.

We’re not going to be afraid to stand up for what we believe. We’re not going to let those who disagree with us shout us down under a banner of false patriotism. And we’re not going to give up a single voter, or a single state. We’re going to be proud to call ourselves Democrats, not just here in Boston. We’re going to be proud to call ourselves Democrats in Mississippi, proud to call ourselves Democrats in Utah and Idaho. And we’re going to be proud to call ourselves Democrats in Texas.

Never again will we be ashamed to call ourselves Democrats. Never. Never. Never. We’re not just going to change presidents, we’re going to change this country and reclaim the American dream.

To everyone who supported me — you’ve given me so much, and I can’t thank you enough. But this was never about me. It was about us. It was about giving new life to our party, new energy to our democracy, and providing hope again for the greatest nation on earth.

And so, today, even though you have already given so much-I want to ask you to give one more thing: Give America President John Kerry. Together, we can take our country back. And only you have the power to make it happen.

Lines of the Night 1 & 2

I spent most of the night in The Purple Shamrock, a local haunt that for the first part of the night was party to the Captain Morgan party, and after that was simply a party party. As the night wore on the place was primarily haunted by locals. So I asked the question, “Tell me about Ted Kennedy.”

Here was the answer, verbatim: “Ted Kennedy could blow up the universe, and I’d still vote for him … he’s the best advocate Massachusetts has ever had.”

So then I ask: “Tell me about John Kerry.” The answer: “He’s the lesser of two evils. Bush is bad, but Kerry isn’t as bad.”

So I’m like, “What? Isn’t this your favorite son? What’s the deal?? Is Kerry a waffler?”

To which this Massachusetts self-proclaimed-liberal replies (and I quote): “Well, for the most part … yes.”

Huh? The local folks proclaiming their own senator a waffler and the lesser of two evils? True, it’s casual random sampling, N of like, 3. But still … it’s gonna’ be a long campaign.

Billionaires for Bush

Still at The Purple Shamrock (but not drinking … it is, after all, a weeknight). One of my interesting encounters tonight was with Billionaires for Bush, a sardonic parody organization that poses as rich people (think the little guy on Monopoly rich), walking the streets in finery (top hats, cigars, evening dresses) saying “Billionaires for Bush!” and handing out anti-Bush literature.

It was odd, seeing all these (primarily young) people, walking down the street as the faithful headed to the Fleet, wearing pearls and sequins, chanting “No billionaire left behind!” I spent some time talking with the person who seemed the leader to me, a more mature woman, trailing the main group in a smashing dress and crystal tiara. Here’s what I learned:

• They had just marched to the RNC office, but received no reaction from the RNC faithful.

• There are several hundred of them here. You know them when you see them. Again, think Monopoly guy.

• Billionaires for Bush has chapters in multiple states.

• Reaction has been very positive, and they’ve passed out “lots of literature.”

• They will soon launch a “limo tour,” which will pass through all 50 states before arriving at the RNC in NYC this August.

Visit Billionaires for Bush here.

Hardball

I blog this from The Purple Shamrock, which has WiFi access. The Captain Morgan party just concluded, but the bar is still and open bar. Free WiFi, free booze … this must be heaven.

My first convention “encounter” was the live broadcast of Chris Mathews’ Hardball, taking place in Faneuil Square (see the pic). Guests were David Gergen and Dee Dee Meyers, followed by Teamster’s chief Hoffa Jr. What was more interesting was how the Hardball producer kept haranguing the pro-Kerry crowd as they went to and returned from breaks (see pic 2). ”Come on Democrats … act indignant!!” Whatever. All TV is staged, but we knew that. All in all it was a cool scene … freedom of press and freedom of speech side-by-side. Hamilton, Jefferson, and the rest of the boys would be proud (as long as they don’t see the Protester Cage, that is).

More to follow …

Sen. Ted Kennedy Speech

Here is Ted Kennedy’s speech from Tuesday night:

Thank you. Thank you, Bob Caro, for that generous introduction. With the continuing support of the people of Massachusetts, I intend to stay in this job until I get the hang of it.

To my fellow delegates and my fellow Democrats — I’ve waited a very, very long time to say this — welcome to my hometown!

To Americans everywhere — whose aspirations have been kindled anew by this campaign — we, who convene here tonight in liberty’s cradle, say: Welcome home!

Welcome home — for the ideals born in Boston and strengthened by centuries of service and sacrifice. Ideals like freedom and equality and opportunity and fairness and common decency for all - ideals that all Americans yearn to reclaim.

And make no mistake: Come November, reclaim them we shall — by making John Kerry President of the United States.

These fundamental ideals light the fire in each of us to do all we can, and then more, to see that next January, John Kerry has a nice new home — at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

It fills me with pride to have our Democratic Convention in this city, this hallowed ground that gave birth to these enduring American ideals. Like my grandfather and my brother before me, I have been privileged to serve this place where every street is history’s home: The Old North Church, where lanterns signaled Paul Revere; The Old State House, where John Adams said independence was born; The Golden Steps, where waves of new immigrants entered this new land of liberty and opportunity, including all eight of my own great-grandparents from Ireland.

Here in New England, we love our history, and like all Americans, we learn from it. We breathe it deep, because it sustains us, it guides us, it inspires us.

It was no accident that Massachusetts was founded as a commonwealth, a place where authority belongs not to a single ruler, but to the people themselves, joined together for the common good.

The old system was based on inequality. Loyalty was demanded, never earned. Leaders ruled by fear, by force, by special favors for the few.

Under that old, unequal system, the quality of your connections mattered more than the content of your character. Your voices were not heard. Your concerns did not matter. Your votes did not count.

The colonists knew they could do better, just as we know we can do better today — but only if we all work together, only if we all reach out together, only if we all come together for the common good.

Now, it is for us, the patriots of this new century to do that, to shape our own better future and make it worthy of our past, to choose a leader worthy of our country — and that leader is John Kerry.

Today, more than two centuries after the embattled farmers stood and fired the shot heard “round the world,” the ideals of our founders still resonate across the globe. Young people in other lands — inspired by the liberty we cherish — linked arms and sang “We Shall Overcome” when the Berlin Wall fell, when apartheid ended in South Africa, and when the courageous protests took place in Tiananmen Square.

The goals of the American people are every bit as high as they were more than 200 years ago. If America is failing to reach them today, it’s not because our ideals need replacing, it’s because our President needs replacing.

We bear no ill will toward our opponents. In fact, we’d be happy to have them over for a polite little tea party. I know just the place: right down the road at Boston Harbor.

For today, like the brave and visionary men and women before us, we are determined to change our government.

I’ve served for many years in the Senate and have seen many elections. But there have been none more urgent or more important than this one. Never before have I seen a contrast so sharp or consequences so profound as in the choice we will make for President in 2004.

So much of the progress we once achieved has been turned back. So much of the goodwill America once enjoyed in the world has been lost. But we are a hopeful nation, and our values and our optimism are still burning bright.

Those same values and optimism are what brought our forebears across a harsh ocean and sustained them through many brutal winters — that inspired patriots from John Adams to John Kennedy to John Kerry, and their strong belief that America’s best days are still ahead.

There’s a reason why this land was called “the American experiment.” If dedication to the common good were hardwired into human nature, we would never have needed a revolution. If each of us cared about the public interest, we wouldn’t have the excesses of Enron. We wouldn’t have the abuses of Halliburton. And Vice President Cheney would be retired to an undisclosed location.

Soon, thanks to John Kerry and John Edwards, he’ll have ample time to do just that.

Our country demands a great deal from us, and we rightly demand a great deal from our leaders. America is a compact, a bargain, a contract. It says that all of us are connected. Our fates are intertwined. Fifty states, one nation. Our Constitution binds us together.

Yet in our own time, there are those who seek to divide us. One community against another. Urban against rural. City against suburb. Whites against blacks. Men against women. Straights against gays. Americans against Americans.

In these challenging times for our country, in these fateful times for the world, America needs a genuine uniter - not a divider who only claims to be a uniter.

We have seen how they rule-they divide and try to conquer. They know the power of the people is weakened when our house is divided. They believe they can’t win, unless the rest of us lose. We reject that shameful view.

The Democratic Party has a different idea. We believe that all of us can win. We believe we are one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And when we say all, we mean all.

Today in this global age, our goal of the common good extends far beyond America’s borders.

As President Kennedy said in 1963 in his quest for restraint in nuclear arms: “We can help make the world safe for diversity. For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.”

Interdependence defines our world. For all our might, for all our wealth, we know we are only as strong as the bonds we share with others. The dangers of terrorism and nuclear proliferation-our greatest challenges - are shared by all nations. And our greatest opportunities-from achieving lasting peace and security, to building a more prosperous society, to ending the ravages of disease and the despairs of poverty-can all be seized. But only if the world works together, and only if America helps to lead in the right direction. And John Kerry has the skill and the judgment and the experience to lead us on that great journey.

The eyes of the world were on us and the hearts of the world were with us after September 11th - until this administration broke that trust. We should have honored, not ignored, the pledges we made. We should have strengthened, not scorned, the alliances that won two World Wars and the Cold War.

Most of all, we should have honored the principle so fundamental that our nation’s founders placed it in the very first sentence of the Declaration of Independence — that America must give “a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind.”

We failed to do that in Iraq. More than 900 of our servicemen and women have already paid the ultimate price. Nearly 6,000 have been wounded in this misguided war. The administration has alienated long-time allies. Instead of making America more secure, they have made us less so. They have made it harder to win the real war on terrorism, the war against Al Qaeda. None of this had to happen.

How could any President have possibly squandered the enormous goodwill that flowed to America from across the world after September 11th?

Most of the world still knows what we can be — what only we can be — and they want us to be that nation again.

America must be a light to the world, and under John Kerry and John Edwards, that’s what America will be.

We need a President who will bind up the nation’s wounds. We need a President who will be a symbol of respect in a world yearning to be at peace again. We need John Kerry as our President.

Time and again in America’s history, we as Democrats have offered new hope — of a stronger, fairer, more prosperous future for all our people, a society that feeds the hungry, shelters the homeless, and cares for the sick — so that none must walk alone.

When the elderly faced poverty and sickness that threatened their golden years, we created Social Security and Medicare.

When the voices of many citizens went unheard and their lives were blighted by bigotry, we fought for equality and justice, for civil rights and voting rights and the rights of women, for the cause of Americans with disabilities.

When higher education was beyond the reach of veterans returning home from war, we created the GI Bill of Rights — and we have continued ever since to make college more affordable for millions more Americans.

When men and women needed protection in the workplace, we demanded safe conditions for their jobs. We insisted on the right to higher pay for working overtime. We guaranteed the right to form a union. We pledged a fair minimum wage, so that no one in America who works for a living should have to live in poverty.

Only leaders who know this history — and abide by the ideals that shaped it — deserve to be trusted with our nation’s future. Sometimes, as in recent years, they have fooled us with their rhetoric. But we will not let them fool us twice.

In the White House, inscribed on a plaque above the fireplace in the State Dining Room, is a prayer — a simple but powerful prayer of John Adams, the first president to live in that great house. It reads: “I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but [the] honest and wise ever rule under this roof.” In November, we will make those words ring true again.

All of us who know John Kerry know that he is a fitting heir to these ideals. I have known John Kerry for three decades. I have known him as a soldier, as a peacemaker, as a prosecutor, as a Senator, and as a friend. And in every role he has shown his strengths. He was the right man for every tough task and he is the right leader for this time in history.

John is a war hero who understands that America’s strength comes from many sources — especially the power of our ideas. He knows that a true leader inspires hope and vanquishes fear.

This administration does neither. Instead it brings fear. Fear of rising costs for health care and for college. Fear of higher unemployment and lesser pay. Fear for the future of Social Security and Medicare. Fear of greater bigotry. Fear of pollution’s stain on our magnificent natural heritage. Fear of four more years of dreams denied and promises unfulfilled and progressed rolled back.

In the depths of the Depression, Franklin Roosevelt inspired the nation when he said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Today, we say the only thing we have to fear is four more years of George Bush.

John Kerry offers hope, not fear. The hope of real victory against terrorism and true security at home. Of good health care for all Americans. Of Social Security that is always there for the elderly. Of schools that open golden doors of opportunity for all our children. Of an economy that works for everyone. That’s the kind of America we’ll have with John Kerry in the White House.

The roots of that America are planted deep in the New England soil. Across this region are burial grounds - many so humble you find them without intending to. You’re in a town like Concord, Massachusetts, or Hancock, New Hampshire. You’re visiting the old church there, and behind the chapel you find a small plot. Simple stones bearing simple markers. The markers say “War of 1776.”

They do not ask for attention. But they command it all the same. These are the patriots who won our freedom. These are the first Americans, who enlisted in a fight for something larger than themselves-for a shared faith in the future-for a nation that was alive in their hearts but not yet a part of their world.

They and their fellow patriots won their battle. But the larger battle for freedom, justice, equality and opportunity is our battle too, and it is never fully won. Each new generation has to take up the cause. Sometimes with weapons in hand; sometimes armed only with faith and hope, like the marchers in Birmingham or Selma four decades ago.

Sometimes the fight is waged in Congress or the courts; sometimes on foreign shores, like the battle that called one of my brothers to war in the Pacific, and another to die in Europe.

Now it is our turn to take up the cause. Our struggle is not with some monarch named George who inherited the crown.

Although it often seems that way.

Our struggle is with the politics of fear and favoritism in our own time, in our own country. Our struggle-like so many others before-is with those who put their own narrow interest ahead of the public interest.

We hear echoes of past battles in the quiet whisper of the sweetheart deal, in the hushed promise of a better break for the better connected. We hear them in the cries of the false patriots who bully dissenters into silence and submission. These are familiar fights. We’ve fought and won them before. And with John Kerry and John Edwards leading us, we will win them again and make America stronger at home and respected once more in the world.

For centuries, kings ruled by what they claimed was divine right. They could not be questioned. They could not be challenged. The people’s fate was not their own. But today, because of the surpassing wisdom of our founders, the constant courage of the patriots of the past, and the shared sacrifice of generations of Americans who kept the faith, the power of America still rests securely in citizens’ hands. In our hands.

True to our highest and noblest ideals, we intend to use that power. We will use it wisely and well. We will use it, in the poet’s words my brothers loved, “to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” We will use it to heal, to build, to hope, and to dream again. And in doing so, we will truly make our country once more America the Beautiful.

Thank you very much.

Fahrenheit 9/11 and Moore feted this morning

Before the convention began today, Michael Moore screened Fahrenheit 9/11 to a packed house. He also received a key to the city of Cambridge, Mass. Photos and coverage available at the Wireless Election Connection student journalists’ moblog:
Moore: Bush a ‘hateriot’,
Moore reserved
Just in time for Moore
and Moore honored

Speech Excerpts: Teresa Heinz Kerry

The following are excerpts from remarks prepared for delivery by Teresa Heinz Kerry (via DNCC email):

I have a very personal feeling about how special America is, and I know how precious freedom is. It is a sacred gift, sanctified by those who have lived it and by those who have died defending it.

Tonight I want to remember my mother’s warmth, generosity, wisdom, and hopefulness, and thank her for all the sacrifices she made on our behalf — like so many other mothers.

This evening, I want to acknowledge and honor the women of this world, whose wise voices for much too long have been excluded and discounted.

It is time for the world to hear women’s voices — in full and at last.

John believes in a bright future.

He believes we can, and will, invent the technologies, new materials and conservation methods of the future. He believes that alternative fuels will guarantee that not only will no American boy or girl go to war because of our dependency on foreign oil. But also that our economic security will forever become independent of this need.

We can, and we will, create good, competitive, and sustainable jobs while still protecting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the health of our children, because good environmental policy is good economics.

John believes that we can, and we will, give every family and every child access to affordable health care, a good education, and the tools to become self-reliant.

John Kerry believes we must, and we should, recognize the immense value of the caregivers in our country - those women and men who nurture and care for children, for elderly parents, for family members in need. These are the people who build and support our most valuable assets—our families.

Isn’t it time we began working to give parents more opportunity to be with their children and to afford to have a family life?

With John Kerry as President, we can, and we will, protect our nation’s security without sacrificing our civil liberties.

In short, John believes we can, and we must, lead in the world as America, unique among nations, always should-by showing the face, not of our fears, but of our hopes.

John is a fighter.

He earned his medals the old-fashioned way, by putting his life on the line for his country.

No one will defend this nation more vigorously than he will-and he will always be first in the line of fire.

But he also knows the importance of getting it right.

For him, the names of too many friends inscribed in the cold stone of the Vietnam Memorial testify to the awful toll exacted by leaders who mistake stubbornness for strength.

That is why, as President, my husband will not fear disagreement or dissent.

He believes that our voices - yours and mine - must be the voices of freedom.

And if we do not speak, neither does she.

In America, the true patriots are those who dare speak truth to power.

The truth we must speak now is that America has responsibilities that it is time for us to accept again.

With John Kerry as President, global climate change and other threats to the health of our planet will begin to be reversed.

With John Kerry as President, the alliances that bind the community of nations and that truly make our country and the world a safer place, will be strengthened once more.

Boots On The Ground

It seems I’ve arrived too late to secure my credentials for today, so I’ll likely be on the outside looking in … that said, there should still be plenty to blog, and I hope do so shortly from downtown.

Nader to Crash Dems' Party?

CBS NEWS: Nader to Crash Dems’ Party?

For the 30,000 Democrats gathering in Boston, Ralph Nader remains public enemy number two, behind only President Bush. Beneath the convention speeches, the delegate banter, the concern persists that the independent candidate will once again stand between a Democrat and the Oval Office.

Nader plans on coming to Boston Wednesday, if not to calm their concerns, then to crash a party he sees as celebrating the wrong ideals. If he can get credentialed, Nader said in a phone interview from his home in Washington, D.C, he hopes to shock Democrats inside the FleetCenter. And if he does, the highly scripted convention will face the one curveball it hoped to avoid.

“I would like to see the bazaar. I’d like to see the alcoholic-musical-political payoff bazaar of accounts receivable,” Nader said. “I would like to be there at the convention to watch. I will try to get credentials… I may try as a syndicated columnist, which I’ve been for 35 years. Let’s see if they are against reporters.”

Convention Dems not takin' Whoopi

NY DAILY NEWS: Convention Dems not takin’ Whoopi

Don’t look for Whoopi Goldberg at the Democratic National Convention: We hear the Kerry-Edwards campaign thinks the comic is still radioactive after her controversial Bush-bashing jokes at a recent Radio City fund-raiser.

Democratic strategists have asked far-left celebs and pundits to hold their tongues this week because “they don’t want the chattering class clouding their message,” says a well-placed source.

Whoopi, who didn’t let the Kerry camp preview her jokes prior to the Radio City gig, won’t be among the sanctioned message-bearers at the convention.

Director Rob Reiner is among those who think her blue-tinged routine was a gift to Republican Kerry-baiters.

“When you’re representing a candidate, you have to be more careful about what you say,” Reiner tells us. “There’s plenty to say about Bush without resorting to name-calling.”

Reiner thinks Billy Crystal did a better job as emcee of a major Kerry fund-raiser in Los Angeles.

“Billy’s a brilliant comedian,” says Reiner, “because he knows how to walk up to the line and not cross it.”

(FYI: Crystal and Goldberg were co-hosts of the Comic Relief fundraising comedy concerts along with Robin Williams.)

USA Today Dumps Coulter as Correspondent

USA TODAY’s plan to have conservative columnist and author Ann Coulter write a daily opinion column from the Democratic convention was scrapped Monday after a dispute involving the first piece she submitted.
Coulter was replaced by Jonah Goldberg, another conservative columnist and frequent CNN commentator. The newspaper still plans to have filmmaker Michael Moore, a vociferous critic of President Bush, write an opinion column during the Republican national convention in a month.

Coulter


Brian Gallagher, editor of USA TODAY’s editorial page, said of Coulter: “We had a disagreement over editing. We worked diligently to resolve the differences and couldn’t, so we decided to part ways.” He said the column had “basic weaknesses in clarity and readability that we found unacceptable.”

Coulter told the online edition of Editor & Publisher magazine that “USA TODAY doesn’t like my ‘tone,’ humor, sarcasm, etc., which raises the intriguing question of why they hired me to write for them.”

You can read Coulter’s nixed column here.

Today at the DNC

Today’s theme is “A Lifetime of Strength & Service.”

The speakers for day two are:

• Tom Daschle, U.S. Senator from South Dakota, Democratic
  Leader
• Howard Dean, Former Governor of Vermont,
  2004 Presidential Candidate
• Richard Durbin, U.S. Senator from Illinois
• James Forbes, Senior Minister at Riverside Church,
  New York City
• Richard Gephardt, U.S. Representative from Missouri, 2004
  Presidential Candidate
• Chris Heinz, Stepson of John Kerry
• Teresa Heinz Kerry, Wife of John Kerry
• Mike Honda, U.S. Representative from California
• Ted Kennedy, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
• Jim Langevin, U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
• Carol Moseley-Braun, Former U.S. Senator from Illinois,
  2004 Presidential Candidate
• Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona
• Barack Obama, State Senator from Illinois,
  U.S. Senate Candidate
• Ron Reagan, Son of former President Ronald Reagan
• Christie Vilsack, First Lady of Iowa
• Ilana Wexler, 13-Year-Old Founder of Kids for Kerry

National Journal's Hotline Wake-Up Call! Gossip Buffet

You may read NJ’s Hotline Wake-Up Call! for free during the conventions here. It’s a great summary of news with a splash of irreverent fun, a sample of which I post below (today’s “Gossip Buffet”).

• Speaking to the Hispanic caucus, Al Sharpton tried to say “Yes, we can” in Spanish. But what he said means “Yes, we door” (Houston Chronicle).

• Teen daughter to her father in the security line yesterday eve: “I’ve never seen you wait in line before.” Father: “This is bigger than me, sweetie” (Wake-Up Call! sources).

• Richard Kind of “Spin City” fame was spotted on the 5th Floor concourse and then again wandering the streets of Boston outside “The Castle”, talking loudly, at 1:30 am (Wake-Up Call! sources).

• “I’ve been scared shi-less for the last 4 years” — Goo Goo Dolls lead singer John Reznick to lobbyists at “The Castle” (Wake-Up Call! sources).

• “Michael Moore is sitting next to Rosalynn Carter. Now what the hell is she talking to him about?” — an unidentified woman re: the fact that Moore was a guest in Carter’s suite at the Fleet Center, sitting between the Carters (Wake-Up Call! sources).

• KY Gov. Ernie Fletcher ® plans to appear on the “Tonight Show,” where Jay Leno suggested this state motto: “Kentucky: Got Teeth?” (Louisville Courier-Journal).

• “Because of the dark world of the Internet, I’m told there are now entire Web pages dedicated to my breasts” — Alexandra Kerry, in Harper’s Bazaar (AP).

• “1. Toilet paper, Kleenex 2. Cream and sugar, stir sticks 3. Wide variety of pop: (Diet Mt. Dew, please)” — wish list of donations in an email to supporters from the MN Kerry-Edwards camp (Wake-Up Call! sources).

• “If this keeps up, maybe they’ll start calling it Robertcbyrd.com instead of Amazon” — Charleston Daily Mail, on reviews of Sen. Robert Byrd’s (D-WV) new book.

• Monica Lewinsky “ordered a foot-long hot dog and gasped, ‘Oh my God!’ when the waiter placed the giant tube steak in front of her” (New York Post).

• Jay Leno: “At first Democratic Party officials were reluctant to allow Al-Jazeera in because they thought the coverage would be biased and hostile. And then they realized it couldn’t be any worse than Fox News” (“Tonight Show”).

Complaint Filed Against Falwell Website

The New York Times reports that the Campaign Legal Center has “filed a complaint with election regulators accusing a lobbying organization controlled by the Rev. Jerry Falwell of violating campaign finance laws by using its Web site to urge the re-election of President Bush and to solicit money for a political action committee.”

Club For Growth To Launch $1 Million Anti-Kerry Ad Campaign

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer / AP:

A conservative anti-tax group unveiled a $1 million advertising campaign Monday that paints Democrat John Kerry as a waffler, picking up where President Bush left off last week when his campaign pulled down its ads.

The Club for Growth’s launch is much smaller than what Bush had been spending. However, the group’s ads will give Republicans somewhat of a presence on the air in certain areas during a week in which Kerry news dominates the airwaves.

Bush’s campaign went dark this week, with the campaign opting to save money for an expected multimillion-dollar advertising offensive in August.

The Club for Growth’s new 30-second ad is to start running this week in pricey Boston, where Democrats are holding their national convention, before expanding to several Midwestern states.

The ad shows Kerry’s head, torso and arm as a spinning weather vane to claim that the Democrat makes decisions depending on which way the wind blows.

“In 1996 he opposed the death penalty for terrorists. Now he claims to support it,” the ad says. “Sometimes he’s for welfare reform, sometimes he’s against it. For a 50-cent gas tax hike, then maybe not. Kerry voted for higher taxes 350 times, but now says he’d cut taxes.”

Who is Club for Growth? From the “about” section of their website:

Founded in 1999 by Steve Moore, National Review president Dusty Rhodes, Cato Institute president Ed Crane, Richard Gilder, economist and CNBC Kudlow & Cramer co-host Larry Kudlow and other like-minded pro-growth conservatives, the Club for Growth sends campaign contributions from our members to the most free-market oriented candidates in tight, but winnable races.

Members of the Club are economic conservatives, like-minded political contributors who are frustrated with the ideological drift of both parties today. Club members have a shared goal of contributing to and electing more Reaganites to Congress who are willing to stand for the issues that they as members care about most, issues like: cutting taxes, controlling federal spending, personal accounts for Social Security, ending the death tax, eliminating the capital gains tax, fundamental tax reform, providing true school choice and minimizing government’s role in our daily lives.

Some of the people who are already Club for Growth members include:

Larry Kudlow, economist and CEO of Kudlow & Co. Larry is co-host of the the primetime CNBC show “Kudlow & Cramer.”

Milton Friedman, economist, winner of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Economics.

Thomas L. Rhodes, President, National Review magazine.

Bret Schundler, former mayor of Jersey City and 2001 New Jersey GOP gubernatorial nominee.

Bill Simon, 2002 California GOP gubernatorial nominee.

These people—and over 17,000 others—have already seen the value of joining the Club for Growth.

Meanwhile, In Other News ...

Dick Cheney … you remember the Republicans, yes? … spent yesterday on the attack / counterattack (depending on your perspective), stopping in Oregon and Washington, and today heads to California and Camp Pendleton.

At an appearance Monday afternoon in Kennewick, Wash., Cheney mentioned the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, by name only once — assailing him and his Senate Democratic colleagues for “obstructionist tactics” blocking a number of Bush’s judicial nominees.

He cited a recent Democratic-led filibuster that blocked a confirmation vote on Bush’s nomination of William G. Myers III to the San Francisco-based U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals — the same court, Cheney noted, that ruled that requiring the Pledge of Allegiance in schools was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion because of the words “under God.”

“Looks to me like the 9th Circuit could use some new judges,” Cheney told about 400 supporters gathered for a $250-per-plate fundraiser in Kennewick for Dino Rossi, a former state senator seeking to become the state’s first Republican governor since 1984.

More at the LA Times.

Tonight: Stem Cells

The WSJ reports that tonight’s Dem podium agenda will place the “spotlight” on stem cell research:

A high point will be a speech by Ron Reagan, son of the late President Reagan. The younger Mr. Reagan’s presence at a Democratic convention is seen as a coup by the party. Mr. Reagan is expected to repeat recent remarks calling for the government to launch an “Apollo style” program to investigate embryonic stem-cell research for its potential to “revolutionize medicine.”

Dean Releases Delegates

Dean also released his 201 delegates yesterday and urged them to vote for Kerry (via Washington Times / AP). I’ll be interested to see how many delegates refuse to let go …

Understatement Of The Year?

Headlines Of The Painfully Obvious, brought to you by the BBC: Conventions More Show Than Substance.

THK: "The Fiesty Lady"

Australia’s The Age (1) calls Teresa Heinz Kerry “fiesty,” and (2) wonders if she’s a “secret weapon” or a “loose cannon.”

Dean: "We are going to do what the Christian conservatives did 20 years ago"

The Guardian reports on Howard Dean’s reception yesterday in Boston (“greeted like a star by party delegates”). More important, Dean is calling for a ground-up resurgance in Dem politics:

“We cannot, as Democrats, decide we are only going to work hard in the places we can win,” he said. “The only way we can win is to run.”

Mr Dean, whose rhetorical skills set the Democratic base on fire last autumn, is touting a long-term strategy to reverse the conservative right’s dominance of American public life. “We are going to do what the Christian conservatives did 20 years ago,” he told a meeting of delegates from Washington DC. “It is not enough to vote. You have got to run for office, you have got to run for the local council, you have got to run for the school board.”

Covering The Coverage Of The Coverage

Lisa Stone is covering the blog coverage here at the LA Times Convention Blog Watch. Let’s see … I think that’s at least meta-meta, right?

Full Speech Text: Bill Clinton

I’ve posted Bill Clinton’s convention speech in the extended entry (source, DNCC email). It begins with:

Thank you. I am honored to share the podium with my Senator, though I think I should be introducing her. I’m proud of her and so grateful to the people of New York that the best public servant in our family is still on the job and grateful to all of you, especially my friends from Arkansas, for the chance you gave us to serve our country in the White House.

I am also honored to share this night with President Carter, who has inspired the world with his work for peace, democracy, and human rights. And with Al Gore, my friend and partner for eight years, who played such a large role in building the prosperity and progress that brought America into the 21st century, who showed incredible grace and patriotism under pressure, and who is the living embodiment that every vote counts — and must be counted in every state in America.

Tonight I speak as a citizen, returning to the role I have played for most of my life as a foot soldier in the fight for our future, as we nominate a true New England patriot for president. The state that gave us John Adams and John Kennedy has now given us John Kerry, a good man, a great senator, a visionary leader. We are constantly told America is deeply divided. But all Americans value freedom, faith, and family. We all honor the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world.

The following is a transcript of a speech by William J. Clinton at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, July 26, 2004:

Thank you. I am honored to share the podium with my Senator, though I think I should be introducing her. I’m proud of her and so grateful to the people of New York that the best public servant in our family is still on the job and grateful to all of you, especially my friends from Arkansas, for the chance you gave us to serve our country in the White House.

I am also honored to share this night with President Carter, who has inspired the world with his work for peace, democracy, and human rights. And with Al Gore, my friend and partner for eight years, who played such a large role in building the prosperity and progress that brought America into the 21st century, who showed incredible grace and patriotism under pressure, and who is the living embodiment that every vote counts — and must be counted in every state in America.

Tonight I speak as a citizen, returning to the role I have played for most of my life as a foot soldier in the fight for our future, as we nominate a true New England patriot for president. The state that gave us John Adams and John Kennedy has now given us John Kerry, a good man, a great senator, a visionary leader. We are constantly told America is deeply divided. But all Americans value freedom, faith, and family. We all honor the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world.

We all want good jobs, good schools, health care, safe streets, a clean environment. We all want our children to grow up in a secure America leading the world toward a peaceful future. Our differences are in how we can best achieve these things, in a time of unprecedented change. Therefore, we Democrats will bring the American people a positive campaign, arguing not who’s good and who’s bad, but what is the best way to build the safe, prosperous world our children deserve.

The 21st century is marked by serious security threats, serious economic challenges, and serious problems like global warming and the AIDS epidemic. But it is also full of enormous opportunities-to create millions of high paying jobs in clean energy, and biotechnology; to restore the manufacturing base and reap the benefits of the global economy through our diversity and our commitment to decent labor and environmental standards everywhere; and to create a world where we can celebrate our religious and racial differences, because our common humanity matters more.

To build that kind of world we must make the right choices; and we must have a president who will lead the way. Democrats and Republicans have very different and honestly held ideas on that 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. Democrats want to build an America of shared responsibilities and shared opportunities and more global cooperation, acting alone only when we must.

We think the role of government is to give people the tools and conditions to make the most of their lives. Republicans believe in an America run by the right people, their people, in a world in which we act unilaterally when we can, and cooperate when we have to.

They think the role of government is to concentrate wealth and power in the hands of those who embrace their political, economic, and social views, leaving ordinary citizens to fend for themselves on matters like health care and retirement security. Since most Americans are not that far to the right, they have to portray us Democrats as unacceptable, lacking in strength and values. In other words, they need a divided America. But Americans long to be united. After 9/11, we all wanted to be one nation, strong in the fight against terror. The president had a great opportunity to bring us together under his slogan of compassionate conservatism and to unite the world in common cause against terror.

Instead, he and his congressional allies made a very different choice: to use the moment of unity to push America too far to the right and to walk away from our allies, not only in attacking Iraq before the weapons inspectors finished their jobs, but in withdrawing American support for the Climate Change Treaty, the International Court for war criminals, the ABM treaty, and even the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Now they are working to develop two new nuclear weapons which they say we might use first. At home, the President and the Republican Congress have made equally fateful choices indeed. For the first time ever when America was on a war footing, there were two huge tax cuts, nearly half of which went to the top one percent. I’m in that group now for the first time in my life.

When I was in office, the Republicans were pretty mean to me. When I left and made money, I became part of the most important group in the world to them. At first I thought I should send them a thank you note — until I realized they were sending you the bill.

They protected my tax cuts while:
— Withholding promised funding for the Leave No Child Behind Act, leaving
over 2 million children behind
— Cutting 140,000 unemployed workers out of job training
— 100,000 working families out of child care assistance
— 300,000 poor children out of after school programs
— Raising out of pocket healthcare costs to veterans
— Weakening or reversing important environmental advances for clean air
and the preservation of our forests.

Everyone had to sacrifice except the wealthiest Americans, who wanted to do their part but were asked only to expend the energy necessary to open the envelopes containing our tax cuts. If you agree with these choices, you should vote to return them to the White House and Congress. If not, take a look at John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democrats.

In this year’s budget, the White House wants to cut off federal funding for 88,000 uniformed police, including more than 700 on the New York City police force who put their lives on the line on 9/11. As gang violence is rising and we look for terrorists in our midst, Congress and the President are also about to allow the ten-year-old ban on assault weapons to expire. Our crime policy was to put more police on the streets and take assault weapons off the streets. It brought eight years of declining crime and violence. Their policy is the reverse, they’re taking police off the streets and putting assault weapons back on the streets. If you agree with their choices, vote to continue them. If not, join John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democrats in making America safer, smarter, and stronger.

On Homeland Security, Democrats tried to double the number of containers at ports and airports checked for Weapons of Mass Destruction. The one billion dollar cost would have been paid for by reducing the tax cut of 200,000 millionaires by five thousand dollars each. Almost all 200,000 of us would have been glad to pay 5,000 dollars to make the nearly 300 million Americans safer-but the measure failed because the White House and the Republican leadership in the House decided my tax cut was more important — If you agree with that choice, re-elect them. If not, give John Kerry and John Edwards a chance.

These policies have turned the projected 5.8 trillion dollar surplus we left-enough to pay for the baby boomers retirement-into a projected debt of nearly 5 trillion dollars, with a 400 plus billion dollar deficit this year and for years to come. How do they pay for it? First by taking the monthly surplus in Social Security payments and endorsing the checks of working people over to me to cover my tax cut. But it’s not enough. They are borrowing the rest from foreign governments, mostly Japan and China. Sure, they’re competing with us for good jobs but how can we enforce our trade laws against our bankers? If you think it’s good policy to pay for my tax cut with the Social Security checks of working men and women, and borrowed money from China, vote for them. If not, John Kerry’s your man.

We Americans must choose for President one of two strong men who both love our country, but who have very different worldviews: Democrats favor shared responsibility, shared opportunity, and more global cooperation. Republicans favor concentrated wealth and power, leaving people to fend for themselves and more unilateral action. I think we’re right for two reasons: First, America works better when all people have a chance to live their dreams. Second, we live in an interdependent world in which we can’t kill, jail, or occupy all our potential adversaries, so we have to both fight terror and build a world with more partners and fewer terrorists. We tried it their way for twelve years, our way for eight, and then their way for four more.

By the only test that matters, whether people were better off when we finished than when we started, our way works better-it produced over 22 million good jobs, rising incomes, and 100 times as many people moving out of poverty into the middle class. It produced more health care, the largest increase in college aid in 50 years, record home ownership, a cleaner environment, three surpluses in a row, a modernized defense force, strong efforts against terror, and an America respected as a world leader for peace, security and prosperity.

More importantly, we have great new champions in John Kerry and John Edwards. Two good men with wonderful wives-Teresa a generous and wise woman who understands the world we are trying to shape. And Elizabeth, a lawyer and mother who understands the lives we are all trying to lift. Here is what I know about John Kerry. 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.

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. When it was time to heal the wounds of war and normalize relations with Vietnam-and to demand an accounting of the POWs and MIAs we lost there-John Kerry said, send me.

When we needed someone to push the cause of inner-city kids struggling to avoid a life of crime, or to bring the benefits of high technology to ordinary Americans, or to clean the environment in a way that creates jobs, or to give small businesses a better chance to make it, John Kerry said send me.

Tonight my friends, I ask you to join me for the next 100 days in telling John Kerry’s story and promoting his plans. Let every person in this hall and all across America say to him what he has always said to America: Send Me. The bravery that the men who fought by his side saw in battle I’ve seen in the political arena. When I was President, John Kerry showed courage and conviction on crime, on welfare reform, on balancing the budget at a time when those priorities were not exactly a way to win a popularity contest in our party.

He took tough positions on tough problems. John Kerry knows who he is and where he’s going. He has the experience, the character, the ideas and the values to be a great President. In a time of change he has two other important qualities: his insatiable curiosity to understand the forces shaping our lives, and a willingness to hear the views even of those who disagree with him. Therefore his choices will be full of both conviction and common sense.

He proved that when he picked a tremendous partner in John Edwards. Everybody talks about John Edwards’ energy, intellect, and charisma. The important thing is how he has used his talents to improve the lives of people who — like John himself — had to work hard for all they’ve got. He has always championed the cause of people too often left out or left behind. And that’s what he’ll do as our Vice President.

Their opponents will tell you to be afraid of John Kerry and John Edwards, because they won’t stand up to the terrorists — don’t you believe it. Strength and wisdom are not conflicting values — they go hand in hand. John Kerry has both. His first priority will be keeping America safe. Remember the scripture: Be Not Afraid.

John Kerry and John Edwards, have good ideas:
— To make this economy work again for middle-class Americans;
— To restore fiscal responsibility;
— To save Social Security; to make healthcare more affordable and college
more available;
— To free us from dependence on foreign oil and create new jobs in clean
energy;
— To rally the world to win the war on terror and to make more friends
and fewer terrorists.

At every turning point in our history we the people have chosen unity over division, heeding our founders’ call to America’s eternal mission: to form a more perfect union, to widen the circle of opportunity, deepen the reach of freedom, and strengthen the bonds of community.

It happened because we made the right choices. In the early days of the republic, America was at a crossroads much like it is today, deeply divided over whether or not to build a real nation with a national economy, and a national legal system. We chose a more perfect union.

In the Civil War, America was at a crossroads, divided over whether to save the union and end slavery — we chose a more perfect union. In the 1960s, America was at a crossroads, divided again over civil rights and women’s rights. Again, we chose a more perfect union. As I said in 1992, we’re all in this together; we have an obligation both to work hard and to help our fellow citizens, both to fight terror and to build a world with more cooperation and less terror. Now again, it is time to choose.

Since we’re all in the same boat, let us chose as the captain of our ship a brave good man who knows how to steer a vessel though troubled waters to the calm seas and clear skies of our more perfect union. We know our mission. Let us join as one and say in a loud, clear voice: Send John Kerry.

The Inside Story

Want to know what’s really going on behind the scenes in Boston? Read Ninja Stu, who’s spending his night tonight helping make certain I’ll be able to enjoy a WiFi connection tomorrow night.

Thank you, Ninja Stu … the beer’s on me this week.

Text Of Hillary Clinton's Speech

The Minnneapolis Star Tribune has posted Hillary Clinton’s convention remarks … I’ve posted them in the extended entry as well. They begin:

Twelve years ago, when our country needed new leadership, Americans elected a Democrat who gave us eight years of peace, prosperity, and promise. Tonight I have the pleasure of introducing the next great Democratic president, John Kerry.

We meet at a moment of great peril, but also of great hope. Together we can widen the circle of opportunity for all Americans, transcend our differences and divisions, and give our children a safer and more secure future. That’s the promise of America, and John Kerry will renew that promise. He will lead the world, not alienate it. Lower the deficit, not raise it. Create good jobs, not lose them. Solve a health care crisis, not ignore it. I know a thing or two about health care. And the problems have only gotten worse in the past four years.

Twelve years ago, when our country needed new leadership, Americans elected a Democrat who gave us eight years of peace, prosperity, and promise. Tonight I have the pleasure of introducing the next great Democratic president, John Kerry.

We meet at a moment of great peril, but also of great hope. Together we can widen the circle of opportunity for all Americans, transcend our differences and divisions, and give our children a safer and more secure future. That’s the promise of America, and John Kerry will renew that promise. He will lead the world, not alienate it. Lower the deficit, not raise it. Create good jobs, not lose them. Solve a health care crisis, not ignore it. I know a thing or two about health care. And the problems have only gotten worse in the past four years.

We need to rededicate ourselves to the task of providing coverage for 44 million Americans who are uninsured and the millions of others who face rising costs. We need to lift the ban on stem cell research and find cures that will help millions of Americans.

Health care is a serious issue that requires serious solutions, and that’s what John Kerry will give us. John Kerry will give America something else, a great vice president. I’ve served with John Edwards. He’s smart, he’s energetic, he’s empathetic, and he understands the challenges that hardworking Americans face in their daily lives. Americans will be proud to have the Kerry-Edwards team in the White House, and they’ll be proud to have their extraordinary partners, Teresa Heinz Kerry and Elizabeth Edwards, there as well.

We’ve been through our share of challenges as Americans, from a Civil War to a Great Depression to world wars and more. Today we face a new threat. Being a senator from New York, I saw firsthand the devastation of 9-11. I visited Ground Zero right after we were attacked. I felt like I was standing at the gates of hell. I hope no American ever has to witness a sight like that again. That tragedy changed all of us. I know it changed me. And every day now, as a mother, as a senator, and as an American, I worry about whether we are acting as wisely as we can to protect our country and our people.

Last week, the bipartisan 9-11 commission issued its report. It was a sober call to action that we ignore at our peril. John Kerry understands what’s at stake. We need to fully equip and train our firefighters, police officers and emergency medical technicians - our first responders in the event of a terrorist attack.

We need to secure our borders and our ports, as well as our chemical and nuclear plants. We need to reorganize our federal government to meet the new threats of these times. We need to make sure that homeland security is properly funded and that resources go to areas at greatest risk. We need to take care of our men and women in uniform who risked their lives for our country. These brave Americans deserve better. We need to increase our troop strength, raise their pay, and provide veterans, the National Guard, and Reserve with the benefits they’re entitled to.

Do you know what we need to meet those challenges? We need John Kerry. John Kerry is a serious man for a serious job. So let’s work our hearts out and send him to the White House in 2004. And I’m optimistic we will because I know a great leader when I see one. And so does America.

In 1992 and 1996, Americans chose a president who left our country in far better shape than when he took office. He still spends his days working to empower the powerless, promote racial, religious, and ethnic reconciliation, inspire young people to citizen service, and bring life-saving medicines to people living with HIV/AIDS around the world. He showed Democrats how to win again. And so will John Kerry. Please welcome the 42nd president of the United States, Bill Clinton.

MTV Dem Essay Contest Winner

Michael Negron won the MTV Democratic National Convention Essay Contest with this entry (source, DNCC email):

Elections are about the future. Yet my generation too often opts out and sits on the sidelines as politicians make decisions that affect our lives.

It’s not that we are apathetic. Sixty-one percent of us volunteer regularly. We tutor children, paint schools, work at soup kitchens, and give our time and energy to help communities across the nation. The problem is that many of us have lost faith in the political process. We don’t see the connection between policies made in city halls and state capitols and what happens in our daily lives.

What’s most tragic about our political disenchantment is that our generation has the most to lose. Today, thousands of young soldiers are in Iraq, fighting a war sold under false pretenses. Our young soldiers are bearing the huge burden of this war, yet the current administration tried to cut combat pay for the troops while doling out tax breaks to the richest Americans.

At home, over one-third of the nation’s working poor are in our age group, and we make up the majority of those without health insurance. College tuitions costs are rising faster than our parents’ income. It’s getting harder and harder to believe in the American dream, and our faith won’t be restored through volunteerism alone.

Meanwhile, the current administration’s blustering foreign policy risks alienating an entire generation of young people throughout the world. They’re watching us and forming the opinions of our country they will hold for the rest of their lives. We must show them that we are a beacon of freedom and human rights around the world.

Young Americans have clear incentives to become more involved in the political process. My generation will fight the wars to defend our country. We will also bear the burden of debt racked up by this administration. America is the most powerful country in history, and it is our generation’s duty to use this power for good, at home and abroad.

In the next few years, our leaders will make decisions on war and peace, social security and health care. If we don’t participate, if we sit on the sidelines, then we surrender any say over our own futures. But if we go to the polls in November, if we make our voices heard, then our leaders will listen and our future will truly be our own.

Full Text Of Carter's Speech

I’ve posted the full text of Carter’s speech in the extended entry (source, DNCC).

The Honorable Jimmy Carter Democratic National Convention Monday, July 26, 2004

My name is Jimmy Carter, and I’m not running for president. But here’s what I will be doing: everything I can to put John Kerry in the White House with John Edwards right there beside him.

Twenty-eight years ago I was running for president, and I said then, “I want a government as good and as honest and as decent and as competent and as compassionate as are the American people.” I say this again tonight, and that is exactly what we will have next January with John Kerry as president of the United States.

As many of you know, my first chosen career was in the United States Navy, where I served as a submarine officer. At that time, my shipmates and I were ready for combat and prepared to give our lives to defend our nation and its principles.

At the same time, we always prayed that our readiness would preserve the peace. I served under two presidents, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, men who represented different political parties. Both of whom had faced their active military responsibiliti