US Democrats nominate Kerry for president
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-07-29 12:20

With Republicans charging that Kerry's election would mean tax increases for most Americans, Edwards vowed that 98 percent of all Americans would continue to receive the tax cuts they have received under Bush and that only the wealthiest Americans would see their taxes increase. He also said Kerry would close corporate tax loopholes and cut wasteful spending.

Turning to national security, Edwards continued to challenge the administration. "We are approaching the third anniversary of September 11th," he said of the attacks, "and I can tell you when we're in office, it won't take us three years to get the reforms in our intelligence that are necessary to keep the American people safe. We will do whatever it takes, as long as it takes, to make sure that never happens again in our America."

Edwards vowed that Kerry would pursue al Qaeda and other terrorists relentlessly. "We will have one clear unmistakable message for al Qaeda and these terrorists," he said. "You cannot run. You cannot hide. We will destroy you."

But he drew a contrast with the Bush administration by saying that Kerry would rebuild U.S. alliances and use renewed respect for the United States to gain support from NATO to help secure Iraq. "We will get this done right," he said.

In her introduction, Elizabeth Edwards provided another connection between Kerry and the military, recalling her father's service in the Navy. "Like John Kerry," she said, "my father fought for this country. Like John Kerry, he was decorated risking his life in her service." Kerry, she said, shared one more trait with her father: "He has the right stuff."

Turning to her husband, she described Edwards as "the smartest, toughest, sweetest man I know," but said she was drawn to him principally for his optimism. "He knew there was a brighter day ahead even as he swept the floors in the cotton mill as a high school student," she said.

Elizabeth Edwards also sought to turn her husband's 20-year career as a trial lawyer, which Republicans have attacked since he first ran for office in North Carolina six years ago, into an asset, describing him as a champion of ordinary people in both his careers. "He knew he could outwork and out-tough any battalion of lawyers to find justice, and he continued that fight in Washington," she said. "Courageously, eloquently, with one simple goal: to make the great opportunities of America available to all Americans."

The moment had a particular poignancy for Edwards and his wife, whose 16-year-old son, Wade, had urged his father to run for office before he was killed in a 1996 car accident. Edwards has rarely spoken about his son's death on the campaign trail and this was no exception. He mentioned the boy only once in passing Wednesday night -- along with his other three children.

Before the Edwards family took the stage, several of Kerry's other primary opponents used their speeches to praise the man who defeated them and to condemn Bush and his policies.

Al Sharpton drew a rousing response when he forcefully challenged Bush's argument last week before the Urban League that the Democratic Party takes black voters for granted. But Sharpton said that Republicans turned their backs on black voters years ago, and that it was Democrats who fought for and delivered civil rights and voting rights.

"Mr. President, the reason we are fighting so hard, the reason we took Florida so serious, is our right to vote wasn't gained because of our age," he said. "Our vote was soaked in the blood of martyrs, soaked in the blood of good men, soaked in the blood of four little girls in Birmingham. This vote is sacred to us." With applause rising from the convention floor, Sharpton shouted, "This vote can't be bargained away. This vote can't be given away. Mr. President, in all due respect, Mr. President, read my lips: Our vote is not for sale."

Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Ohio), one of the most vociferous opponents of the war in Iraq, said Bush misled the country. "Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 or with al Qaeda's role in 9/11," he said. "We have found no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."

Then reprising lines from his campaign, he added, "I've seen weapons of mass destruction in our cities. Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction. Joblessness is a weapon of mass destruction. Homelessness is a weapon of mass destruction. Racism is a weapon of mass destruction. Fear is a weapon of mass destruction. We must disarm these weapons."

Florida Sen. Bob Graham (Fla.) also took a shot at the administration on the national security front, saying the country has failed to stand up to new terrorist threats. "At a time when freedom-loving people around the world are looking for leadership in the war against terror, America has not provided it," he said.

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