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Kerry dinner courts Clinton, Carter, Gore
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-03-26 09:55 U.S. Democrats embraced John Kerry as their new
chief with a show of solidarity from former Presidents Clinton and Carter,
and former foes mending fences in an effort to oust President Bush.
"We now have a standard bearer of the Democratic Party," Democratic National
Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe said Thursday, which the party titled "Unity
Day" following a fractious primary race.
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| U.S. Democratic Presidential Candidate,
Senator John Kerry (L) shakes hands with former U.S. President Jimmy
Carter as other former President Bill Clinton joins with them at the
Democratic National Committee fundraising dinner in Washington, March 25,
2004. [Reuters] | Carter, Clinton, 2000 Democratic
nominee Al Gore and all of Kerry's primary rivals except Dennis
Kucinich and Carol Moseley Braun were attending a celebratory dinner
that was to raise more than $11 million for the DNC.
Kerry told black-newspaper publishers that his campaign will reach out in an
"unprecedented fashion" and asked them to join him. "We need to build the
greatest grass-roots movement in the history of this country," he said.
Kerry was endorsed by his harshest primary rival, former Vermont Gov. Howard
Dean, who put aside objections to the Massachusetts senator's position on tax
cuts and the war in Iraq in the common cause of beating Bush.
"We had a tough campaign here," Dean said in endorsing Kerry at a George
Washington University rally, noting that they once focused "on things that
divide us. Now we are going to talk about the things that we have in common."
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which had
backed Dean, also endorsed Kerry after a unanimous vote of the union's executive
council. With 1.3 million members, AFSCME is the second-largest union in the
AFL-CIO and boasts one of organized labor's largest and most savvy political
operations. The United Auto Workers' executive board followed suit, one day
before Kerry campaigns in Michigan.
Kucinich is the only candidate still campaigning, even though Kerry has
enough delegates for the nomination. The Ohio congressman pledged in a statement
to support the eventual nominee, but said he will continue to campaign for
peace, universal health care and fair trade. Braun sent Kerry a letter with her
regrets, citing a prior commitment.
Other candidates who challenged Kerry in the primary, including Dean, former
Gen. Wesley Clark and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, have sent e-mail
solicitations asking for donations to Kerry's campaign.
McAuliffe said the party, with $25 million and no debt, was better prepared
than ever to challenge the GOP.
"The tools are in place," McAuliffe told the National Newspaper Publishers
Association. "Now we need to make sure to use these tools to make sure that John
Kerry is elected president."
Still, Kerry and his party are at a disadvantage. The Republican National
Committee reported $45 million on hand at the beginning of the month and
has raised more since then. Kerry reported $2.4 million and has raised roughly
$20 million over the Internet since then. But Bush dwarfed him with $110 million
and took in millions more at fund-raisers in recent weeks, including one
Thursday in Kerry's hometown of Boston.
Democratic-leaning groups are spending millions in support of Kerry, which
could help even the gap.
Kerry met privately with Dean and Dean's congressional supporters and donors
before the rally. Dean asked his backers to support Kerry and not stray to the
antiestablishment campaign of independent Ralph Nader, who has been shown in
polls to pull votes from Kerry.
Bush's campaign distributed a list of criticisms that Kerry's rivals made
against him during the campaign, including that he should have voted to support
troops in Iraq, that he changed his position on that war and affirmative action,
and that he's a Washington insider who can't pay for his programs without
eliminating Bush's tax cuts.
"All of the Democratic opponents he faced during the primary said that John
Kerry's numbers didn't add up in the primary and they don't add up now," said
Bush spokesman Steve Schmidt. "It means a massive tax increase for middle income
families."
Kerry plans a series of speeches outlining his key campaign issues and
differences with Bush. He delivers the first on Friday in Detroit, which aides
billed as a major policy address on jobs and Kerry's plans to create them.
Kerry believes he can make inroads against Bush on economic issues. Polls
show a tight race between the two, with the senator doing best on domestic,
economic matters and the Republican incumbent strongest on national security and
fighting terrorism.
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