John Kerry, live in St. Louis
by Edge
Wed Jan 28, 2004 at 10:14:53 PM PDT
First of all, there were a LOT of people there; much more than I expected, and though I have no experience at estimating crowds; I'd say at least 1000 people packed into a room and overflow intended for about 250. Kerry's staff was being ably assisted by the Firefighter's Union, and though I arrived only 30 minutes early, I managed to secure a fairly okay position near the back where I could see the stage when the people in front of me decided to sit.
The crowd was also very diverse, something I didn't expect. There were a significant number of older Americans there, and quite a few African-Americans, though not as many as would be expected in St. Louis, where the city is almost half African-American. I overheard a pair of younger college students talking about Lieberman, which made me laugh: "I just wish Lieberman weren't so BORING, I really like the way he thinks." The crowd is buzzing about the possibility that Dick Gephardt is going to surprise and show up to endorse Kerry, but this turns out to be only rumor. The event was scheduled to start at 4:30, but didn't get rolling until close to 5:30, which, I suppose, is to be expected.
The Kerry people played some good "campaign" style songs as we waited, including Bruce Springsteen's "No Surrender," and he was eventually introduced to U2's "Beautiful Day." Flanked by local and state (and out-of-state dignitaries), several individuals spoke before he took center stage.
Francis Slay, the mayor of St. Louis, began the rally, and introduced Iowa governor Tom Vilsack, his wife Christie, and former Missouri senators Tom Eagleton and Jean Carnahan. All spoke very briefly, which was appreciated, and then Kerry took the mike. He thanked each with a personal anecdote about their support and their (shared) histories; and then started in on President Bush.
The thing that struck me most as I listened to Kerry speak is that Howard Dean's words were coming out of his mouth. "We need to send George Bush back to Texas, and that's exactly what we're going to do," is the example that comes to mind out of many that I swear Dean used in his stump speech last summer. The upshot of all this is that I can't say I disagreed with any of the policy positions Kerry put forward; of course, as we all know, this election really isn't about policy, and policy isn't going to decide it, but it's good to know that if Kerry is the eventual nominee, at least I'm comfortable with his politics.
The surprising point is that Kerry spent zero time talking about Vietnam. He made reference to it once obliquely when he stated that Karl Rove is going to run this election about the war in Iraq, since he can't run it on education, healthcare, jobs, the economy, the environment, etc. Kerry said he actually had experience on aircraft carriers ... for real. No, Kerry spends most of his speech hitting the major themes - the failures of the Bush administration, and the values that he holds dearest, including education, healthcare and the environment. He spent a very small portion of his time speaking about the war, but does promise to go to the United Nations after his inauguration and helping us to rejoin the 'community of nations' and he does say we need to get back to the negotiating table and produce a workable Kyoto global warming treaty.
He also took the time to point out two executive orders he would issue early in his presidency, one prohibiting former Congressmen from taking jobs with lobbyists for 5 years after they left Congress (this means YOU, Billy Tauzin!); and one prohibiting secret meetings between lobbyists and government officials, making disclosures of them mandatory and (I imagine, though he didn't say this explicitly) subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
Healthcare is not a privilege for the wealthy, it's a right. Kerry tells a good story here about his own brush with cancer, and how we (the taxpayers) paid for his treatment, since Senators have great insurance paid for out of the federal budget; and he wants to offer that same quality care to all Americans. No specifics here, but this is eerily similar to Dean's plan.
Kerry stumbled over a few lines, and the honest truth is, he isn't the world's greatest orator, though once he gets going, he knows how to work a crowd up to a fever pitch. He doesn't come across as a 'regular American' for whatever that's worth; but he's certainly electable, and he believes in the same sort of values that progressive Americans do.
I'm off to see if I can weasel my way into Blueberry Hill for John Edwards' 9:15 appearance, but if the Kerry rally is any indication, there's going to be people lining up outside for blocks. Wish me luck.
- Edge's diary :: ::
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