Posted on 07/27/2004 5:03:06 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
BOSTON (Reuters) - Democrats backed a controversy free party platform on Tuesday as the wife of White House hopeful John Kerry (news - web sites) and the son of a Republican legend prepared to share the spotlight on the second night of their national convention.
Looking to showcase Kerry's personal side, Teresa Heinz Kerry said she would share personal glimpses of her husband while a parade of speakers spell out the policy differences between Kerry and Republican President Bush (news - web sites).
Ron Reagan, son of the former Republican president, will push to lift restrictions on stem cell research that Bush has supported. The research could help treat illnesses like Alzheimer's, which his father fought for a decade before his death in June.
Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy (news, bio, voting record) of Massachusetts and keynote speaker Barack Obama of Illinois also will be featured on a night when the national commercial networks have decided to skip coverage of the Democratic gathering.
The Democrats opened Tuesday's proceedings by approving a nonbinding party platform outlining Kerry's stance on a broad range of issues such as health care, taxes and Iraq (news - web sites).
The platform, the subject of intense debate among Democrats in past years but supported without complaint this year, accuses Bush of rushing to war in Iraq without adequate international support but also pledges to expand the military and special forces.
Kerry, on the final day of a cross-country tour that will bring him to Boston on Wednesday, challenged Bush on the war on terror by vowing to extend the Sept. 11 commission's work for another 18 months and calling for swift implementation of its recommendations.
The United States "simply must act, not as partisans, but as patriots," Kerry, a decorated Navy veteran, said as he stood in front of the battleship Wisconsin moored on the Norfolk, Virginia, waterfront.
"Leadership requires that we act decisively. Not talk. Not vague promises. Not excuses," Kerry said. Bush has said he wants to study the report before deciding on a course of action.
Heinz Kerry, who sparked a mini-controversy on Monday when she told a Pittsburgh newspaper reporter to "shove it," has been practicing her speech while campaigning with her husband.
"It's personal, it's my words. I feel very comfortable with it," Heinz Kerry told CNN of her speech.
She said she did not regret her outburst against a reporter, saying she saw the potential for misrepresentation and chose to defend herself. "I say what I believe."
RISING STAR
Democratic Senate candidate Obama of Illinois, a rising African-American star but virtually unknown outside his home state, will deliver the keynote address. Obama said his speech would look at ways Kerry could make America safer by rebuilding foreign alliances shattered by the war in Iraq.
"What I'm going to be focused on is .... how do we create the kind of atmosphere that wins us the respect around the world and allows us to fight terrorism," Obama told ABC's "Good Morning America" show.
More than 4,000 Democratic delegates to the convention will nominate Kerry on Wednesday to challenge Bush in a November battle for the White House that is essentially a dead heat.
A Washington Post/ABC poll on Tuesday showed 48 percent of voters supported Bush and 46 percent backed Kerry, with independent Ralph Nader (news - web sites) at 3 percent -- a margin well within the margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Kerry had a four-point lead in mid-June and the two were tied in a Post survey two weeks ago. More than half -- 54 percent -- of the Post's respondents said they did not know much about Kerry's positions on specific issues.
Democrats are hoping the convention will introduce him to undecided voters, who often start to pay attention to the White House race during the conventions.
Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards (news - web sites) of North Carolina, arrived in Boston on Tuesday afternoon before his acceptance speech to the convention on Wednesday. His wife, Elizabeth, will visit the convention to watch Heinz Kerry's speech.
(Additional reporting by Patricia Wilson, Rolando Garcia, Thomas Ferraro and Sue Pleming)
They stress our family, too. Pass the Tums.
Maya = Writes lousy novels.
Obama is just one letter away from Osama.
Well, THAT should be easy, since Kerry does not HAVE a single policy about ANYTHING.
No, in Pseudo-French fashion, he simply spreads for whichever audience he has at the moment. His campaign is based solely on hatred, and has no other policy.
I was just thinking tongiht about the last "Personally Hate Bush" candidate, Ross Perot, who in effect, gave us Clinton. And I will publicly admit that the Great Sucking Sound he mentioned, was ME getting sucked into voting for him. That still smarts!
Can't really blame 'em - Kerry himself doesn't know what his position is on any of the issues until his staff checks the polls and writes his copy.
RADIO CITY 
AP Rocker John Fogerty reacts after Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites), D-MA, played the guitar during a concert benefiting his campaign at Radio City Music Hall in New York Thursday, July 8, 2004. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Kerry (news - web sites) (D-MA) (L) shares a laugh with vice presidential candidate Senator John Edwards (news - web sites) (D-NC) at a concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, July 8, 2004. Kerry and Edwards vowed on Thursday to fight for 'real people' and portrayed President George W. Bush (news - web sites) as a patron of 'a few at the top.' REUTERS/Jim Young US ELECTION
This moron has ABSOLUTELY NO COMMON SENSE.
Maya's starting to look like Satchmo!
BWA HA HA HA HA HA!
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