Posted on 07/27/2004 8:05:02 PM PDT by SierraWasp
Kennedy offers blessing to Kerry
Howard Dean tells delegates never to be ashamed of party
By William L. Watts & Corbett B. Daly Last Update: 10:45 PM ET July 27, 2004
BOSTON (CBS.MW) -- Ted Kennedy, whose brother John F. Kennedy captivated the nation more than four decades ago, offered his blessing Tuesday night to another JFK from Massachusetts who hopes to get to the White House.
John Kerry "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," Kennedy said in a prime-time speech on the second day of the four-day Democratic National Convention in Boston.
The senior senator from Massachusetts primarily responsible for bringing the convention to Kerry's home state painted the junior senator from Massachusetts as an inspirational leader who would bring a divided nation together.
"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," Kennedy said, referring to President Bush's campaign pledge four years ago.
In a scathing attack on Bush, Kennedy compared the current president to "some monarch named George who inherited the crown."
"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," Kennedy said, calling on Americans to exercise their right to vote Bush out of office.
Kennedy invoked the ideals of the nation's founding fathers, telling delegates that a Kerry presidency would restore "freedom and equality and opportunity and fairness and common decency for all."
"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," Kennedy said.
Despite the Kerry campaign's call for speakers at the convention to praise their candidate without attacking Bush, Kennedy offered another of his many fiery attacks on the Bush administration.
"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," Kennedy said.
And Kerry's one-time rival, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, passed along his one-time campaign slogan to the Kerry camp.
"Tonight, we're all here to represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic party," Dean said, adding that Democrats should take pride in their party membership.
"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 we're going to reclaim the American dream," said Dean, who changed the presidential campaign by tapping into an anger in the Democratic base about policies of the White House and offering sharp criticisms of Bush about the war in Iraq.
The second day of speeches -- the only one of four nights not to receive any live coverage from broadcast television networks -- was filled with speakers who sought to introduce Kerry to the nation.
Barack Obama, who is running for the Senate from Illinois and is a rising star in the party, also invoked the nation's early history and said the election is about "the audacity of hope."
"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," Obama said.
"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 mill worker'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," said Obama, the son of black Kenyan and a white Kansan.
Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, took her own shot at Bush as she called Kerry "a fighter" who "will not fear disagreement or dissent."
"He earned his (war) medals the old-fashioned way, by putting his life on the line for his country," Heinz Kerry said, "no one will defend this nation more vigorously than he will-and he will always be first in the line of fire."
"In America, the true patriots are those who dare speak truth to power," she said, according to prepared remarks.
He's got a point there. Kerry thought he was wounded and got a medal for it....three times.
Release the records, Johnny, prove you're not a liar.
Kennedy doesn't have a tourch to pass to anyone.
I was certainly no fan of Jack Kennedy, but at least he was no Commonist/Socialist!!! He cut taxes like Ronauldus Magnus and Dubya and America took off like a shot heard round the world!!!
I just wish Eisenhour had done it and Nixon really dropped the ball by not promising to out-do JFK at tax reduction. History would have been quite different!!!
Re: "Kennedy Passes The Torch To Kerry..."
Wonder what would have happened if this had happened in Ted's days of wine & rose... ???
Guess we'll just have to settle for John eFing's pants to be on fire from his lies.
If JFK were alive today, he would kick the whole bunch out of the hall! Starting with Moore.
True!!!
I think teddy-boy's torch went out in the water of Chappaquiddic.
water beats fire
SO9
Kerry had better hope that the old sot doesn't belch, while holding that torch.
was he passing a torch or was it a flask?..
I wonder if any of the interns are getting a ride home tonight with Ted in his Buick..?
(Per assignment from Rush)
LMAO! That turned out great!
Hey Grampa Dave... Here ya go!!!
Hey Dog Gone... Take this ta work with ya!!!
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