"The most important election of our lifetime": John Kerry by Globe &Mail 9:26pm 30th Jul, 2004   Kerry vows to restore trust    30/07/2004 (24/7: SA)    Boston - John Kerry accepted the Democratic nomination for president late on Thursday, pledging to restore "trust and credibility" to the White House and repair global alliances rent by the Iraq war.    The Massachusetts senator and Vietnam war hero made it clear from the outset that his main goal was to boost his credentials as a tough leader able to steer the United States through the turbulent post-September 11 era.    "I'm John Kerry, and I'm reporting for duty," he said with a crisp salute as he walked to the podium of the Fleet Centre sports arena here to the thunderous cheers of 20 000 Democratic delegates and guests.    The 60-year-old Kerry capped the four-day gathering with a sharp indictment of the Republican administration as a rich man's club that flouted civil rights and bent military intelligence to its political ends. "I will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war. I will have a vice president who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws," Kerry said. "And I will appoint an attorney general who actually upholds the constitution of the United States," he said. "As president, I will restore trust and credibility to the White House."    Kerry kept his focus largely on security issues after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, pledging to beef up the US military to counter Republican charges he was weak and waffling on defence.    "Let there be no mistake: I will never hesitate to use force when it is required," said Kerry, adding that he would take the country into war only to meet a "real and imminent" threat.    The Democrat vowed to win back allies for the fight against terrorism, but said he was ready for unilateral action if needed: "I will never give any nation or international institution a veto over our national security."    Security has become a major issue in the November 2 election, with polls showing voters considering Bush a stronger and more decisive leader than Kerry. Making a frontal assault on Bush's contention he was running as a "war president," Kerry said, "In these dangerous days there is a right way and a wrong way to be strong."    Promising to add 40 000 new troops to the overstretched US military, Kerry said force alone was not enough. "We need to make America once again a beacon in the world. We need to be looked up to and not just feared."    Kerry also chided Bush on homeland security, saying he would not "evade or equivocate" on the issue and immediately implement the recommendations of a national panel that probed the September 11 disaster.    On the domestic front, Kerry lambasted Bush over the loss of US jobs, rising health-care costs and lagging educational opportunities for many people. "America can do better. So tonight we say: help is on the way," he said.    July 30, 2004    "John Kerry vows to restore U.S. Credibilty", By Alan Freeman (Globe &Mail)    BOSTON -- Calling November's presidential vote "the most important election of our lifetime," John Kerry launched his bid to wrest the White House from George W. Bush last night, vowing to use military force to guard the United States against external enemies while building a fairer economy at home. "I defended this country as a young man and I will defend it as president," the Massachusetts senator told the Democratic National Convention, referring to his experience as a decorated Vietnam War veteran. "Let there be no mistake. I will never hesitate to use force when it is required."..    "I will bring back this nation's time-honoured tradition: The United States of America never goes to war because we want to. We only go to war because we have to," he said.    "Strength is more than tough words," he said. "We need to be looked up to and not just feared. The future doesn't belong to fear; it belongs to freedom."    Throughout the evening, there were constant references to Mr. Kerry's background as a Vietnam War hero, from the presence of his fellow Vietnam War veterans on stage to the words he used at the beginning of his 50-minute speech: "I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty." As he saluted, the delegates waved thousands of Kerry posters and roared their approval.    With opinion polls showing the two candidates in a virtual dead heat barely three months from the Nov. 2 vote, Mr. Kerry was clearly aiming to sway undecided voters and to insist that U.S. patriotism is not simply the purview of the Republican right.    "The flag doesn't belong to any president," Mr. Kerry told more than 10,000 Democratic delegates and their enthusiastic supporters at the FleetCenter arena. "It doesn't belong to any ideology and it doesn't belong to any political party. It belongs to all the American people."    Mr. Kerry told the crowd that "I know there are those who criticize me for seeing complexities -- and I do -- because some issues just aren't all that simple. Saying there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq doesn't make it so. Saying we can fight a war on the cheap doesn't make it so. And proclaiming mission accomplished certainly doesn't make it so." He said the Democrats are defending the values of economic equality. It is time, he said, "for those who talk about family values to start valuing families. . . . You don't value families by kicking kids out of after-school programs and taking cops off our streets, so that Enron can get another tax break," he added.    He then promised to provide health-care coverage for the 43 million Americans who lack health insurance. "When I'm president, America will stop being the only advanced nation in the world which fails to understand that health care is not a privilege for the wealthy, the connected and the elected. It is a right for all Americans."    And although he promised to take the high road in the election campaign, he questioned the ethics of Mr. Bush and his cabinet. "I will be a commander-in-chief who will never mislead us into war. I will have a vice-president who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws . . . and I will appoint an attorney-general who actually upholds the constitution of the United States."    Mr. Kerry's acceptance speech, broadcast live on prime-time television, followed a video presentation of his life that portrayed him as a tough-minded Vietnam War hero and doting father. He was accompanied on stage by a dozen of his crewmates from the boat he skippered as a young naval officer in the Mekong Delta. He was introduced by Max Cleland, a double amputee from the Vietnam War and former U.S. senator."John Kerry has never let me down. He'll never let you down. He is an authentic American hero," Mr. Cleland said...    For the full text of John Kerry's Speech to the 2004 Democratic National Convention click on the link below. Visit the related web page
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