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Kerry, Edwards show off the Democratic ticket
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-07-08 02:11
Democrats John Kerry and John Edwards appeared together on the campaign trail for the first time on Wednesday and declared themselves advocates for ordinary Americans squeezed by President Bush's economic policies.
Democratic Presidential candidate Senator John Kerry (L) welcomes Vice Presidential candidate Senator John Edwards to the stage at a rally in Cleveland, Ohio, July 7, 2004. Kerry and Edwards will be formally anointed later this month at the Democratic convention in Boston as the party's challengers to President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney in the November 2 election. [Reuters] |
In front of a huge banner proclaiming "Kerry and Edwards: A New Team for a New America," the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee told thousands of supporters that he and his newly minted running mate were America's "dream ticket."
"We've got better vision, better ideas, real plans, we've got a better sense of what's happening to America and we've got better hair," Kerry said, a reference to the well-coiffed Democratic team.
Edwards, a former rival for the Democratic nomination, reprised the "two Americas" theme of his primary campaign, blaming the White House for "the middle class squeeze" and calling for "one America that works for everybody."
Kerry vowed the pair would fight for "good paying jobs that let American families actually get ahead, an America where the middle class is doing better, not squeezed."
He and Edwards are betting that the Nov. 2 election in which they hope to unseat Republican incumbents Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney will turn largely on bread-and-butter issues despite an overall improving economy and the prominence given to national security by the daily news from Iraq.
During his first public appearance with Edwards, Kerry three times told reporters that the first-term senator from North Carolina was up to the job of vice president.
In a carefully choreographed event with their wives and children almost 24 hours after Kerry announced Edwards' selection, the Massachusetts senator sought to rebut Republican criticism of Edwards' relative political inexperience, especially on national security.
KERRY, BUSH DEFEND THEIR NO. 2 MEN
"This man is ready for this job. He's ready to help lead America," Kerry said as the families posed against the backdrop of Pennsylvania's western Allegheny Mountains on Teresa Heinz Kerry's $3.7 million farm outside Pittsburgh. "He's ready to do his job."
Bush, campaigning in Edwards' home state, defended his own vice president in much the same way when asked about the importance of experience by saying, "Dick Cheney can be president."
Democrats hope Edwards can broaden Kerry's appeal to undecided and swing voters who might tip the balance in what is expected to be an extremely close race with Bush on Nov. 2.
A political natural, warm and energetic with a Southern drawl, the boyish-looking 51-year-old Edwards had the Cleveland crowd chanting, cheering and stomping.
His personal skills offset what some critics say are a negative for Kerry -- his sometimes wooden speaking style and his New England heritage.
Edwards is the son of a mill worker who made a fortune as a trial lawyer and has represented North Carolina in the U.S. Senate since 1998. Like Bush, Cheney and Kerry, Edwards is a millionaire.
Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said Edwards' selection cemented the Democratic team "as the most out of the mainstream ticket" in the party's history, "out of step on the kitchen table issues that matter to Americans."
For the opening of their first joint campaign swing, Kerry and Edwards chose Ohio, a crucial battleground state. No Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio and recent polls show Bush and Kerry running even.
Campaign advisers defended the depth of Edwards' resume, pointing out that he served on the Senate Intelligence Committee and the congressional panel investigating the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and was a leader on bioterrorism.
"He brings a great deal to the table and actually more than the current president did when he was elected in 2000," campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill said in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America." Bush was in his second term as governor of Texas when he won the White House.
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