Kerry Opens Campaign on War Theme
Senator Stresses His Military Record and Assails Bush on Security Issues
By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 3, 2003; Page A01
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C., Sept. 2 -- Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) today formally entered the 2004 presidential race, portraying himself as a war-hero candidate with the guts to challenge President Bush's foreign policy and the gallantry to make the United States and its troops safe again.
With the USS Yorktown at his back, crewmates from his Vietnam War gunboat at his side and flags fluttering in the wind, Kerry left little doubt that much of his campaign will be centered on his combat heroism three decades ago and his ability to challenge Bush on national security.
"Overseas, George Bush has led -- and misled us on a course at odds with 200 years of our history," Kerry said. "He has squandered the goodwill of the world after September 11 and lost the respect and influence we need to make our country safe. And here on the home front, every investigation, every commission, every piece of evidence we have tells us that this president has failed to make us as safe as we should be."
Offering one of his toughest and most expansive critiques of Bush's foreign policy, Kerry said the president made a "miscalculation of colossal proportions" by not building a broader international coalition to take out Saddam Hussein. He also accused Bush of daring more countries to become nuclear powers. "He is poised to set off a new nuclear arms race by building bunker-busting tactical nuclear weapons," Kerry said. "I don't want a world with more usable nuclear weapons." The Bush administration is studying the new bunker-busters but has not produced any.
Kerry, looking to pump new life into a campaign overwhelmed by the soaring antiwar candidacy of former Vermont governor Howard Dean, is calculating that national security will eventually dominate the primary and the general election ahead -- or, at the very least, be a litmus test that the nominee must pass with flying colors. With 140,000 U.S. troops struggling to stabilize Iraq, the possibility of a confrontation with a nuclear North Korea looming and the ongoing threat of terrorism, Kerry believes only a Democrat strong on national security can defeat Bush in this unpredictable political climate, according to his advisers.
Though Kerry has the résumé to battle Bush on this front -- he was awarded a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts in Vietnam -- it is far from clear if he has the message to win the battle for supremacy inside his own warring party, according to other Democrats.
Kerry, once viewed by his rivals as the front-runner, has sputtered in recent months as he has tried, often unsuccessfully, to balance his support for the war in Iraq with his criticism of how Bush has carried out the mission. At the same time, Dean has roared past him in New Hampshire and nationally with his constant and consistent critique of Bush's Iraq policy.
Kerry, Dean and the other leading candidates actually hold similar views on how to handle the situation in Iraq: All of them want to enlist greater international support, and none advocates pulling out. But Kerry, more than any other candidate, has paid a political price for his support of the war in the early part of this campaign. Unlike Kerry, Dean was not in a position to vote on the congressional war resolution, but Dean says he would have opposed it.
This is not the first time Kerry has supported fighting a war only to raise questions about it afterward. Kerry killed the enemy in Vietnam, returned home a decorated hero and instantly became an outspoken critic of the war, gaining some national prominence.
His most famous quote of that era -- "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" -- could serve as the rallying cry of the antiwar left today. This time around, however, Kerry advocates saving lives not by pulling troops out, but by pulling reluctant allies in. "Half the names on the Vietnam Memorial are there because of pride -- because of a president who refused to admit we were on the wrong road," he said.
Today's events, beginning here and ending in Des Moines, were part of a carefully choreographed day aimed at formally launching a campaign that has been underway since the beginning of the year.
Bush was not the only target of Kerry's speech. Though never mentioned by name, Dean was a prominent subtext throughout. A new CBS News poll found that nearly two-thirds of voters could not name even one of the nine Democrats running -- which suggests a wide-open race. Kerry is behind in New Hampshire, a must-win state for him and one where voters are tuned in to the race.
In the latest sign of internal problems plaguing the Kerry camp, rumors swirled today that a staff shakeup was in the offing, distracting from the campaign's official rollout. Kerry, at an unscheduled stop in Des Moines, conceded that his staff had made mistakes, and he did not rule out changes. About an hour later, however, he issued a statement noting that no staff changes were in the works.
Kerry criticized Dean and, to a lesser extent, Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.) for calling for the repeal of the Bush tax cuts -- nearly $2 trillion worth passed in three chunks over the past three years. "Some in my own party want to get rid of all the tax cuts -- including those for working families," Kerry said. "That would mean that a family of four with two parents working hard on the job and at home would have to pay $2,000 more a year in taxes. That's wrong."
Kerry also rolled out a new line of attack on Dean: the former Vermont governor's opposition to new gun controls. Dean often speaks of his close relationship with the National Rifle Association, the nation's premier gun lobby, and of his opposition to new federal gun laws.
"Courage means standing up for gun safety, not retreating from the issue out of political fear or trying to have it both ways," Kerry said. "Our party will never be the choice of the NRA, and I am not looking to be the candidate of the NRA."
However, on the two biggest gun issues facing Congress -- extending the assault weapons ban and providing new liability protection to the gun industry -- the two candidates agree: They support the ban and oppose the caps.
Finally, Kerry sought to differentiate himself from Dean and others by advocating a middle-of-the-road domestic agenda. He proposed new tax cuts, mainly one aimed at creating jobs, and promised not to balance the budget, as Dean has, but to cut the deficit in half in the first four years -- a goal many Democrats see as more realistic. Most of all, he played up his experience as a reason he could make all of these things happen.
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