POLITICAL POINTS - NYT
Putting Past Rivalry Aside, Kerry and Dean Rally Together
By JODI WILGOREN
Today was unity day for the Democrats, so Howard Dean and John Kerry each managed to say nice things about one another at an outdoor rally on the campus of George Washington University. Yet after months of sniping, the hand-holding between the formerly bitter rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination could not help but be a little awkward.
Dr. Dean, who got a draft deferment during the Vietnam War because of a back injury and never served in the military, said he would much prefer a decorated Vietnam veteran in the White House over a commander in chief who, as a member of the National Guard, "never served a day overseas.".
Senator Kerry credited Dr. Dean, a former governor of Vermont, for starting a critical conversation with the country, particularly people alienated by career politicians, a group that includes Senator Kerry.
They slapped high-fives, and worked the rope line side by side as U2's anthem "Beautiful Day" blasted over the sun-dappled plaza on the Washington, D.C., campus.
"There are things we talked about in the campaign, things that divide us," noted Dr. Dean, who at one point even started a weak chant of "Ker-ry, Ker-ry, Ker-ry" for the man he had not so long ago denounced as a handmaiden of special interests. ( Video )"Now we're going to talk about the things we have in common."
Aware that imitation is the strongest form of flattery, Senator Kerry borrowed from Dr. Dean's script upon taking the microphone. "You have — who am I quoting? — you have the power," the told the students.
But the Republican Party symbol is, after all, the elephant — not so quick to forget.
President Bush's re-election campaign quickly blasted reporters with an e-mail message listing Dr. Dean's not-so-loving lines about the Democrats' new standard bearer, including digs about Mr. Kerry's inability to pay for all his proposals and balance the budget, and about his waffling on the war in Iraq.
"'I find that quite amusing that Senator Kerry, who's been on every side of this issue, would even have the nerve to say that,' " the Bush news release quoted Dr. Dean as saying last fall in New Hampshire. " `But I suppose if you have the nerve to cover your own vote and then try to pretend you didn't vote that way you'd have the nerve to do anything.'"
On the eve of the Democrats' unity dinner, at which most of the party's presidential also-rans planned to celebrate Senator Kerry's ascendance, the Republican campaign release also highlighted others' recent jabs against their nominee-to-be:
Representative Richard A. Gephardt: "He's trying to have it both ways."
General Wesley K. Clark: "I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth."
Senator John Edwards: "If we want real change in Washington, we need someone who hasn't been there for 20 years."
Senator Joseph I. Lieberman: "I didn't duck it. I didn't play politics. I voted to support our troops."
At the Dean-Kerry rally today, though, the George Washington students seemed to be making a smooth conversion from "Generation Dean" to "Colonials for Kerry."
"Yeah, I wish it was Dean going up there and Kerry endorsing," admitted Max Canin, 19, a freshman from Los Angeles, who wore his Kerry button on a Dean T-shirt. "But you know what? I think Kerry's a great guy. He's not Howard Dean. He's not the one I want. But I think he's going to make a great president."
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