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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (1950)	2/12/2004 11:51:14 PM
From: Lizzie Tudor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

I thought he would lose on iraq but iraq + economy? I'm predicting a dem landslide on congress and pres. Which could have its own issues.

To: stockman_scott who wrote (1950)	2/28/2004 12:04:11 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Looks like Kerry will carry California buy a wide margin, both during the primaries and in the Nov. 2004. Kerry pulls no punches during rally in Oakland Presidential hopeful blasts Bush on everything from the war to lack of funding for firefighters By Alex Katz STAFF WRITER Saturday, February 28, 2004 - OAKLAND -- Sen. John Kerry came to Oakland on Friday for the first time during his campaign to become the Democratic nominee for president. Thousands of people crowded in a union hall near the Oakland Airport to hear Kerry, a decorated war veteran who has won almost all of the state primaries so far. Sen. John Edwards is running second behind Kerry, and California voters go to the polls Tuesday to decide who they want to run against President George W. Bush. Some of the heaviest hitters in California's Democratic Party, including U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, stumped for Kerry at the rally. Feinstein, who sits near Kerry in the senate chambers, introduced the candidate, who took the stage to the Tom Petty song "American Girl." "We come here in Oakland tonight to mark the beginning of the end of the Bush presidency," Kerry said, getting some of the event's loudest applause. Kerry pointed out the firefighters in the hall, and told the audience that under the current administration, half of all fire houses in the country are short on equipment. "We should not be opening fire houses in Baghdad while we're closing them in America," he said. The crowd enthusiastically booed Bush every time Kerry blasted the president. "George Bush thought that he could play dress-up on an aircraft carrier," Kerry said, referring to Bush's famous "Mission Accomplished" photo op on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. In one of his most polished riffs of the night, Kerry said Bush "thought you wouldn't notice" people dying in Iraq, Bush thought American people wouldn't notice a job is lost every two minutes in this country, and Bush thought people wouldn't notice factory workers being laid off left and right. "The one person in the United States of America who deserves to be laid off is George W. Bush, and that's exactly what we are going to do," Kerry said. Kerry spoke of plans for some form of universal health care, of repealing the Bush tax cuts to the wealthy and of promoting open government. Also, Kerry said, "Young Americans in uniform should never, ever be held hostage to our desire for oil in the Middle East." Although Kerry has been called stiff or even pedantic on the campaign trail, he appeared relaxed speaking to the Oakland crowd. He even got a few laughs. Oakland, Kerry said, has "a big heart and extraordinary charity ... The reason is, no other city would welcome a Red Sox fan like this." Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, was referring to his team's divisional playoff win over the Oakland A's last season. Before Kerry arrived on stage, state Treasurer Phil Angelides took the microphone, and borrowed Kerry's line about "Benedict Arnold" companies who move their headquarters overseas to avoid paying taxes. Angelides and other top Democrats took turns praising each other and Kerry. Angelides was joined by state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, who had a severely bruised face from what he called "a fight with a fence post on my ranch." "When I look into (Kerry's) eyes, I see a real person," said Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, also at the event. "I don't see any vacant anything. In my business we size up people real quickly." State Attorney General Bill Lockyer spoke to reporters before the rally, but left before Kerry arrived. Lockyer asked the state Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of gay marriages Friday. Some pundits say the issue of same-sex marriage could hinder the Democratic challenger to Bush, who wants to ban the unions with a constitutional amendment. Several thousand people packed into the hall, and hundreds more listened to the speech outside. Kerry also thanked Garamendi for working on former candidate Howard Dean's campaign, which Kerry said did a lot for the Democratic party and the country. "Ideally (the Democratic nominee for president) would be (Dennis) Kucinich or Dean," Berkeley resident Kimberly Gregg said at the rally. "But, you know, I like John Kerry." oaklandtribune.com