The Christian Science Monitor reports Kerry already meets "threshold test" on national security for voters, raising stakes for Bush campaign's burden of proof. [Read more...]

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After a long and contentious primary season, and what seemed like an even longer build-up to the convention, with virtually no other plausible rival, Sen. John F. Kerry formally accepted his party's nomination to run for President of the United States tonight at the Fleet Center in Boston. He was preceded by a number of prominent Democrats, former opponents and impassioned supporters, as well as the documentary film "A Remarkable Promise".

He was introduced by his friend, supporter and fellow Vietnam veteran, fmr. Sen. Max Cleland, who was flanked by the crew that served under Kerry in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. The candidate entered the arena to Bruce Springsteen's "No Surrender" which added poignant relief to the presence of Kerry's fellow veterans, which he has called his "band of brothers".

After taking the podium, Sen. Kerry announced "I'm reporting for duty" and saluted the cheering Democratic audience. He then began to relate segments of his life story, talking of the inspiration he gleaned from his parents. He praised his father "lived out the responsibilities and the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation" and his mother for instilling in him the understanding that women must enjoy full equality in all areas of life.

The newly crowned candidate told of a childhood with his parents in Cold War West Germany, how he learned of the radical difference of experience among people living in freedom or living under tyranny, having seen both sides of the divided Berlin. He listed the ideals and the goals of the civil rights movements of the 1960's, and added "The march isn't over", warning success can only come if we are "true to our ideals".

He touted his time as prosecutor, his role as one of the first Democrats to support a balanced budget, his support for 100,000 new police, and his work with Sen. John McCain to find all soldiers listed as MIA in Vietnam. To this record, he added that as President, he would never lead the nation into war without evidence or just cause, that he would never mislead the people, and he would fight to uphold the principles of the Constitution of the United States.

He criticized the Bush administration for believing that "outsourcing jobs overseas" is the optimal economic situation, and suggested he would enact different economic policies to create millions of new jobs, balance the budget, and restore the prosperity of the 1990's.

Noting that the Sons of Liberty had begun planning the American Revolution near to where he stood, Sen. Kerry noted the groups he hopes to serve, saying: "On behalf of a new birth of freedom, on behalf of the middle class and all those struggling to join the middle class... for the brave men and women in uniform... for all those who believe that our best days are ahead of us, with great faith in the American people, I accept your nomination."

Kerry said of his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, "She has the strongest moral compass of anyone I know... she speaks her mind, and she speaks the truth, and I love her for that, too." He praised her and his family for "never letting me get away with anything". He referred to his fellow veterans, and to his friend Max Cleland, whom he called "that American hero, a patriot", to explain that for himself and for them, each day in life is "extra", which motivates his desire to serve and to excel in service.

He harkened to the hope and the comfort the nation found in unity, in the hours and days after the attacks of 9/11, declaring "it was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us". He remembered the heroism of police, firefighters and rescue workers who rushed into the perils of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to save the lives of strangers, and the sacrifice of passengers whose plane crashed in Pennsylvania when they decided to prevent it from reaching the nation's capital.

Sen. Kerry spoke of the need to see "complexity" and said he will "ask the tough questions". The Senator brought these themes together to say he would "restore the time-honored American tradition" which holds that the United States only goes to war because there is no other option. He proclaimed firmly that he would "bring the lessons I learned in war" to the war on terrorism and the struggle in Iraq.

He addressed the men and women of the Armed Forces, saying that upon entering office he would send the message: "You will never be asked to fight a war without a plan to win the peace." He sought to assure his audience he knows how to deal with Iraq, how to secure Iraq, and how to add to the solutions the mended diplomatic relations needed to act with international consensus. But, he added that he would never allow any nation to have "a veto over our national security" and would never hesitate to use force when needed.

He also decried "the back-door draft of the National Guard and reservists" and promised to end it. He urged use of "our principles as well as our firepower" and cited his experience as a Senator dealing with foreign policy and his consequent knowledge of American strength "and the strength of our ideals". Echoing the message of VP-nominee Sen. John Edwards, declared that "the future does not belong to fear; it belongs to freedom" and promised to immediately implement all of the security recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

Citing the criticism leveled at dissenters by members of the current administration, the candidate proclaimed "Our purpose now is to reclaim our democracy itself." He noted that the urge and the willingness to dissent, to express differing ideas and opinions is the very meaning of democracy, calling it "the heart and soul of patriotism". He also declared, "that flag doesn't belong to any president; it doesn't belong to any ideology; it doesn't belong to any party; it belongs to all the American people" which prompted chants of "U-S-A, U-S-A" from the Democratic audience.

He called on those who speak of values and "family values to start valuing families" and listed a series of policies which he contends are undermining the wellbeing of American families. Moving into the issue of drug-costs, healthcare and veterans benefits, he criticized a nameless opponent for siding with powerful interests against the needs of the vulnerable and infirm.

Artfully echoing the refrain of the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign, and its promise of aid to the military, Sen. Kerry said "Help is on the way" for workers who are forced to train their replacements, women without healthcare, children in cities who suffer from pollution-based asthma. He refrained "America can do better" then asked what may be the rhetorical thesis of his speech: "Where is the conscience of our country?" He answered by saying it is found on family farms, on Main Street, in the middle class.

Promising his policies would lift up average Americans, he listed the broad strokes of his economic strategy. He said "our plan calls for a fair playing field" in international trade, promising that American workers can always compete on a fair playing field. He also promised to set a "pay as you go" standard for the federal budget. On tax policy, his plan calls for cutting middle class and low-income taxes, while rolling back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Funding rediscovered through these policies would allow him not to privatize Social Security or cut benefits.

On education policy, he promised a tax credit to all families for every year of college their children attend. He explained that as a prosecutor in Massachusetts, he learned that funding education and improving the education system is more economical and more rewarding that paying for the punishment people who fall into crime after being abandoned by adults, deprived of hope and pushed out of society's mainstream.

Sen. Kerry said his administration would understand that healthcare is not a privilege for the wealthy but a right for all people, and would act to make it available to all Americans. The Kerry health plan would permit doctors and patients to make treatment decisions, not HMO bureaucrats, and would allow the US government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, to ensure that treatment, not profit, determines drug costs.

He promised that the "ingenuity and innovation" of Americans, "not the Saudi Royal family", would be the basis of economic growth and energy production. This plan would enable the United States to end a long period of resource dependence on foreign countries with troubled political climates and authoritarian regimes.

Addressing the President directly, he called on his opponent to show optimism, to celebrate diversity and understand people's differences, and to honor "the most precious document", the Constitution. Noting "the hard road may be harder, but it leads to a better place", he urged Republicans to help him make this campaign "a campaign of great ideas".

He welcomed people of faith to the campaign of ideas, and noted that he doesn't believe in wearing religion on one's sleeve, but that he had derived his values from personal faith. To explain rhetorically, he announced "I don't want to claim that God is on our side. As Abraham Lincoln told us, I want to pray humbly that we are on God's side."

He asked "What if?", promising he would trust in the ingenuity of the average citizen, the genius of science, the capacity for creating a better future and said he envisioned an America in which "we are all in the same boat". He then rounded out the speech with another note of optimism, proclaiming that the nation's best days are ahead.

David Brooks of the New York Times described Kerry's speech as the fulfillment of a Convention which marks "the rise of a muscular centrism", which would carry the Democratic campaign through to the election. He added that the Republicans would need to learn they're "not going to destroy this guy John Kerry". [s]