Kerry storms back at Bush

2004-07-30 18:39

Boston - John Kerry took his vow to restore credibility to the White House on the campaign trail on Friday, seeking to build on a four-day Democratic assault on President George W Bush's leadership.

Hours after delivering the most important speech of his life at the party's national convention late on Thursday, the Massachusetts senator and his vice presidential running mate, John Edwards, kicked off a two-week, 21-state campaign blitz.

"Ninety-seven days. Let's make it happen," Kerry told a tour launch rally, warning against any complacency between now and Election Day, November 2.

"I will begin by telling the truth all across America," he said.

The next few days represent a critical period for Democrats, who will be desperate to maintain momentum after a week when their candidate was given a virtual free run of the national political stage.

Having ceded the spotlight to his challenger over the convention period, Bush also signalled an aggressive return to the electoral fray on Friday, launching a punishing 48-hour swing through the key battleground states of Missouri, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

In his convention speech, when he formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president, Kerry offered a biting critique of Bush's record in office, and presented himself as a battle-tested veteran who could be trusted to keep Americans safe.

"Restore trust and credibility"

"I will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war," Kerry said, hitting out at what Democrats see as one of the president's most vulnerable spots.

Invoking his own decorated military service in Vietnam, he also countered Republican charges that he lacks the decisiveness to lead the United States in the war against terror.

"I defended this country as a young man and I will defend it as president," he said. "As president, I will restore trust and credibility to the White House."

The speech drew a mixed press reaction, with several commentaries suggesting that Kerry had missed a crucial opportunity with undecided voters to flesh out his stand on crucial issues.

For months, polls have put Bush and Kerry in a virtual dead heat, but they have given the president a decisive edge on national security, foremost in voters' minds since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States.

A Zogby America poll out on Friday, which canvassed opinion from the first day of the Democratic convention, showed the Kerry-Edwards ticket opening a five-point lead over the Republican incumbents.

Much of Kerry's speech on Thursday was devoted to the security issue, which he said he would approach with both unstinting military firmness and diplomatic pragmatism.

- AFP