I thought you might enjoy a respite from the campaign, so I ran George Bush’s Agenda page through Snoop Dogg’s Shizzolator. A sample:

For da past two-‘n-a-half years, compassionate conservatism has been da President’s governing philosophy as tha dude’s Administration has tackled some of society’s toughest assignments, such as educating izzle shorties, fighting poverty at crib, ‘n helping poor countries around da globe, know what I’m sayin’?

Fo’ shizzle. Visit the fully shizzolated page here.

In the interest of equal time, I’ve done the same to John Kerry’s National Security page:

Today, we face three bomb diggity challenges above izzall others - First, win da global war against terror; Second, stop da spread of nuclear, biological ‘n chemical weapons; Third, promote democracy, freedom, ‘n opportunity around da world, starting by winning da peace in Iraq, know what I’m sayin’?

Word. Read the rest here.

[So far this page has not been covering Senate Races and if Alan and Michele wish, I’ll gladly remove this post]

Today is the day the local GOP is supposed to decide on someone to run against Democratic All-Star Barack Obama. Rumors are floating this morning that former Presidential wanna-be Alan Keyes might be under consideration.

Meanwhile a group [lead by myself] has developed a site dedicated to questioning Obama’s record.

Buried later down in one of the articles about Kerry’s lack of a bounce.

The Massachusetts senator gained five to eight points among registered voters on issues and attributes alike, while Bush lost about as many. And after a convention that focused heavily on his military experience in Vietnam, Kerry leads Bush as “better qualified to be commander-in-chief,” by 52 percent to 44 percent.

During the Democratic convention Ed Rendell described to me how the Democratic party has worked since the late 1980s to become the party of strong foriegn policy. In this March, 2003 by-lined Foreign Policy article John Kerry tried to drive the point home.

Democrats must resist a new orthodoxy within our party—a politically stagnating shift that does a disservice to more than 75 years of history. That is the new conventional wisdom of consultants, pollsters, and strategists who argue that Democrats should be the party of domestic issues alone.

They are wrong. As a party, Democrats need to talk about all the things that strengthen and protect the United States. We need to have a vision that extends to the world around us, and we should remember that this vision is as old as our party. Woodrow Wilson was elected president during a time of peace, but he led during a time of war. Franklin Roosevelt was elected to tackle the Great Depression, create Social Security, and put the United States back to work. But no one should forget that he did those things even as he responded to Pearl Harbor and marshaled the nation’s troops from Normandy to Iwo Jima. And John F. Kennedy didn’t try to change the subject of the debate when Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s vice president brought up foreign policy. Kennedy challenged the United States globally, insisting that the country do more and better, not because these things are easy but because they are hard.

It’s our turn again to talk about things that are hard.

Read the rest.

Like everyone else in media, USATODAY asks “So why did Bush, not Kerry, get the bounce?”

This from India’s Deepikaglobal / Reuters:

Discussing the war in Iraq, Heinz Kerry subtly questioned Republican President George W. Bush’s intellect, saying: “It’s vital for anyone with intelligence to acknowledge mistakes and change positions — hello.” When a Bush supporter with a bullhorn shouted “four more years” from the back of a large crowd packed into a downtown Milwaukee park, Heinz Kerry, who was introducing her husband, responded: “They want four more years of hell.” “Three more months!,” she declared, referring to the Nov. 2 presidential election.

Yeah … shove it!

The Associated Press reports that President Bush is asking Congress to create a National Intelligence Director:

In asking Congress to create the position of a national intelligence director, Bush said the person holding the post would be appointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and would serve at the pleasure of the president. The director would serve as the president’s principal intelligence adviser, overseeing and coordinating the foreign and domestic activities of the intelligence community.

[. . .]

“I want, and every president must have, the best, unbiased, unvarnished assessment of America’s intelligence professionals,” Bush said.

From California Yankee.

We’ve added a new news category to the 2004 page for Michael Badnarik, the Libertarian candidate (who is, BTW, on the rolls in all 50 states, something Nader can’t say). I’ve also added the Badnarik blog to the RSS feed in the right-hand column.

The Washington Post reports that Kerry pledged Sunday to substantially reduce U.S. troop strength in Iraq by the end of his first term in office. He declined to offer details, however. Reports the Post:

In interviews on television talk shows, the Democratic presidential nominee said that he saw no reason to send more troops to Iraq and that he would seek allied support to draw down U.S. forces there. “I will have significant, enormous reduction in the level of troops,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Kerry accused President Bush of misleading the country before the war in Iraq, burning bridges with U.S. allies and having no plan to win peace. But when questioned about saying Thursday in his acceptance speech, “I know what we have to do in Iraq,” he would not tip his hand.

“I’ve been involved in this for a long time, longer than George Bush,” he said. “I’ve spent 20 years negotiating, working, fighting for different kinds of treaties and different relationships around the world. I know that as president there’s huge leverage that will be available to me, enormous cards to play, and I’m not going to play them in public. I’m not going to play them before I’m president.”

There’s also this:

Reminded that he sounded like Richard M. Nixon, who campaigned in 1968 by saying he had a secret plan to end the war in Vietnam, Kerry responded: “I don’t care what it sounds like. The fact is that I’m not going to negotiate in public today without the presidency, without the power.”

The Christian Science Monitor notes the Kerry team is approaching the post-convention push using plays oddly similar to those from the 2000 Bush campaign playbook.

Crossing the country on a two-week “Believe in America” tour through key battleground states, he’s bypassing most major cities for smaller towns, where Bush tends to have more support. He’s stressing Republican themes like values, trying to shift the definition away from things like abortion and gay marriage toward economic justice and personal conduct.

Kerry is even emulating aspects of Bush’s 2000 race against Vice President Al Gore, adopting variations of Bush’s own slogans. His promise to restore “trust and credibility” to the White House echoes Bush’s promise to restore “honor and dignity” in the wake of the Lewinsky scandals, and his refrain of “help is on the way” was formerly used by Vice President Dick Cheney. Sen. John Edwards’s variation, “hope is on the way,” is a close echo.

More reports of conditions in Florida and elsewhere that may lead to electoral chaos should the election run as close as currently polled. The Toronto Star asks “Is Florida facing a new polling fiasco?”, noting this exchange between Bob Graham and Wolf Blitzer at last week’s DNC:

On the floor of the Democratic convention, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked Florida Senator Bob Graham if the state had solved the problem of hanging chads and punch-card ballots, which had caused such havoc in the last presidential election.

Graham noted that those problems had been solved, but pointed to another problem: about half of Florida voters will use electronic voting machines in November, even though “(We) do not have any verifiable backup in case one of those machines malfunctions or there’s a challenge to the accuracy of the machines.”

Blitzer seemed shocked by this. “Well, how is that possible in this day and age you don’t have a backup?”

Graham’s answer was stunning: “Because I’ll say (Florida) Governor (Jeb) Bush and his administration have stonewalled the efforts to get a paper trail behind these electronic machines.”

The Dallas Morning News also considers the issue, noting that “The technology revolution that was supposed to modernize voting booths by the November elections is turning out to be, well, not so revolutionary.”

It seems the executives at Goldman Sachs are the top political donors in the US, the Guardian reports.

For the first time, the Wall Street firm has become the US’s top corporate political funder, contributing a total of nearly $4 million to both George W Bush’s and John Kerry’s campaigns.

The bank is traditionally a Democrat supporter, but with just 93 days until Americans go to the polls, Goldman Sachs is firmly on the fence, with only 51 per cent of its money going to John Kerry’s team, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data.

A Massachusetts group of leading Jewish supporters of John Kerry’s candidacy will spread out across the country in the next three months, targeting presidential campaign battleground states to challenge President Bush’s perceived gains among a critical Democratic constituency.

A dozen or more Jewish civic and political officials — led by Steve Grossman, former chairman of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and Alan Solomont, Kerry’s New England finance chairman — will campaign in Florida, Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, where Jewish voters could well tip the balance and decide the presidential election.

Full story here.

While Senator Kerry had a well-run convention, it lacked specifics and didn’t really move his campaign to another level. As a result, he is experiencing either a small bounce, or a negative one (depending on the poll one consults). Hence, President Bush starts the month in great shape: a small-to-no bounce to overcome, at least $30 million to spend going into his convention, and an opponent who has to hold off on serious spending until September.

The details and a round-up of news and blogospheric reactions can be found at PoliBlog where you will find this week’s Toast-O-Meter .

he Democratic National Convention boosted voters’ perceptions of John Kerry’s leadership on critical issues, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll finds. But it failed to give him the expected bump in the head-to-head race against President Bush.

In the survey, taken Friday and Saturday, the Democratic ticket of Kerry and John Edwards trailed the Republican ticket of Bush and Dick Cheney 50% to 46% among likely voters, with independent candidate Ralph Nader at 2%.

Before the convention, the two were essentially tied, with Kerry at 47%, Bush at 46%.

Full story….

A new CNN-USA Today Gallup poll shows that the DNC bounce favors President Bush. Reuters reports:

The poll of about 1,000 respondents on Friday and on Saturday showed President Bush garnering 50 percent to 47 percent for the new Democratic nominee, Sen. John Kerry; Bush trailed Kerry among likely voters earlier in July, 47 percent to 49 percent. Independent candidate Ralph Nader had 2 percent.

USA Today reports that this is the first time in the Gallup Poll since the 1972 Democratic convention that a candidate lost ground during his convention.

From California Yankee.

I took a number of photographs during the convention last Thursday night, and will be posting them here as a photoblog of John Kerry’s acceptance speech. In each case I’ve posted a short description in the comments, and you can click on the image to display the picture full-sized. Hope you enjoy them.

(All are also cross posted here.)

From yesterday’s Rasmussen Report, some stats to chew on:

• 51% Say Finishing Iraq Mission Top Priority

Fifty-one percent (51%) of American voters say that making sure Iraq becomes “a peaceful nation enjoying freedom and democracy” is more important than bringing home American soldiers right away…..39% believe bringing home the troops as soon as possible in more important.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of all voters think that John Kerry believes bringing home the troops is more important. Just 29% think Kerry places a higher priority on insuring a successful conclusion in Iraq.
Eighty-three percent (83%) believe Bush places a higher priority on finishing the mission. Just 8% believe Bush is more interested in bringing home the troops as soon as possible.

• Bush vs. Kerry on War

(From Friday) When it comes to the War on Terror and national defense issues, voter preference for Bush over Kerry remains near its lowest level of the year.
A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 49% of voters trust President Bush more than Senator Kerry on this issue. That’s just one point above Bush’s lowest level of the year.
Forty-five percent (45%) now prefer Kerry. That’s unchanged from from last week and the highest level of the year for the Senator.
Most significantly, a plurality of unaffiliated voters now prefer Kerry over Bush on national defense issues.

In an article entitled “A Baby Bounce?” Newsweek reports a new poll found only a small 4% bounce from the Democratic convention:

Coming out of the Democratic National Convention in Boston, Sen. John Kerry now holds a seven-point lead over President George W. Bush in a three-way race with independent Ralph Nader, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll. Three weeks ago, Kerry’s lead was three points.

[. . .]

Kerry’s four-point “bounce” is the smallest in the history of the NEWSWEEK poll.

From California Yankee.

John Kerry, stopping at a Wendy’s fast food restaurant, talked to a few Marines who happened to be Bush supporters:

Spotting a group of US Marines, Kerry, who has made his Vietnam War service a cornerstone of his campaign, went over to chat. The Marines, who all turned out to be staunch Bush reporters, were not impressed.

“He imposed on us and I disagree with him coming over here shaking our hands,” one of them told reporters afterwards. “I’m 100 percent against” Kerry, he said. “We support our commander-in-chief 100 percent.”

Said another:

A sergeant with 10 years of service under his belt said, “I speak for all of us. We think that we are doing the right thing in Iraq,” before saying he is to be deployed there in a few weeks and is “eager” to go and serve.

Note to iPod users: Apple has made key speeches from the convention, including Clinton, Kerry, others, available as audio books via iTunes. The downloads are free.

AL-JAZEERA: Nader accuses Kerry of dirty tricks

Launching a tirade against Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, Nader on Friday also denied charges that he was heavily supported by Republicans.

“I say to Senator John Kerry, call off your dogs,” Nader said in Los Angeles. He accused Kerry supporters of “harassing, obstructing and impeding” his efforts to get on the ballot in all 50 states.

“Stop encouraging these dirty tricks or you will be held responsible,” he added.

The AP’s article shows Bush questioning Kerry’s Senate record:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - President Bush attacked John Kerry’s 19-year record in the Senate on Friday, answering the Democratic convention mantra “America can do better” with a new GOP refrain: “Results matter.”

Bush repeated the slogan to crowds here and in Springfield, Mo., the first two stops on a swing through four key election states. He also is campaigning in Ohio and Pennsylvania, wrapping up his latest tour with a rally Saturday in Pittsburgh, just hours after Kerry speaks in a nearby suburb.

“After 19 years in the U.S. Senate, my opponent has had thousands of votes, but few signature achievements,” Bush told supporters who waved large blue and red cutouts of the letter “W.”

“During eight years on the Senate intelligence committee, he voted to cut the intelligence budget, yet he had no record of reforming America’s intelligence capability,” said Bush, whose advisers are combing the Sept. 11 commission’s recommendations to revamp the nation’s intelligence-gathering ability.

The Associated Press reports that Kerry favors trying Osama bin Laden in U.S. courts:

“I want him tried for murder in New York City, and in Virginia and in Pennsylvania,” where planes hijacked by al-Qaida operatives crashed Sept. 11, 2001, Kerry said in his first interview as the Democratic presidential nominee.

From California Yankee.

Here’s today’s round-up of news and blogospheric reaction to the speech.

Plus: comic relief.

And if you missed them, the prior round-ups from earlier in the week:

CNN picked up audio of a panic stricken Convention Director as the balloons were slow to fall.

Audio can be heard here.

BOSTON GLOBE: T quietly ran trains for delegates

The MBTA quietly provided special Orange Line trains for people exiting the FleetCenter on all four nights of the Democratic National Convention, opening the otherwise closed North Station so that some 3,200 delegates, journalists, and others with convention credentials could be whisked to Back Bay Station, free of charge.

Five to six of the special trains were swept for bombs at a railyard and then pulled into North Station, starting at about 10:30 each night. The trains departed regularly, and each made an express run to Back Bay until about midnight, primarily as a security measure to clear the FleetCenter area quickly, said Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Regular trains ran in between the special trains, so there was ”no impact on service,” Pesaturo said. People on the platforms at the five stations between the FleetCenter and Back Bay ”saw a train full of people go by, but there was a train right behind it” to pick them up, he said.

Still, word of the special service did not sit well with T riders who have had to put up with baggage inspections and forced transfers to shuttle buses.

”It seems like they’ve overlooked the people of Boston and regular commuters,” said Susan McLay, 23, of Billerica, who takes commuter rail and the Orange Line to the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions in Charlestown. North Station has been closed to everyone but the conventioneers, she said, which has caused major disruptions in daily routines.

”That doesn’t smell very good to me,” said Julianne Ture, an Orange Line rider who took the week off. ”The whole convention has been such a fiasco.”

[Via CNN]

The president will be traveling intensively in August, and aides said it will look more like a traditional campaign, with impromptu stops and visits along the way.
The Bush campaign has dubbed this next phase of the campaign as the “Heart and Soul Tour: Moving America Forward,” a slogan that will be displayed on his campaign bus and will be accompanied by new ads mirroring the theme that will also start Friday.

• The first two weeks will focus on “strengthening families and the changing economy,” with a special emphasis on promoting what the president calls the “ownership society.”

• The third week will be focused on national security, where the president will talk about the “need for success” in the war on terror, though he is not likely to unveil new policies.

• In the last week going into the GOP convention, the president will talk about a different issue each day and discuss policy initiatives in detail.

HAARETZ: Kerry assures Sharon of his commitment to Israel’s security

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Friday assured Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of his commitment to Israel’s security, aides to Kerry said.

Kerry made the comments during a phone call from Sharon to congratulate him on his official nomination as the Democratic candidate in November’s presidential elections.

The Massachusetts senator also offered his condolences for the suicide attack on the Israeli embassy in Uzbekistan earlier in the day, in which two Uzbeki members of the embassy’s security team were killed.

MTV has a contest on called “Stand Up and Holla” - and the prize for the candidate with the most votes is a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention!

Reza Torkzadeh is one of the 10 finalists. As his profile notes:

“Born in 1979 in Tehran, Iran, Reza and his family had to flee the country amidst the Iranian Revolution to save their lives. While leaving the country, one of his uncles was executed by the governing regime because of his political beliefs and aspirations.”

As things in Iran head toward a crisis point, Reza is absolutely the right choice. The RNC needs to hear an Iranian voice - and you can help, by voting for him on MTV’s site.

I’ve just returned home after catching a very early flight out of Boston. I’m in the office today and my posting will be light (although others will post today I’m sure), but tonight I’ll be posting photos, reflections, etc.

… I’m going to try to make it back to the hotel and process some of these photos …

Chaos here. This from the DNC:

We are here tonight because we love our country. We are proud of what America is and what it can become.

My fellow Americans: we are here tonight united in one simple purpose: to make America stronger at home and respected in the world.

A great American novelist wrote that you can’t go home again. He could not have imagined this evening. Tonight, I am home. Home where my public life began and those who made it possible live. Home where our nation’s history was written in blood, idealism, and hope. Home where my parents showed me the values of family, faith, and country.

Thank you, all of you, for a welcome home I will never forget.

I wish my parents could share this moment. They went to their rest in the last few years, but their example, their inspiration, their gift of open eyes, open mind, and endless world are bigger and more lasting than any words.

I was born in Colorado, in Fitzsimmons Army Hospital, when my dad was a pilot in World War II. Now, I’m not one to read into things, but guess which wing of the hospital the maternity ward was in? I’m not making this up. I was born in the West Wing!

My mother was the rock of our family as so many mothers are. She stayed up late to help me do my homework. She sat by my bed when I was sick, and she answered the questions of a child who, like all children, found the world full of wonders and mysteries.

She was my den mother when I was a Cub Scout and she was so proud of her fifty year pin as a Girl Scout leader. She gave me her passion for the environment. She taught me to see trees as the cathedrals of nature. And by the power of her example, she showed me that we can and must finish the march toward full equality for all women in our country.

My dad did the things that a boy remembers. He gave me my first model airplane, my first baseball mitt and my first bicycle. He also taught me that we are here for something bigger than ourselves; he lived out the responsibilities and sacrifices of the greatest generation to whom we owe so much.

When I was a young man, he was in the State Department, stationed in Berlin when it and the world were divided between democracy and communism. I have unforgettable memories of being a kid mesmerized by the British, French, and American troops, each of them guarding their own part of the city, and Russians standing guard on the stark line separating East from West. On one occasion, I rode my bike into Soviet East Berlin. And when I proudly told my dad, he promptly grounded me.

But what I learned has stayed with me for a lifetime. I saw how different life was on different sides of the same city. I saw the fear in the eyes of people who were not free. I saw the gratitude of people toward the United States for all that we had done. I felt goose bumps as I got off a military train and heard the Army band strike up “Stars and Stripes Forever.” I learned what it meant to be America at our best. I learned the pride of our freedom. And I am determined now to restore that pride to all who look to America.

Mine were greatest generation parents. And as I thank them, we all join together to thank that whole generation for making America strong, for winning World War II, winning the Cold War, and for the great gift of service which brought America fifty years of peace and prosperity.

My parents inspired me to serve, and when I was a junior in high school, John Kennedy called my generation to service. It was the beginning of a great journey - a time to march for civil rights, for voting rights, for the environment, for women, and for peace. We believed we could change the world. And you know what? We did.

But we’re not finished. The journey isn’t complete. The march isn’t over. The promise isn’t perfected. Tonight, we’re setting out again. And together, we’re going to write the next great chapter of America’s story.

We have it in our power to change the world again. But only if we’re true to our ideals - and that starts by telling the truth to the American people. That is my first pledge to you tonight. As President, I will restore trust and credibility to the White House.

I ask you to judge me by my record: As a young prosecutor, I fought for victim’s rights and made prosecuting violence against women a priority. When I came to the Senate, I broke with many in my own party to vote for a balanced budget, because I thought it was the right thing to do. I fought to put a 100,000 cops on the street.

And then I reached across the aisle to work with John McCain, to find the truth about our POW’s and missing in action, and to finally make peace with Vietnam.

I will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war. I will have a Vice President who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws. I will have a Secretary of Defense who will listen to the best advice of our military leaders. And I will appoint an Attorney General who actually upholds the Constitution of the United States.

My fellow Americans, this is the most important election of our lifetime. The stakes are high. We are a nation at war - a global war on terror against an enemy unlike any we have ever known before. And here at home, wages are falling, health care costs are rising, and our great middle class is shrinking. People are working weekends; they’re working two jobs, three jobs, and they’re still not getting ahead.

We’re told that outsourcing jobs is good for America. We’re told that new jobs that pay $9,000 less than the jobs that have been lost is the best we can do. They say this is the best economy we’ve ever had. And they say that anyone who thinks otherwise is a pessimist. Well, here is our answer: There is nothing more pessimistic than saying America can’t do better.

We can do better and we will. We’re the optimists. For us, this is a country of the future. We’re the can do people. And let’s not forget what we did in the 1990s. We balanced the budget. We paid down the debt. We created 23 million new jobs. We lifted millions out of poverty and we lifted the standard of living for the middle class. We just need to believe in ourselves - and we can do it again.

So tonight, in the city where America’s freedom began, only a few blocks from where the sons and daughters of liberty gave birth to our nation - here tonight, on behalf of a new birth of freedom - on behalf of the middle class who deserve a champion, and those struggling to join it who deserve a fair shot - for the brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every day and the families who pray for their return - for all those who believe our best days are ahead of us - for all of you - with great faith in the American people, I accept your nomination for President of the United States.

I am proud that at my side will be a running mate whose life is the story of the American dream and who’s worked every day to make that dream real for all Americans - Senator John Edwards of North Carolina. And his wonderful wife Elizabeth and their family. This son of a mill worker is ready to lead - and next January, Americans will be proud to have a fighter for the middle class to succeed Dick Cheney as Vice President of the United States.

And what can I say about Teresa? She has the strongest moral compass of anyone I know. She’s down to earth, nurturing, courageous, wise and smart. She speaks her mind and she speaks the truth, and I love her for that, too. And that’s why America will embrace her as the next First Lady of the United States.

For Teresa and me, no matter what the future holds or the past has given us, nothing will ever mean as much as our children. We love them not just for who they are and what they’ve become, but for being themselves, making us laugh, holding our feet to the fire, and never letting me get away with anything. Thank you, Andre, Alex, Chris, Vanessa, and John.

And in this journey, I am accompanied by an extraordinary band of brothers led by that American hero, a patriot named Max Cleland. Our band of brothers doesn’t march together because of who we are as veterans, but because of what we learned as soldiers. We fought for this nation because we loved it and we came back with the deep belief that every day is extra. We may be a little older now, we may be a little grayer, but we still know how to fight for our country.

And standing with us in that fight are those who shared with me the long season of the primary campaign: Carol Moseley Braun, General Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, Dick Gephardt, Bob Graham, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Lieberman and Al Sharpton.

To all of you, I say thank you for teaching me and testing me - but mostly, we say thank you for standing up for our country and giving us the unity to move America forward.

My fellow Americans, the world tonight is very different from the world of four years ago. But I believe the American people are more than equal to the challenge.

Remember the hours after September 11th, when we came together as one to answer the attack against our homeland. We drew strength when our firefighters ran up the stairs and risked their lives, so that others might live. When rescuers rushed into smoke and fire at the Pentagon. When the men and women of Flight 93 sacrificed themselves to save our nation’s Capitol. When flags were hanging from front porches all across America, and strangers became friends. It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us.

I am proud that after September 11th all our people rallied to President Bush’s call for unity to meet the danger. There were no Democrats. There were no Republicans. There were only Americans. How we wish it had stayed that way.

Now I know there are those who criticize me for seeing complexities - and I do - because some issues just aren’t all that simple. Saying there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq doesn’t make it so. Saying we can fight a war on the cheap doesn’t make it so. And proclaiming mission accomplished certainly doesn’t make it so.

As President, I will ask hard questions and demand hard evidence. I will immediately reform the intelligence system - so policy is guided by facts, and facts are never distorted by politics. And as President, I will bring back this nation’s time-honored tradition: the United States of America never goes to war because we want to, we only go to war because we have to.

I know what kids go through when they are carrying an M-16 in a dangerous place and they can’t tell friend from foe. I know what they go through when they’re out on patrol at night and they don’t know what’s coming around the next bend. I know what it’s like to write letters home telling your family that everything’s all right when you’re not sure that’s true.

As President, I will wage this war with the lessons I learned in war. Before you go to battle, you have to be able to look a parent in the eye and truthfully say: “I tried everything possible to avoid sending your son or daughter into harm’s way. But we had no choice. We had to protect the American people, fundamental American values from a threat that was real and imminent.” So lesson one, this is the only justification for going to war.

And on my first day in office, I will send a message to every man and woman in our armed forces: You will never be asked to fight a war without a plan to win the peace.

I know what we have to do in Iraq. We need a President who has the credibility to bring our allies to our side and share the burden, reduce the cost to American taxpayers, and reduce the risk to American soldiers. That’s the right way to get the job done and bring our troops home.

Here is the reality: that won’t happen until we have a president who restores America’s respect and leadership — so we don’t have to go it alone in the world.

And we need to rebuild our alliances, so we can get the terrorists before they get us.

I defended this country as a young man and I will defend it as President. Let there be no mistake: I will never hesitate to use force when it is required. Any attack will be met with a swift and certain response. I will never give any nation or international institution a veto over our national security. And I will build a stronger American military.

We will add 40,000 active duty troops - not in Iraq, but to strengthen American forces that are now overstretched, overextended, and under pressure. We will double our special forces to conduct anti-terrorist operations. We will provide our troops with the newest weapons and technology to save their lives - and win the battle. And we will end the backdoor draft of National Guard and reservists.

To all who serve in our armed forces today, I say, help is on the way.

As President, I will fight a smarter, more effective war on terror. We will deploy every tool in our arsenal: our economic as well as our military might; our principles as well as our firepower.

In these dangerous days there is a right way and a wrong way to be strong. Strength is more than tough words. After decades of experience in national security, I know the reach of our power and I know the power of our ideals.

We need to make America once again a beacon in the world. We need to be looked up to and not just feared.

We need to lead a global effort against nuclear proliferation - to keep the most dangerous weapons in the world out of the most dangerous hands in the world.

We need a strong military and we need to lead strong alliances. And then, with confidence and determination, we will be able to tell the terrorists: You will lose and we will win. The future doesn’t belong to fear; it belongs to freedom.

And the front lines of this battle are not just far away - they’re right here on our shores, at our airports, and potentially in any town or city. Today, our national security begins with homeland security. The 9-11 Commission has given us a path to follow, endorsed by Democrats, Republicans, and the 9-11 families. As President, I will not evade or equivocate; I will immediately implement the recommendations of that commission. We shouldn’t be letting ninety-five percent of container ships come into our ports without ever being physically inspected. We shouldn’t be leaving our nuclear and chemical plants without enough protection. And we shouldn’t be opening firehouses in Baghdad and closing them down in the United States of America.

And tonight, we have an important message for those who question the patriotism of Americans who offer a better direction for our country. Before wrapping themselves in the flag and shutting their eyes and ears to the truth, they should remember what America is really all about. They should remember the great idea of freedom for which so many have given their lives. Our purpose now is to reclaim democracy itself. We are here to affirm that when Americans stand up and speak their minds and say America can do better, that is not a challenge to patriotism; it is the heart and soul of patriotism.

You see that flag up there. We call her Old Glory. The stars and stripes forever. I fought under that flag, as did so many of you here and all across our country. That flag flew from the gun turret right behind my head. It was shot through and through and tattered, but it never ceased to wave in the wind. It draped the caskets of men I served with and friends I grew up with. For us, that flag is the most powerful symbol of who we are and what we believe in. Our strength. Our diversity. Our love of country. All that makes America both great and good.

That flag doesn’t belong to any president. It doesn’t belong to any ideology and it doesn’t belong to any political party. It belongs to all the American people.

My fellow citizens, elections are about choices. And choices are about values. In the end, it’s not just policies and programs that matter; the president who sits at that desk must be guided by principle.

For four years, we’ve heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They’re what we live by. They’re about the causes we champion and the people we fight for. And it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families.

You don’t value families by kicking kids out of after school programs and taking cops off our streets, so that Enron can get another tax break.

We believe in the family value of caring for our children and protecting the neighborhoods where they walk and play.

And that is the choice in this election.

You don’t value families by denying real prescription drug coverage to seniors, so big drug companies can get another windfall.

We believe in the family value expressed in one of the oldest Commandments: “Honor thy father and thy mother.” As President, I will not privatize Social Security. I will not cut benefits. And together, we will make sure that senior citizens never have to cut their pills in half because they can’t afford life-saving medicine.

And that is the choice in this election.

You don’t value families if you force them to take up a collection to buy body armor for a son or daughter in the service, if you deny veterans health care, or if you tell middle class families to wait for a tax cut, so that the wealthiest among us can get even more.

We believe in the value of doing what’s right for everyone in the American family.

And that is the choice in this election.

We believe that what matters most is not narrow appeals masquerading as values, but the shared values that show the true face of America. Not narrow appeals that divide us, but shared values that unite us. Family and faith. Hard work and responsibility. Opportunity for all - so that every child, every parent, every worker has an equal shot at living up to their God-given potential.

What does it mean in America today when Dave McCune, a steel worker I met in Canton, Ohio, saw his job sent overseas and the equipment in his factory literally unbolted, crated up, and shipped thousands of miles away along with that job? What does it mean when workers I’ve met had to train their foreign replacements?

America can do better. So tonight we say: help is on the way.

What does it mean when Mary Ann Knowles, a woman with breast cancer I met in New Hampshire, had to keep working day after day right through her chemotherapy, no matter how sick she felt, because she was terrified of losing her family’s health insurance.

America can do better. And help is on the way.

What does it mean when Deborah Kromins from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania works and saves all her life only to find out that her pension has disappeared into thin air - and the executive who looted it has bailed out on a golden parachute?

America can do better. And help is on the way.

What does it mean when twenty five percent of the children in Harlem have asthma because of air pollution?

America can do better. And help is on the way.

What does it mean when people are huddled in blankets in the cold, sleeping in Lafayette Park on the doorstep of the White House itself - and the number of families living in poverty has risen by three million in the last four years?

America can do better. And help is on the way.

And so we come here tonight to ask: Where is the conscience of our country?

I’ll tell you where it is: it’s in rural and small town America; it’s in urban neighborhoods and suburban main streets; it’s alive in the people I’ve met in every part of this land. It’s bursting in the hearts of Americans who are determined to give our country back its values and its truth.

We value jobs that pay you more not less than you earned before. We value jobs where, when you put in a week’s work, you can actually pay your bills, provide for your children, and lift up the quality of your life. We value an America where the middle class is not being squeezed, but doing better.

So here is our economic plan to build a stronger America:
First, new incentives to revitalize manufacturing.

Second, investment in technology and innovation that will create the good- paying jobs of the future.

Third, close the tax loopholes that reward companies for shipping our jobs overseas. Instead, we will reward companies that create and keep good paying jobs where they belong - in the good old U.S.A.

We value an America that exports products, not jobs - and we believe American workers should never have to subsidize the loss of their own job.

Next, we will trade and compete in the world. But our plan calls for a fair playing field - because if you give the American worker a fair playing field, there’s nobody in the world the American worker can’t compete against.

And we’re going to return to fiscal responsibility because it is the foundation of our economic strength. Our plan will cut the deficit in half in four years by ending tax giveaways that are nothing more than corporate welfare - and will make government live by the rule that every family has to follow: pay as you go.

And let me tell you what we won’t do: we won’t raise taxes on the middle class. You’ve heard a lot of false charges about this in recent months. So let me say straight out what I will do as President: I will cut middle class taxes. I will reduce the tax burden on small business. And I will roll back the tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals who make over $200,000 a year, so we can invest in job creation, health care and education.

Our education plan for a stronger America sets high standards and demands accountability from parents, teachers, and schools. It provides for smaller class sizes and treats teachers like the professionals they are. And it gives a tax credit to families for each and every year of college.

When I was a prosecutor, I met young kids who were in trouble, abandoned by adults. And as President, I am determined that we stop being a nation content to spend $50,000 a year to keep a young person in prison for the rest of their life - when we could invest $10,000 to give them Head Start, Early Start, Smart Start, the best possible start in life.

And we value health care that’s affordable and accessible for all Americans.

Since 2000, four million people have lost their health insurance. Millions more are struggling to afford it.

You know what’s happening. Your premiums, your co-payments, your deductibles have all gone through the roof.

Our health care plan for a stronger America cracks down on the waste, greed, and abuse in our health care system and will save families up to $1,000 a year on their premiums. You’ll get to pick your own doctor - and patients and doctors, not insurance company bureaucrats, will make medical decisions. Under our plan, Medicare will negotiate lower drug prices for seniors. And all Americans will be able to buy less expensive prescription drugs from countries like Canada.

The story of people struggling for health care is the story of so many Americans. But you know what, it’s not the story of senators and members of Congress. Because we give ourselves great health care and you get the bill. Well, I’m here to say, your family’s health care is just as important as any politician’s in Washington, D.C.

And when I’m President, America will stop being the only advanced nation in the world which fails to understand that health care is not a privilege for the wealthy, the connected, and the elected - it is a right for all Americans.

We value an America that controls its own destiny because it’s finally and forever independent of Mideast oil. What does it mean for our economy and our national security when we only have three percent of the world’s oil reserves, yet we rely on foreign countries for fifty-three percent of what we consume?

I want an America that relies on its own ingenuity and innovation - not the Saudi royal family.

And our energy plan for a stronger America will invest in new technologies and alternative fuels and the cars of the future — so that no young American in uniform will ever be held hostage to our dependence on oil from the Middle East.

I’ve told you about our plans for the economy, for education, for health care, for energy independence. I want you to know more about them. So now I’m going to say something that Franklin Roosevelt could never have said in his acceptance speech: go to johnkerry.com.

I want to address these next words directly to President George W. Bush: In the weeks ahead, let’s be optimists, not just opponents. Let’s build unity in the American family, not angry division. Let’s honor this nation’s diversity; let’s respect one another; and let’s never misuse for political purposes the most precious document in American history, the Constitution of the United States.

My friends, the high road may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And that’s why Republicans and Democrats must make this election a contest of big ideas, not small-minded attacks. This is our time to reject the kind of politics calculated to divide race from race, group from group, region from region. Maybe some just see us divided into red states and blue states, but I see us as one America - red, white, and blue. And when I am President, the government I lead will enlist people of talent, Republicans as well as Democrats, to find the common ground - so that no one who has something to contribute will be left on the sidelines.

And let me say it plainly: in that cause, and in this campaign, we welcome people of faith. America is not us and them. I think of what Ron Reagan said of his father a few weeks ago, and I want to say this to you tonight: I don’t wear my own faith on my sleeve. But faith has given me values and hope to live by, from Vietnam to this day, from Sunday to Sunday. 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. And whatever our faith, one belief should bind us all: The measure of our character is our willingness to give of ourselves for others and for our country.

These aren’t Democratic values. These aren’t Republican values. They’re American values. We believe in them. They’re who we are. And if we honor them, if we believe in ourselves, we can build an America that’s stronger at home and respected in the world.

So much promise stretches before us. Americans have always reached for the impossible, looked to the next horizon, and asked: What if?

Two young bicycle mechanics from Dayton asked what if this airplane could take off at Kitty Hawk? It did that and changed the world forever. A young president asked what if we could go to the moon in ten years? And now we’re exploring the solar system and the stars themselves. A young generation of entrepreneurs asked, what if we could take all the information in a library and put it on a little chip the size of a fingernail? We did and that too changed the world forever.

And now it’s our time to ask: What if?

What if we find a breakthrough to cure Parkinson’s, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and AIDs? What if we have a president who believes in science, so we can unleash the wonders of discovery like stem cell research to treat illness and save millions of lives?

What if we do what adults should do - and make sure all our children are safe in the afternoons after school? And what if we have a leadership that’s as good as the American dream - so that bigotry and hatred never again steal the hope and future of any American?

I learned a lot about these values on that gunboat patrolling the Mekong Delta with young Americans who came from places as different as Iowa and Oregon, Arkansas, Florida and California. No one cared where we went to school. No one cared about our race or our backgrounds. We were literally all in the same boat. We looked out, one for the other - and we still do.

That is the kind of America I will lead as President - an America where we are all in the same boat.

Never has there been a more urgent moment for Americans to step up and define ourselves. I will work my heart out. But, my fellow citizens, the outcome is in your hands more than mine.

It is time to reach for the next dream. It is time to look to the next horizon. For America, the hope is there. The sun is rising. Our best days are still to come.

Goodnight, God bless you, and God bless America.

This wasn’t an applause line, and it came right after the “misuse the Constitution” line, which garnered thunderous applause … but I think it was some of the best, and most simple, prose in the speech:

My friends, the high road may be harder, but it leads to a better place.

Of course, this was pretty good, too, and it did get thunderous applause:

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.

I’m making this post during John Kerry’s acceptance speech. I’m a bit of a student of American 20th century presidential rhetoric, and in hearing Kerry deliver this tonight …

Well, here is our answer: There is nothing more pessimistic than saying America can’t do better.

We can do better and we will. We’re the optimists. For us, this is a country of the future. We’re the can do people. And let’s not forget what we did in the 1990s. We balanced the budget. We paid down the debt. We created 23 million new jobs. We lifted millions out of poverty and we lifted the standard of living for the middle class. We just need to believe in ourselves - and we can do it again.

… I was instantly reminded of this passage from Jimmy Carter’s “crisis of confidence” speech, delivered on 15 July 1979:

We ourselves are the same Americans who just ten years ago put a man on the moon. We are the generation that dedicated our society to the pursuit of human rights and equality. And we are the generation that will win the war on the energy problem and in that process, rebuild the unity and confidence of America.

We are at a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path I’ve warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure.

All the traditions of our past, all the lessons of our heritage, all the promises of our future point to another path — the path of common purpose and the restoration of American values. That path leads to true freedom for our nation and ourselves.

I’m not saying Kerry is Carter … don’t take it that way. The Kerry language just recalled the Carter language, and I wanted to put them side-by-side as a point of comparison.

I’m going to spend the rest of the speech watching, not blogging …

For this line:

I will appoint an Attorney General who actually upholds the Constitution of the United States.

This speech is going well … his style is more relaxed than he often is on the stump … the crowd, of course, is rapt with attention …

This was a compelling speach to see and hear. Via the DNC; full body in the extended entry.

… with this passage:

When we make John Kerry our next president, he will put America back on the long and steady road toward the vision of the country we fought for — a vision of the country we can become once again. A country that doesn’t alienate our allies, but works with them. A country that doesn’t lose jobs, but creates them. A country that doesn’t limit educational opportunity, but expands it. A country that doesn’t make health care less available, but more affordable. A country that doesn’t spoil our environment, but protects it. A country that is strong a country that is respected, a country that is worthy of generations of sacrifice, and our children’s highest hopes.

That is the America John Kerry volunteered to fight for. That is the America John Kerry will lead.

Had ‘em in the palm of his hand.

The right has made much of Swift Boat Veternas For Truth, a website in which veterans who knew Kerry during the Vietnam war take a stance against his candidacy. The Dems are taking their own stance tonight, with 12 or 13 Swift Boat veterans on stage, and about 40,000 Veterans for Kerry/Edwards signs in the crowd. And Max Cleland comes next.

The production values were very high … Teresa’s segment received a huge round of applause, and as the lights came up near the end the night’s first chant of “Kerry! Kerry!” filled the air.

Then, a brief intermission, and another video begins. This video at first,= seems to focus on first responders, telling the story of a firefighter, Thomas Spencer, killed in the line of duty (read about him here). It then turns to Kerry, who reached out to the family in a personal way.

No link online yet, but I’ll keep looking for one.

The pre-acceptance speech video is now playing, which if I understand correctly was “supervised” by Steven Spielberg. It’s narrated by Morgan Freeman, though, and as the opening sequence rolled and Freeman’s voice filled the hall I thought for a moment: “Huh. I didn’t know Kerry was in Shawshank …”

Full text in the extended entry, via DNC. Alexandra, too, gave a light but sincere speech … and quite heartfelt at the end. This section drew laughs:

We were standing on a dock waiting for a boat to take us on a summer trip. Vanessa, the scientist, had packed all her animals including her favorite hamster. Our over-zealous golden retriever got tangled in his leash and knocked the hamster cage off the dock. We watched as Licorice, the unlucky hamster bubbled down to a watery doom. That might have been the end of the story. But my dad jumped in, grabbed an oar, fished the cage from the water, hunched over the soggy hamster and began to administer CPR. There were some reports of mouth-to-mouth, but, I admit that’s probably a trick of memory. He was never quite right after that, but Licorice lived. Like I said, it may sound silly. We still laugh about it today. But, to us it was serious and that’s what mattered to my father.

Vanessa Kerry, as predicted, delivered a sincere and humorous speech meant to present her father in a familiar and human light. And from this seat, it seems the crowd believes she did just that. Take, for example, her first line:

Thank you. As someone who knows all 6 foot 4 inches of my dad best — 6 foot 6 if you count the hair — I’m here to share some secrets.

Full text in the extended entry.

For some time, Apple has had a section of their web site, called “Switch,” devoted to PC owners who have seen the light.

The Democratic Party has appropriated the concept.

Last night and this, during intermissions and between speakers, the DNC has projected a photo of some citizen with a tag line like this (an actual example from tonight):

REGISTERED REPUBLICAN

Wants her grandchildren to grow up in a safe and secure world.

This hangs over the crowd for a moment, before a line strikes through the “Registered Republican” and these words appear:

Voting Kerry/Edwards in 2004.

And each time, the crowd goes wild. We in the Roost are all quite interested to see the response at the RNC.

As an intermission to get the crowd moving, the DNC is now playing a version of Rollin’ on the River with modified words that adulate John Kerry. See pic below (and click to enlarge).

The immediate reaction from Blogger’s Roots: “Wow. This is bad.” In the end, though, and cheesy as it was, much of the crowd got into it.

They’re playing the “great Dem leader quotes” flourishes in a series. They followed the JFK quote below with this from Barbara Jordan:

Earlier today we heard the beginning of the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, We the people. It is a very eloquent beginning. But when that document was completed, on the seventeenth of September in 1787, I was not included in that We, the people. I felt somehow for many years that George Washington and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake. But through the process of amendment, interpretation, and court decision I have finally been included in We, the people.

They’re interesting moments … the hall darkens, and the sound of the speaker’s voice over the PA can actually be quite haunting.

The hall just darkened, and the DNC put a photo of JFK on-screen with this quote (which they also played over the PA) from his inagural address:

Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans - born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage - and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoings of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

I’ve spent nearly the entire night next to Nate of Nate Knows Nada. Like everybody else I’ve come to read here, Nate writes a damn fine blog, and my affinity is amplified by his being a genuinely nice guy.

From the DNC, in the extended entry.

Lot’s of folks talking over Nancy Pelosi, which surprises me some. I expected her to have the rapt attention due a darling of the party.

Not everyone here can be the strongest speaker of the night, and Joe Lieberman didn’t exactly knock ‘em dead. Indeed, David Sifry just asked the bloggers to send him “stuff on Lieberman” (that CNN can use as pull quotes) and my reply was “Has he been on yet?”

Good thing they followed him with “Jump” as the musical bumper.

From the DNC, and in the extended entry. You’ll notice that “Hope is on the way” continues as the refrain.