In Seattle, Kerry touts 'beginning of the end' for Bush

By Beth Kaiman
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Kerry talked of raising the minimum wage, providing health coverage for all Americans and fighting polluters, HMOs and drug companies.

But the loudest cheers came as the Massachusetts senator said, "We believe in an America where the Constitution is respected ... where the attorney general is no longer John Ashcroft." The crowd of more than 1,300 roared as he pledged to invest in new technologies so Americans "will never have to fight and die in the Middle East because of our dependency on oil."

The crowd included longtime Kerry supporters as well as people new to the bandwagon. Bob and Denise Bois of Seattle were interested in Kerry's candidacy long ago, then got excited about retired Gen. Wesley Clark.

As they saw that campaign sputter, they returned to Kerry.

The couple insisted that Kerry can appeal even to Republicans. "Maybe it's the military record, but we have friends who are moderate Republicans who would vote for Kerry," Bob Bois said. "They're that disappointed in Bush."

Kerry spent part of yesterday in Spokane, trying to raise his profile in a state where former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean hopes to sustain his candidacy with a win in Saturday's caucuses.

"It's a huge night. I'm stunned by it," Kerry said of yesterday's results. "It's a statement by Democrats across the country that I am the candidate who can take on George Bush and beat him."

Kerry spoke to between 750 and 1,000 people at Spokane International Airport.

"I'm here to mark in Washington the beginning of the end of the Bush presidency," Kerry said.

Peggy McKasy, 54, a consultant who lives in Federal Way, has been heartened by Kerry's move in recent weeks from somewhere in the pack to front-runner. She has supported him for more than a year and has been wishing "he would loosen up, and I think he has. The campaign has done that for him."

Kerry planned to return to Boston, where he would take today off before plunging back into the campaign tomorrow for the weekend tests.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report. Beth Kaiman: 206-464-2441 or bkaiman@seattletimes.com

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