Kerry promises "smarter" leadership; 20,000 gather at Tacoma Dome

By Warren Cornwall
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

JAMES BRANAMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Gen. Wesley Clark, John Kerry and Jim Rassmann, whom Kerry saved while the two served in Vietnam, greet the crowd at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma yesterday.

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TACOMA — Before an estimated crowd of 20,000, Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign cast him yesterday as someone who would make a forceful commander in chief, finishing off a week marked by attacks on his military service.

Flanked by retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark and Jim Rassmann, the soldier Kerry is credited with plucking from a river while under fire in Vietnam, Kerry strolled onto an outdoor stage. In the front row of bleachers behind the stage stood military veterans bearing placards reading "Veterans for Kerry Edwards."

"I am passionate about winning the war on terror, and I will lead us to do that. But I will fight a more effective, smarter war on terror that brings countries to our side and helps America be safer," he told thousands of cheering supporters gathered in a parking lot south of the Tacoma Dome.

The most pointed challenge to the Bush campaign and the attacks on Kerry's war record was left to Clark, the former NATO commander who spoke shortly before the candidate.

"George Bush is an incompetent commander in chief," Clark told the crowd, pointing to Bush's prosecution of the war on Iraq.

He then took aim at critics of Kerry's claims about his time in Vietnam.

"We're proud of our service there. We're proud of every veteran who won a medal there and every one who didn't, and we're tired of these attacks on John Kerry and our veterans," he said. "An attack on John Kerry is an attack on every one of us."

The Tacoma speech capped a two-day series of events in Western Washington. On Friday, Kerry trumpeted his economic policies before a crowd of union members and local Democratic leaders at an invitation-only gathering in Everett. He later attended a $1,000-a-plate Seattle fund raiser that brought in more than $1.5 million.

Following the Tacoma event, Kerry visited retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the early years of the Clinton administration. The general is at Madigan Army Medical Center at Fort Lewis after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

Kerry then flew out of Boeing Field in Seattle, bound for Boston. He is expected to spend several days off the campaign trail during the Republican National Convention, which begins tomorrow, said Sam Rodriguez, head of the Kerry campaign in Washington. Rodriguez said police and U.S. Secret Service estimates put the Tacoma crowd at up to 20,000.
 
In Tacoma, Kerry promised to make health insurance available to all Americans, provide more education funding and reward companies that create jobs in the United States rather than taking them overseas. His new initiatives would be paid for in part by rolling back tax cuts for those earning more than $200,000 a year, he said.

The Massachusetts senator criticized Bush administration policies as skewed toward the wealthy and powerful.

"We need a president who is going to stand up and be a champion for the middle class," he said.

Kerry supporters traveled from throughout Western Washington for the event. Ron Fry, past state commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, came from Walla Walla. He was seated with other veterans on a bench behind Kerry, in prominent view of media cameras.

Fry said he voted for Bush in 2000, but grew disillusioned by Bush's handling of the Iraq war and by closure of Veterans Affairs hospitals.

"John Kerry is a veteran," said Fry, who served in the Army in Vietnam. "He is the one that understands us and our issues."

Larry Wickline disagreed. The Vietnam veteran was one of around 50 who gathered outside the event to protest Kerry. He held one side of a sign that read "Kerry traitor to Vietnam vets."

"Just another rich kid getting out of Vietnam," he said of Kerry. That echoed some who have questioned whether Kerry deserved his three Purple Hearts.

The fracas over Kerry's military record was sparked by recent advertisements by a political group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The group has questioned Kerry's account of events that led to several military medals, and has blasted Kerry's anti-war activism after returning from Vietnam.

The Kerry campaign has accused the group of colluding with the Bush campaign, and has called on the president to denounce the ads. Bush has responded by calling for an end to ads by all such political groups, known as 527s, but he hasn't singled out the Swift boat group.

Seattle Times staff reporter Jessica Blanchard contributed to this report. Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311 or wcornwall@seattletimes.com