Edwards' promise: "Hope is on the way"

By Seattle Times news services

MARIO TAMA / GETTY IMAGES Vice-presidential candidate John Edwards points to supporters last night during the Democratic National Convention at FleetCenter in Boston. Introduced by his wife, Elizabeth, the North Carolina senator urged Americans to embrace "the politics of what's possible."

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Delivering the first nationally televised — and most important — speech of his meteoric career, Edwards touched on the campaign's big themes of strength and service, equality and fraternity, while painting a youthful, optimistic vision of America.

Edwards, whose rhetorical skills carried him from the plaintiff's bench to the Senate and eventually to the thick of the Democratic race, promised that "hope is on the way" as he pledged that Kerry would keep the country safe, fix the nation's intelligence capabilities, expand access to health care, create jobs and heal the country's divisions.

The phrase was a variation of President Bush's mantra of "help is on the way" in 2000.

Republicans "are doing all they can to take this campaign for the highest office in the land down the lowest possible road," Edwards said. "This is where you come in. Between now and November, you, the American people, you can reject the tired, old, hateful, negative politics of the past. And instead you can embrace the politics of hope, the politics of what's possible, because this is America, where everything is possible."

The boyish-looking, 51-year-old, single-term senator from North Carolina confronted a major challenge in accepting his party's nomination to be vice president: He had to convince a country that barely knows him that he and Kerry can provide superior leadership through perilous times, and that he's capable of serving as commander in chief, should it come to that.

"We will have one clear, unmistakable message for al-Qaida and the rest of these terrorists," Edwards said. "You cannot run. You cannot hide. We will destroy you."

Today's highlights 4-5 p.m.: John Sweeney, president of AFL-CIO 5-6 p.m.: Wesley Clark, four-star general and former presidential candidate; U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, former presidential candidate; Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic leader from California; Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state 6-7 p.m.: Vanessa and Alexandra Kerry, Kerry's daughters; Jim Rassman, Green Beret rescued by Kerry in Vietnam; Max Cleland, former U.S. senator from Georgia 7-8 p.m.: Sen. John Kerry, Democratic presidential nominee Time slots are approximate. Television coverage ABC, CBS and NBC will provide live coverage from 7-8 p.m. CNN, Fox News and MSNBC will provide live coverage with interviews and reports from 1-8 p.m., with post-convention reports after 8 p.m. C-SPAN will air gavel-to-gavel coverage from 1-8 p.m. PBS will air coverage from 5-8 p.m.

A family introduction

A millionaire who made his fortune as a trial lawyer, Edwards was Kerry's last major challenger for the nomination; now he's Kerry's partner as they challenge George W. Bush and Dick Cheney for the White House.

He was introduced by his wife, Elizabeth.

"I married the smartest, toughest, sweetest man I know ... ," she said. "But none of the things I have mentioned are the reason I married John Edwards. I married him because he was the single most optimistic person I have ever known."

Shortly after Edwards' speech, delegates conducted the traditional roll call of states, making Kerry the Democratic Party's official nominee for president.

Kerry speaks to the nation tonight, as the four-day convention reaches its climax.

As expected, Edwards lauded Kerry's military service, setting up a comparison with Bush, who served stateside in the Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.

"[Kerry's crewmates] saw up close what he's made of," Edwards said. "They saw him reach down and pull one of his men from the river and save his life. And in the heat of battle, they saw him decide in an instant to turn his boat around, drive it straight through an enemy position and chase down the enemy to save his crew.

"Decisive, strong," Edwards said. "Aren't these the traits you want in a commander in chief?"

A debt to forces in Iraq

In a particularly moving section of his speech, Edwards spoke with passion about the nation's debt to those who are fighting in Iraq — and he linked them to Kerry, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War.

"Some of our friends and neighbors saw their last images in Baghdad," he said. "Some took their last steps outside of Fallujah. And some buttoned their uniform for the final time before they went out to save their unit.

"Men and women who used to take care of themselves, they now count on others to see them through the day. They need their mother to tie their shoe, their husband to brush their hair and their wife's arm to help them across the room.

	DAVE MARTIN / AP Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina walks with his son, Jack, after speaking to delegates last night at the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

"The stars and stripes wave for them. The word 'hero' was made for them. They are the best and the bravest ... and they deserve a president who understands on the most personal level what they have gone through — what they have given and what they have given up for their country."

Edwards' address was based largely on his "Two Americas" stump speech that asserts that Bush has divided the nation into two parts, "One for people who have lived the American Dream and don't have to worry, and another for most Americans who work hard and still struggle to make ends meet."

A discussion of values

He also discussed personal values.

"We hear a lot of talk about values," Edwards said. "Where I come from, you don't judge someone's values based on how they use that word in a political ad. You judge their values based upon what they've spent their life doing."

He used his life story as allegory to tell the story of overcoming hardships, such as his humble beginnings with his millworker father and his co-workers who had lint in their hair and grease on their faces.

One former party leader noted that Edwards did not make the mistake of talking more about himself than he did John Kerry.

"He strengthens Kerry. That's what a vice-presidential candidate does. He's supplemental," said former Vice President Walter Mondale in an interview on the convention floor.

Edwards shared a shopping list of promises — more special-forces troops and new equipment for the military; more access to health care; better schools; help for those in poverty; a higher minimum wage; good-paying jobs.

He didn't say what all that would cost, though he said it would be financed by rolling back tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans, closing "corporate loopholes" and reducing wasteful spending.

Compiled from reports by Knight Ridder Newspapers, the Chicago Tribune, The Associated Press and The Washington Post.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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