Rowdy crowd of friends, foes greets Kerry campaign

By Jill Zuckman
Chicago Tribune

JUSTIN SULLIVAN / GETTY IMAGES Supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry mingle Thursday with supporters of President Bush as Kerry speaks to supporters in Sedalia, Mo., on his tour across the United States.

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That's what Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and his running mate, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, began to realize late Thursday as they pulled into this rural outpost and found themselves surrounded by about 2,000 politically divided voters in the pitch dark.

Holding candles, flashlights and posters, the people of Sedalia engaged in a shouting contest: Some called out "Four more years" and "We want Bush," while their neighbors chanted, "Three more months" and "Kerry! Kerry!"

The candidates barely could get a word in.

Posters held aloft competed for attention, too. There were signs that said "Give 'em hell, Kerry" and others that simply said "W."

And so it went in the politically uncontrolled environment of the train tracks, where anyone could come to see, hear and heckle the Democratic hopefuls as their 15-car, three-engine train rolled westward through Missouri. It was a stark contrast from an invitation-only campaign rally.

Missouri is a bellwether, picking the winning candidate for president in every election except one since 1900. Bush beat Vice President Al Gore 50 percent to 47 percent in 2000.

Recent polls show that Missouri continues to be a tossup, but the politics lean a little more to the right in ragtime virtuoso Scott Joplin's hometown of Sedalia. Bush won 4,851 votes, Gore 3,718 in 2000.

Whether the rowdy crowd surrounding the Kerry-Edwards train was any indication of how Missouri will vote this year is difficult to assess. But it provided one of the less-scripted moments of the campaign season.

"Will you let us speak? Will you let us speak, please?" Edwards urged the Republican section of the crowd, which was trying to drown him out with boos.

"We would never shout down our opponents when they're speaking," Edwards added, between attempts to describe his vision for one America without states that are either "red" or "blue."
 
As Bush protesters continued to boo, Edwards asked them, "Are you guys really booing outsourcing of millions of America's jobs and doing something about it?"

He then tried another tactic: "My children are on this train. Show them some good Missouri manners, would you please?"

Of course, heckling is a time-honored tradition in political campaigns, designed to throw a candidate off balance. Kerry responded to protesters Monday in Milwaukee by calling them "goons," and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, said they want "four more years of hell."

The candidates seemed better-prepared four days later.

"Hello, hello, Missouri," Heinz Kerry said to the crowd. "Hello, hello. I would like to say to all of you, if Laura Bush were here, I would say hello politely to her."

Heinz Kerry also admonished the protesters that many people around the world do not have the privilege of debating issues or speaking their mind, including her late parents, "who lost everything to communism."

"So enjoy your democracy," she said.

Kerry himself had better luck telling the crowd that he would be a champion for the middle class, that he would provide health care to all Americans and that he would keep nearby Whiteman Air Force Base open for business as he strengthens the military.

Still, the crowd began to chant for Bush as the Massachusetts Democrat tried to describe his vision for brighter, more hopeful days. Kerry's supporters then began to chant back.

"Let them chant, ladies and gentlemen, because they only have three more months to chant," Kerry said. "They don't want to hear the truth."

Earlier, in Smithville, Mo., Kerry responded to record oil prices that reached almost $45 a barrel by saying the United States should set a goal of deriving 20 percent of its motor fuel from domestic sources such as hydrogen, ethanol and biodiesel by 2020.

At a large, picturesque family-owned farm in politically divided Clay County, Kerry proposed spending $30 billion over 10 years on a mix of grants, tax incentives and government mandates to expedite creation of a new generation of automobiles and SUVs and renewable fuels produced in the United States to power them.

The only new spending program he offered yesterday was a $5 billion "clean fuels partnership," to encourage production of new and often cleaner-burning fuels and vehicles.

The Democratic ticket also announced it will lead by example: Kerry said he and Edwards each are on a waiting list to buy the 2005 Ford Escape hybrid, which runs on gas or electricity. Sticker price: $27,000 and up, according to Ford.

Details on Kerry's energy proposal were provided by The Washington Post.