Old Leaders Draw Stark Contrasts With the GOP

BOSTON -- With former President Bill Clinton rousing the faithful, Democrats opened their national convention Monday accusing President Bush of undermining the nation’s security and urging voters to weigh whether they were better off now than four years ago.

In a biting address that capped a night of cutting speeches focused on Iraq and the economy, Clinton contrasted his performance with that of the last three Republicans to occupy the White House.

“We tried it their way for 12 years, we tried it our way for eight years, then we tried it their way for four more,” Clinton said. “By the only test that matters -- whether people were better off when we finished than when we started -- our way works better.”

In an address that electrified the convention hall -- and clearly delighted Clinton -- the former president vouched for the toughness of Sen. John F. Kerry, a key focus of convention planners.

“Their opponents will tell you we should be afraid of John Kerry and John Edwards, because they won’t stand up to the terrorists,” Clinton said. “Don’t you believe it. Strength and wisdom are not opposing values. They go hand in hand. And John Kerry has both. His first priority will be to keep America safe.”

Clinton’s speech, billed as the highlight of the convention’s opening night, was the only major address carried by national TV networks. He moved easily between Biblical scripture and policy in a speech that underscored how the 57-year-old Clinton, who survived impeachment and personal scandal, remains an enormous figure in American political life.

Former President Jimmy Carter -- known for his mild manner and charitable works -- delivered one of the most scathing speeches of the more than six-hour program, questioning everything from Bush’s maturity to his military service.

“The United States has alienated its allies, dismayed its friends and inadvertently gratified its enemies by declaring a confused and disturbing strategy of ‘preemptive war,’ ” Carter said, drawing one of the night’s loudest ovations. “In the world at large we cannot lead when our leaders mislead.”

Strategists for Kerry said they wanted to tone down the anti-Bush rhetoric that had been a staple of this polarized election season. And they did, at least until the final segments of the official program.

Outside the complex it was another matter, as Democrats from House Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco to rank-and-file delegates let loose on the incumbent, his policies and his personal integrity.

“People are angry and frustrated, and all of that is directed at Bush,” said Ray Zeller, chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, who called the president a failed leader who stole the 2000 election. “He made a fool out of our country, and he’s going to continue making a fool out of our country.”

If anyone had a right to be aggrieved over the last presidential election, it was former Vice President Al Gore. He won the popular vote nationwide, but a 5-4 Supreme Court decision stopped the counting of Florida’s disputed ballots and effectively handed Bush the White House.

But appearing Monday night to an affectionate ovation, Gore urged Democrats to channel their anger over the 2000 election into support for Kerry and Edwards. Without ever saying I-told-you-so or mentioning Bush by name, Gore made clear his sense of vindication in a speech laced with humor.

“Did you really get what you expected?” Gore asked those who backed Bush in 2000. “Is the country more united today? ... Has the promise of compassionate conservatism been fulfilled? Or do those words now ring hollow?”

Never mentioning Ralph Nader, Gore asked “those who supported a third-party candidate” four years ago if they still believed “there was no difference between” himself and Bush.

A fierce opponent of the war in Iraq, Gore couched his criticism in another series of questions: “Wouldn’t we be better off with a new president who hasn’t burned his bridges to our allies and who could rebuild respect for America in the world? ... Wouldn’t we be safer with a president who didn’t insist on confusing Al Qaeda with Iraq?”

But it was Carter who delivered the harshest comments.

He obliquely referred to the controversy over Bush’s service in the Texas Air National Guard, saying Kerry “showed up when assigned to duty” in Vietnam and “served with honor and distinction.”

He accused Bush of frittering away the world’s goodwill through “a virtually unbroken series of mistakes and miscalculations” after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and said Kerry “would restore the judgment and maturity to our government that is sorely lacking today.”

“Truth is the foundation of our global leadership, but our credibility has been shattered and we are left increasingly isolated and vulnerable in a hostile world,” Carter said.

The first convention held after Sept. 11 was shadowed by the terrorist attacks, and not just politically. During a memorial presentation in the darkened hall, an F-16 fighter jet -- part of an unprecedented round-the-clock security detail -- roared overhead, as if to punctuate America’s sense of vulnerability.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who introduced her husband, described witnessing the aftermath of the attacks -- “like standing at the gates of hell,” she said -- and referred to the 9/11 commission report that urged an overhaul of intelligence. “It was a sober call to action that we ignore at our peril,” Sen. Clinton said. “John Kerry understands what’s at stake.”

The former president, the capper of the night’s program, strode onto the stage with arms opened wide and embraced his wife. The crowd of more than 4,000 delegates, already on their feet, erupted in the evening’s biggest ovation.

In a 25-minute address that drew repeated roars, Clinton portrayed Kerry as a war hero who championed working Americans and cast Bush as a guardian of wealthy interests whose go-it-alone foreign policy had harmed the nation’s standing abroad.

“We’ve got to choose for president between two strong men who both love their country, but who have very different world views,” he said. “Our nominee, John Kerry, favors shared responsibility, shared opportunity and more global cooperation. And their president, and their party in Congress, who favor concentrated wealth and power, leaving people to fend for themselves and more unilateral action.”

Clinton, who used a conversational tone through much of his speech, invoked a Biblical passage from Isaiah in his testimonial to the Massachusetts senator’s Vietnam service.

“Many young men, including the current president, the vice president and me, could have gone to Vietnam and didn’t,” Clinton said. “John Kerry came from a privileged background. He could have avoided going too. But instead, he said, ‘Send me.’

“When they sent those Swift boats up the river in Vietnam, and they told them their job was to draw hostile fire, to wave the American flag and bait the enemy to come out and fight, John Kerry said, ‘Send me.’ ”

Clinton, making light of his millionaire status as a lecturer and best-selling author, mocked the Bush tax cuts that had produced windfalls for wealthy Americans like himself.

“When I was in office, on occasion the Republicans were kind of mean to me. But as soon as I got out and made money, I became part of the most important group in the world to them,” he scoffed. “It was amazing. I never thought I’d be so well cared for by the president and the Republicans in Congress. I almost sent ‘em a thank-you note for my tax cuts -- until I realized that the rest of you were paying the bill for it.”

As the convention opened in Boston, Kerry was slowly making his way home. He campaigned Monday in Florida before traveling to Norfolk, Va., to watch the convention on television in his hotel room. Edwards had a similarly light day of campaigning, making a single stop in his home state at a medical software firm in Durham, N.C.

“I want to talk to Republicans and independents who kind of have a sort of automatic response ... ‘Oh, I’m a Republican, I’ve always voted Republican’,” Kerry said at a morning town hall meeting at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “Stop and think. Stop and think what’s happening in America.”

Speaking to several hundred people seated in a stuffy room, Kerry said the country needs “to push the curve of discovery” and called for a greater investment in efforts to cure AIDS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and for increased stem-cell research.

Turning more overtly to politics, the nominee-to-be recited a litany of woes he blamed on the Bush administration, from sinking wages to a loss of international respect for the country. “Never in 35 years, have I seen the United States as much the target, as much

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It’s the economy

On key economic indicators, President Clinton’s two terms produced much faster gains than President Bush has enjoyed over his first term. Republicans argue that Bush inherited from Clinton an economic slowdown compounded by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks; Democrats argue that Clinton’s economic strategy encouraged greater growth than Bush’s emphasis on tax cuts.

*--* Clinton Bush Job growth, +2,835,000 -455,000 annual average (payroll survey) Economic growth +3.7% per year +2.5% per year (change in inflation-adjusted gross domestic product) Inflation +2.8% per year +3.4% per year (change in consumer price index) Median household -1.6% per year +1.7% per year income, change Number of Americans in poverty -800,000 +1.5 million (average change per year) Number of Americans +145,000 +1,885,000 without health insurance (average change per year) Federal surplus/deficit +$5 billion -$350 billion (annual average)

*--*

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Census Bureau, White House Office of Management and Budget, National Assn. of Realtors.

Times staff writers Matea Gold, Maria L. La Ganga, Janet Hook, Maura Reynolds, Eric Slater, Stephen W. Stromberg and Peter Wallsten contributed to this report.

A party playlist

At a Rock the Vote nightclub party in Boston, the Democrats were bopping to:

1. “Super Freak (Part 1)” by Rick James

2. “One Love/People Get Ready” by Bob Marley (right)

3. “Brick House” by The Commodores

4. Theme song to “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids”

Look who’s in Boston

The crowds in and around FleetCenter during convention week include:

4,352 delegates and 611 alternates

15,000 members of the media

15,000 guests, like elected officials and dignitaries

SOURCE: Democratic National Convention Committee

Those were the days

The Democratic National Convention wasn’t always so predictable. In 1972 the routine vice presidential nomination dissolved into chaos when delegates ended up voting for 79 different nominees. Mao Tse-Tung and Archie Bunker were among the off-the-wall choices for the No. 2 slot. The confusion delayed George McGovern’s acceptance speech until 3 a.m SOURCE: Congressional Quarterly, Salon.com

Across the generations

This year’s Democratic delegation, with a 78-year age spread, benefits from the wisdom of the aged and the energy of youth. The oldest delegate: 95-year-old Eleanor Slater of Rhode Island. The youngest delegate: 17-year-old Sarah Bender, right, of Ohio, who will turn 18 in time to vote in November. SOURCE: Democratic National Convention Committee

Unconventional Boston

It may be one of America’s first cities -- incorporated in 1630 -- but Boston has never before played host to a major-party convention. The top five sites: Chicago, 25; Baltimore, 10; Philadelphia, 8; New York, 6; St. Louis, 5.

SOURCE: U.S. Census, Congressional Quarterly, Associated Press

Tuned out, turned off

In 1960, when Democrats nominated JFK for president, the networks broadcast an average of 27.4 hours of coverage and 28.6% of households tuned in. Four years ago, the coverage was 5.25 hours, with an audience of 14.6%.

SOURCE: Campaign Finance Institute

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The infobox at the end of this article states inaccurately the number of Americans in poverty and without health insurance. Those figures, based on Census Bureau data, refer to the number of people in America and do not specify whether they are citizens.

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