By Brian Passey
By Brian Passey
During the Kerry-Edwards campaign stop at the St. Petersburg Coliseum on Wednesday evening, John Edwards made sure the Floridians knew his wife was a local by letting her speak first.
Elizabeth Edwards said she was born in Jacksonville, still has family throughout the state and does not want to be embarrassed in front of them. “We gotta win Florida,” she said.
When John Kerry first came on stage to the sound of Bruce Springsteen’s “Land of Hope and Dreams,” he referred to Florida as a place where “this time not only every vote counts, but every vote is going to be counted.”
Barnstorming on their first full day as running mates in the campaign, John Kerry and John Edwards concentrated on veterans and the middle class, emphasizing concerns associated with each. Throughout their speeches they emphasized one word: truth.
“John Edwards and I are going to do something unprecedented in American history. We are going to tell the truth,” Kerry said to the crowd of more than 2,000.
Edwards said he and Kerry were together in St. Petersburg because they share common values.
Kerry said he and Edwards have been traveling the country for two years listening to people. The stories they heard have become the works of their lives. He said people are living in fear not only of terrorism but the fear of not having a doctor or health care.
Union members voiced concerns about health care at the rally. The Service Employees International Union 1199 Florida, which includes health-care workers, was one of several unions in attendance. Member Venda Howard, 45, said the union had been campaigning for Kerry since April and members also were concerned about education and job outsourcing overseas.
Across the street from the Coliseum, a group of about 100 Bush supporters gathered as the line to enter the building was forming. They held pro-Bush signs such as, “GWB—real leadership,” or anti-Kerry ones such as, “What are you for today?”
Kerry said that his running mate knows what it is like to grow up in a struggling middle-class family. He said families with similar backgrounds to Edwards are facing problems because of job outsourcing, telling stories of a worker who had to pack up his tools to send to China or others who had to train their own replacements.
“We deserve a president of the United States who fights as hard for your job as he does for his own job,” Kerry said.
Both candidates touched on the war in Iraq, with Kerry beginning by saying, as president, he would make sure no person in uniform ever has to be held hostage to the nation’s dependency on oil.
“The United States of America should never go to war because we want to, we should only go to war because we have to,” Kerry said.
Edwards echoed Kerry’s comments. He said those who think Kerry lacks the courage to lead need to go back 30 years and look at his service in Vietnam or ask men who served with him.
“He will fight for a strong military because this is personal for him,” Edwards said. “He will never forget them; he will never leave them behind.”
Edwards also emphasized families, saying he and Kerry have spent time with their own and each other’s families during the campaign.
“This campaign will be a celebration of real American values,” Edwards said.
The candidates stressed their similarities on both the issues and the non-issues. Kerry pointed out that they were both lawyers named John and both had better hair than the competition. “He was named People magazine’s sexiest man of the year. I read People magazine,” Kerry said.
The fire marshal stopped people from entering the Coliseum after the 2,000-person capacity was met; many who waited in line for hours did not make it in. The line to enter stretched for two blocks. Kerry acknowledged the people outside and said they would go out and meet them following the rally.
Though the candidates focused on issues, others at the rally were more focused on defeating President Bush. Volunteer Dave Algiere, 41, said he thinks Kerry and Edwards are sincere and he just wants to do whatever he can to get Bush out of office. Algiere set up barriers before the rally and cleaned up afterward.
Another volunteer, Bryan Brooks, 55, served in the Army infantry in Vietnam and was wearing a “Veteran for Kerry” button. Brooks called Bush a coward but said he trusts Kerry. “He’s a man of courage, honor, devotion, duty.”