Announcer john kerry was a threetime u. S. Senator when he announced his it for the white house. He would win the nomination but lose to president bush he was seeking a second term. Senator kerrys acceptance speech at the 2000 ford convention is just under one hour. [applause] [cheers and applause] [chanting] mr. Kerry thank you. Thank you. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry thank you. Thank you. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry thank you. Thank you. [chanting] mr. Kerry thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you , thank you. Am john kerry and i am reporting for duty. Applause] here we arere we are here tonight because we love our country. We are proud of what america is and what it can become. My fellow americans, were here tonight united in one purpose, to make america stronger at home and respected in the world. [applause] mr. Kerry a Great American novelist wrote that you cant go home again. He could not have imagined this evening. Tonight, i am home [applause] mr. Kerry home where my public life began and those it made it possible to live at home. Home where our nations history was written in blood, idealism, and hope, hope or my parents showed me the values of family, faith, and country. Thank you, all of you, for a welcome home i will never forget. [applause] kerry i wish my parents could share this moment. They went to their rest in the last few years. But their example, their inspiration, their gift of open eyes open eyes and open mind and endless heart and world that doesnt have an end are bigger and more lasting than any words at all. I was born, as some of you saw in the film, in Fitzsimmons Army hospital in colorado [applause]] mr. Kerry wet my dad was a pilot in world war ii. Now, i am not one to read into things, but gets which wing of the hospital the Maternity Ward was in . I am not kidding. I was born in the west wing. [cheers and applause] my mother was the rock of our family, as so many mothers are. She stayed up late to help me with my homework. She sat by my bed when i was sick. She answered the questions of a child who, like all children, found the world full of wonders and mysteries. She was my den mother when i was a cub scout, and she was so proud of her 50year pin as a girl scout leader. Mr. Kerry she gave me her passion for the environment. She taught me to see trees as the cathedrals of nature. And by the power of her example, she showed me that we can and must complete the march toward full equality for all women in the United States of america. [applause] mr. Kerry my dad did the things that a boy remembers. My dad did the things that a boy remembers. He gave me my first model airplane, my first baseball mitt, my first bicycle. He also taught me that we are here for something bigger than ourselves. He lived out the responsibilities and the sacrifices of the greatest generation to whom we owe so much. And when i was a young man, he was in the state department, stationed in berlin when it and the world were divided between democracy and communism. I have unforgettable memories of being a kid mesmerized by the british, french and american troops, each of them guarding their own part of the city, and russians standing guard on that stark line separating east from west. On one occasion, i rode my bike into soviet east berlin, and when i proudly told my dad, he promptly grounded me. [laughter] [applause] mr. Kerry but what i learned has stayed with me for a lifetime. I saw how different life was on different sides of the same city. I saw the fear in the eyes of people who were not free. I saw the gratitude of people toward the United States for all that we had done. I felt goosebumps as i got off a military train and heard the army band strike up stars and stripes forever. I learned what it meant to be america at our best. I learned the pride of our freedom. And i am determined now to restore that pride to all who look to america. [applause] mr. Kerry mine were greatest generation parents. And as i thank them, we all join together to thank a whole generation for making america strong, for winning world war ii, winning the cold war and for the great gift of service which brought america 50 years of peace and prosperity. My parents inspired me to serve, and when i was in high school, a junior, john kennedy called my generation to service. It was the beginning of a great journey, a time to march for civil rights, for voting rights, for the environment, for women, for peace. We believed we could change the world. And you know what . We did. But were not finished. But were not finished. The journey isnt complete; the march isnt over; the promise isnt perfected. Tonight, were setting out again. And together, were going to write the next great chapter of americas story. We have it in our power to change the world, but only if were true to our ideals. And that starts by telling the truth to the American People. [applause] mr. Kerry as president , that is my first pledge to you tonight, as president , i will restore trust and credibility to the white house. [applause] mr. Kerry i ask you, i ask you to judge me by my record. As a young prosecutor, i fought for victims rights and made prosecuting violence against women a priority. [applause] mr. Kerry when i came to the senate, i broke with many in my own party to vote for a balanced budget, because i thought it was the right thing to do. I fought to put 100,000 Police Officers on the streets of america. And then i reached out across the aisle with john mccain to work to find the truth about our pows and missing in action and to finally make peace in vietnam. [applause] mr. Kerry i will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war. [applause] mr. Kerry i will have a Vice President who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws. [applause] mr. Kerry i will have a secretary of defense who will listen to the best advice of the military leaders. And i will appoint an attorney general who will uphold the constitution of the United States. [applause] mr. Kerry my fellow americans, my fellow americans, this is the most important election of our lifetime. The stakes are high. We are a nation at war, a global war on terror against an enemy unlike weve ever known before. And here at home, wages are falling, healthcare costs are rising, and our great middle class is shrinking. People are working weekends two jobs, three jobs and theyre still not getting ahead. Were told that outsourcing jobs is good for america. Were told that jobs that pay 9,000 less than the jobs that have been lost is the best that we can do. They say this is the best economy that weve ever had. And they say anyone who thinks otherwise is a pessimist. Well, here is our answer, there is nothing more pessimistic than saying that america cant do better. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry we can do better, we can do better, and we will. Were the optimists. For us, this is a country of the future. Were the cando people. And lets not forget what we did in the 1990s. We balanced the budget. We paid down the debt. We created 23 million new jobs. We lifted millions out of poverty. And we lifted the standard of living for the middle class. We just need to believe in ourselves and we can do it again. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry so, tonight so, tonight so, tonight so, tonight, in the city where americas freedom began, only a few blocks from where the sons and daughters of liberty gave birth to our nation, here tonight, on behalf of a new birth of freedom, on behalf of the middle class who deserve a champion and those struggling to join it who deserve a fair shot, for the brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives and for the families who pray for their return, for all those who believe our best days are ahead of us, with great faith in the American People, i accept your nomination for president of the United States. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry i am proud [cheers and applause] audience kerry kerry kerry mr. Kerry thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you. I am proud that at my side will be a runningmate whose life is the story of the American Dream, and whos worked every day to make that dream real for all americans, senator john edwards of North Carolina and his wife elizabeth and their family. Thank you. [cheers and applause] this son of a millworker is ready to lead. And next january, americans will be proud to have a fighter for the middle class to succeed dick cheney as Vice President of the United States. [cheers and applause] and what can i say about teresa . [cheers and applause] she has the strongest moral compass of anyone i know. Shes down to earth, nurturing, courageous, wise, and smart. She speaks her mind, and she speaks the truth, and i love her for that, too. And thats why america will embrace her as the next first lady of the United States. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry for teresa and me, no matter what the future holds or the past has given us, nothing will ever mean as much as our children as you can sense listening to them. We love them, not just for who they are and what theyve become, but for being themselves, making us laugh, holding our feet to the fire, and never letting me get away with anything. [laughter] thank you, andre, alex, chris, vanessa, and john. And in this journey, i am accompanied by an extraordinary band of brothers led by that american hero, a patriot called max cleland. [cheers and applause] our band of brothers our band of brothers doesnt march because of who we are as veterans, but because of what we learned as soldiers. We fought for this nation because we loved it, and we came back with the deep belief that every day is extra. We may be a little older, we may be a little grayer, but we still know how to fight for our country. [cheers and applause] and standing with us in that fight standing with us in that fight are those who shared with me the long season of the primary campaign, Carol Moseley braun, general wesley clark, howard dean [cheers and applause] dick gephardt, bob graham, dennis kucinich, joe lieberman, al sharpton. To all of you, i say thank you for teaching me and testing me. But mostly, we say thank you for standing up for our country and for giving us the unity to move america forward. [cheers and applause] my fellow americans, the world tonight is very different from the world of four years ago. But i believe the American People are more than equal to the challenge. Remember the hours after september 11, when we came together as one to answer the attack against our homeland. We drew strength when our firefighters ran up stairs and risked their lives so that others might live, when rescuers rushed into smoke and fire at the pentagon, when the men and women of flight 93 sacrificed themselves to save our nations capitol, when flags were hanging from front porches all across america and strangers became friends. It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us. [cheers and applause] i am proud that after september 11 all our people rallied to president bushs call for unity to meet the danger. There were no democrats. There were no republicans. There were only americans. And how we wish it had stayed that way. [cheers and applause] now, i know that there are those who criticize me for seeing complexities and i do because some issues just arent all that simple. Saying there are weapons of mass destruction in iraq doesnt make it so. Saying we can fight a war on the cheap doesnt make it so. And proclaiming Mission Accomplished certainly doesnt make it so. [cheers and applause] as president , i will ask the hard questions and demand hard evidence. I will immediately reform the intelligence system, so policy is guided by facts and facts are never distorted by politics. And as president , i will bring back this nations timehonored tradition, the United States of america never goes to war because we want to, we only go to war because we have to. That is the standard of our nation. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry i know what kids go through when they are carrying [cheers and applause] i know what kids go through when theyre carrying an m16 in a dangerous place, and they cant tell friend from foe. I know what they go through when theyre out on patrol at night and they dont know whats coming around the next bend. I know what its like to write letters home telling your family that everythings all right, when youre not sure that thats true. As president , i will wage this war with the lessons i learned in war. Before you go to battle, you have to be able to look a parent in the eye and truthfully say, i tried Everything Possible to avoid sending your son or daughter into harms way, but we had no choice, we had to protect the American People, fundamental American Values against a threat that was real and imminent. [cheers and applause] so, lesson number one, this is the only justification for going to war. And on my first day in office, i will send a message to every man and woman in our armed forces you will never be asked to fight a war without a plan to win the peace. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry i know what we have to do in iraq. I know what we have to do in iraq. We need a president who has the credibility to bring our allies to our side and share the burden, reduce the cost to american taxpayers, reduce the risk to american soldiers. Thats the right way to get the job done and bring our troops home. [cheers and applause] here is the reality, that wont happen until we have a president who restores americas respect and leadership so we dont have to go it alone in the world. And we need to rebuild our alliances so we can get the terrorists before they get us. I defended this country as a young man, and i will defend it as president. [cheers and applause] let there be no mistake, i will never hesitate to use force when it is required. Any attack will be met with a swift and a certain response. I will never give any nation or any institution a veto over our National Security. And i will build a stronger military. We will add 40,000 active duty troops, not in iraq, but to strengthen American Forces that are now overstretched, overextended, and under pressure. We will double our special forces to conduct terrorist operations, antiterrorist operations, and we will provide our troops with the newest weapons and technology to save their lives and win the battle. And we will end the backdoor draft of the National Guard and reservists. [cheers and applause] to all who serve in our armed forces today, i say help is on the way. [cheers and applause] as president , i will fight a smarter, more effective war on terror. We will deploy every tool in our arsenal, our economic as well as our military might, our principles as well as our firepower. In these dangerous days, there is a right way and a wrong way to be strong. Strength is more than tough words. After decades of experience in National Security, i know the reach of our power, and i know the power of our ideals. We need to make america once again a beacon in the world. We need to be looked up to, not just feared. We need to lead a global effort against nuclear proliferation, to keep the most dangerous weapons in the world out of the most dangerous hands in the world. [applause] we need a Strong Military and we need to lead strong alliances. And then, and then, with confidence and determination, we will be able to tell the terrorists, you will lose, and we will win. The future doesnt belong to fear, it belongs to freedom. [cheers and applause] and the frontlines and the frontlines of this battle are not just far away. Theyre right here on our shores. Theyre at our airports and potentially in any town or city. Today, our National Security begins with homeland security. The 9 11 commission has given us a path to follow, endorsed by democrats, republicans, and the 9 11 families. As president , i will not evade or equivocate, i will immediately implement all the recommendations of that commission. We shouldnt be letting 95 of our container ships come into our ports without ever being physically inspected. We shouldnt be leaving nuclear and chemical plants without enough protection. And we shouldnt be opening firehouses in baghdad and shutting them in the United States of america. [cheers and applause] tonight tonight and tonight, we have an Important Message for those who question the patriotism of americans who offer a better direction for our country. Before wrapping themselves in the flag and shutting their eyes to the truth and their ears, they should remember what america is really all about. They should remember the great idea of freedom for which so many have given their lives. Our purpose now is to reclaim our democracy itself. We are here to affirm that when americans stand up and speak their minds and say america can do better, that is not a challenge to patriotism, it is the heart and soul of patriotism. [cheers and applause] you see you see that flag up there. We call her old glory, the stars and stripes forever. I fought under that flag, as did so many of those people who were are here tonight and all across the country. That flag flew from the gun turret right behind my head and it was shot through and through and tattered, but it never ceased to wave in the wind. It draped the caskets of men that i served with and friends i grew up with. For us, that flag is the most powerful symbol of who we are and what we believe in, our strength, our diversity, our love of country, all that makes america both great and good. That flag doesnt belong to any president. It doesnt belong to any ideology. It doesnt belong to any party. It belongs to all the American People. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry my fellow citizens [audience chanting usa, usa ] mr. Kerry my fellow citizens my fellow citizens, elections are about choices. And choices are about values. In the end, its not just policies and programs that matter. The president who sits at that desk must be guided by principle. For four years, weve heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. [applause] values are not just words, values are what we live by. Theyre about the causes that we champion and the people we fight for. And it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families. [cheers and applause] you dont value families [cheers and applause] you dont value families by kicking kids out of afterschool programs and taking cops off the streets, so that enron can get another tax break. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry we believe in the family value of caring for our children and protecting the neighborhoods where they walk and play. And that is the choice in this election. You dont value families by denying real Prescription Drug coverage to seniors so Big Drug Companies can get another windfall. Windfall of profit. We believe in the family value expressed in one of the oldest commandments, Honor Thy Father and thy mother. As president , i will not privatize social security. I will not cut benefits. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry and together, we will make sure that Senior Citizens never have to cut their pills in half because they cant afford lifesaving medicine. And that is the choice in this election. [cheers and applause] you dont you dont value families if you force them to take up a collection to buy body armor for a son or daughter in the service, if you deny Veterans Health care, or if you tell middleclass families to wait for a tax cut, so the wealthiest among us can get even more. We believe in the value of doing whats right for everyone in the american family. And thats the choice in this election. We believe that what matters most is not narrow appeals masquerading as values, but the shared values that show the true face of america, not narrow values that divide us, but the shared values that unite us, family, faith, hard work, opportunity, and responsibility for all, so that every child, every adult, every parent, every worker in america has an equal shot at living up to their godgiven potential. That is the American Dream and the american value. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry what does it mean in America Today when dave mccune, a steelworker that i met in canton, ohio, saw his job sent overseas and the equipment in his factory was literally unbolted, crated up and shipped thousands of miles away, along with that job . What does it mean when workers ive met have had to train their foreign replacements . America can do better. And tonight we say help is on the way. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry what does it mean what does it mean when mary ann knowles, a woman with Breast Cancer i met in new hampshire, had to keep working day after day, right through her chemotherapy, no matter how sick she felt, because she was terrified of losing her familys Health Insurance . America can do better, and help is on the way. What does it mean when deborah kromins from philadelphia, pennsylvania, works and she saves all her life, and finds out that her pension has disappeared into thin air and the executive who looted it has bailed out on a golden parachute . America can do better, and help is on the way. What does it mean when 25 of the children in harlem have asthma because of air pollution . We can do better, america can do better, and help is on the way. Audience help is on the way. Mr. Kerry what does it mean when people are huddled in blankets in the cold, sleeping in lafayette park, on the doorstep of the white house itself, and the number of families living in poverty has risen by three million in the last four years . America can do better, and help is on the way. Audience help is on the way. Mr. Kerry so, tonight we come here tonight to ask, where is the conscience of our country . Ill tell you where it is. Ill tell you where it is. Its in rural and smalltown america. Its in urban neighborhoods and the suburban main streets. Its alive in the people that ive met in every single part of this land. Its bursting in the hearts of americans who are determined to give our values and our truth back to our country. We value jobs that actually pay you more than the job that you lost. We value jobs where, when you put in a weeks work, you can actually pay your bills, provide for your children, lift up the quality of your life. [applause] we value an america where the middle class is not being squeezed, but doing better. So, here is our economic plan to build a stronger america. First, new incentives to revitalize manufacturing, second, investment in technology and innovation that will create the goodpaying jobs of the future. Third, close the tax loopholes that reward companies for shipping jobs overseas. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry instead, we will reward the companies that create and keep the goodpaying jobs right where they belong, in the good old usa. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry we value an america that exports products, not jobs. And we believe American Workers should never have to subsidize the loss of their own job. Next, we will trade, and we will compete in the world. But our plan calls for a fair playing field, because if you give the American Worker a fair playing field, theres no one in the world that the American Worker cant compete against. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry and were going to return to fiscal responsibility because it is the foundation of our economic strength. Our plan will cut the deficit in half in four years by ending tax giveaways that are nothing more than corporate welfare, and we will make government live by the rule that every family has to live by, pay as you go. And let me [cheers and applause] let me tell you what we wont do. We wont raise taxes on the middle class. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry youve heard a lot of false charges about this in recent months. So, let me say straight out what i will do as president , i will cut middleclass taxes. I will reduce the tax burden on small business. And i will roll back the tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals who make over 200,000 a year, so we can invest in health care, education and job creation. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry our Education Plan for a stronger america sets high standards and it demands accountability from parents, teachers, and schools. It provides for smaller class sizes, and it treats teachers like the professionals that they are. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry and it gives a tax credit to families for each and every year of college. When i was a prosecutor, i met young kids who were in trouble, abandoned, all of them, by adults. And as president , i am determined that we stop being a nation content to spend 50,000 a year to send a young person to prison for the rest of their life, when we could invest 10,000 a year in head start, early start, smart start, a real start to the lives of our children. [cheers and applause] kerry kerry kerry and we value and we Value Health Care thats affordable and accessible for all americans. Since 2000, four Million People have lost their Health Insurance. Millions more are struggling to afford it. You know whats happening. Your premiums, your copayments, your deductibles have all gone through the roof. Our Health Care Plan for a stronger america cracks down on the waste and the greed and the abuse in our healthcare system, and it will save families 1,000 a year on premiums. Youll get to pick your own doctor. And patients and doctors, not Insurance Company bureaucrats, will make medical decisions. [applause] under our Health Care Plan medicare will negotiate lower drug prices for seniors. And all americans will be able to buy less expensive Prescription Drugs from countries like canada. The story of people struggling for health care is the story of so many americans. But you know what . Its not the story of senators and members of congress, because we give ourselves great health care, and you get the bill. Well, im here to say tonight, your familys health care is just as important as any politicians in washington, d. C. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry and when i am president , we will stop being the only advanced nation in the world which fails to understand that health care is not a privilege for the wealthy and the connected and the elected, it is a right for all americans. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry and we will make it so. [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry we value an america that controls its own destiny because its finally and forever independent of mideast oil. What does it mean for our economy and our National Security when we have only 3 of the worlds oil reserves, yet we rely on Foreign Countries for 53 of what we consume . I want an america that relies on its ingenuity and innovation, not the saudi royal family. [cheers and applause] and our energy plan for a stronger america our energy plan will invest in new technologies and alternative fuels and the cars of the future, so that no Young American in uniform will ever be held hostage to our dependence on oil from the middle east. Ive told you about our plans for the economy, for education, for health care, for energy independence. I want you to know more about them. So now im going to Say Something that Franklin Roosevelt could never have said in his acceptance speech, go to johnkerry. Com. [laughter] [cheers and applause] mr. Kerry i want to address these next words directly to president george w. Bush. In the weeks ahead, lets be optimists, not just opponents. Lets build unity in the american family, not angry division. Lets honor this nations diversity. Lets respect one another. And lets not misuse the most precious document it in history,. Ends, my friends [applause] mr. Kerry my friends, the high road may be harder but it leads and that isplace why republicans and democrats must make this election a contest of big ideas. Not small minded attacks. This is our time to reject the kind of politics designed to separate race from race, religion from region, group from group. Red states and blue states. I see us as one america, red, white, and blue. And when i am president , the government i lead will list people of talent. Republicans as well as democrats to find the Common Ground so that no one who has something to contribute to our nation will be left on a sideline. And let me say it plainly. Campaign, we welcome people of faith. America is not us and them. I think of what Ronald Reagan said a few weeks ago. And i want to say this to you tonight, i do not wear my religion on my sleeve, but faith has given me values and hope to live by from vietnam to this day. From sunday to sunday. I do not want to claim that god is on our side. As Abraham Lincoln told us, i want to pray humbly that we are on gods side. [applause] kerry whatever ] heers and applause mr. Kerry and whatever our faith, one belief should bind us all. The measure of our character or is our willingness to give up ourselves for others and our country. These are not democratic values, these are not republican values, they are American Values. We believe in them. They are who we are. If we all know them, if we believe in ourselves, we can build an america that is stronger at home and respected in the world. So much promise stretches for us. Americans have always reach for the impossible, looked to the next rise in and asked, what if . Two Young Bicycle mechanics asked, what if this airplane could take off at kitty hawk . It did that. It changed the world forever. A young president asked, what if we could go to the moon in 10 years and now we are exploring the stars and the solar system. A young generation of orange menorahs us, what if we could take all of the information in the library and put it on a chip the size of a fingernail . We did that. Into that, too, changed the world. And now it is our time to ask, what if . What if we find a breakthrough to parkinsons, diabetes, alzheimers, aids . What if we have a president who in science . So we can unleash the wonders of discovery like Stem Cell Research and save millions of lives . We do what adults should do and make sure that all of our children are safe in the afternoons after school . What if we have a leadership that is as good as the American Dream so that bigotry and hatred that never again steal the hope or future of any american . I learned a lot about these patrollingot gunboat the mekong delta with a americans who came from places as different as iowa, oregon, arkansas, florida . No one cared. No one cared where we went to school. No one cared about our race or color background. We werent literally in the same boat. We looked out one to the other and we still do. That is the kind of america i will lead as president. An america where were all in the same boat. Never has there been a moment more urgent for americans to step up and define ourselves. Myill work my heart out with fellow citizens. The outcome is in your hands more than a young mind. It is time to reach for the next dream. To look to the next horizon. For america, the hope is there. The sun is rising. Our best days are still to come. Thank you. Bless you. And, god bless the United States of america. [applause] [chanting] applause]
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