Clinton acts as warm up man for Kerry at convention

AS BILL Clinton basked in the spotlight yesterday at the opening of the Democratic convention, John Kerry visited Florida to press his case as to why voters should put him the White House in place of President George Bush.

“We need to push the curve of discovery,” the Democratic contender told workers at the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral. “We need a President who believes in science and who’s prepared to invest America’s efforts to cure Parkinson’s and AIDS and diabetes and Alzheimer’s, and do stem cell research.”

Mr Kerry also appealed to Republicans and independents to “stop and think” about who they will vote for in November. There’s nothing conservative about “piling debt on the shoulders of our children and driving the deficits up as far as the eye can see,” he said.

Mr Kerry also praised Mr Clinton for balancing the government’s budget, reducing its debt and creating 23 million new jobs. “I also want to create better jobs,” he added.

Meanwhile, convention delegates in Boston were preparing for an evening of speeches focusing on Mr Kerry’s stated vision for America: a strong economy, a growing middle class, affordable health care and a beefed-up military.

Mr Clinton, the Democrats’ last occupant of the White House, dismissed any idea he might overshadow Mr Kerry.

“I feel good about the way he relates to voters,” Mr Clinton said on Sunday.

Before visiting the key state of Florida, Mr Kerry stopped in Boston on Sunday for a surprise appearance at the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox game, where he threw the first pitch. Boston won the game 9-6. Mr Kerry returns on Wednesday, the eve of his acceptance speech.

The convention is the first since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the police and military authorities were on alert.

Camouflaged military police kept watch from elevated rail lines overlooking the FleetCentre where the 4,350 delegates are gathering. Helicopters circled overhead and sniffer dogs and officers with guns patrolled nearby streets.

Metal barricades about 7 feet high ringed the FleetCentre, directing foot traffic and limiting access.

Some 40 miles of roads in and out of the city will be closed during the convention, but the expected traffic gridlock failed to develop yesterday. Many commuters apparently heeded the urgings of city officials to stay at home.

Despite the looming terrorism threat, the convention’s message was relentlessly upbeat.

“Our objective is to show the personal side of Senator Kerry - his character, his Vietnam service, his leadership qualities,” Bill Richardson, the convention’s chairman, told CNN.

Protests remained mostly scattered on Sunday. Two groups - about 3,000 protesting mainly against the Iraq war and about 1,000 abortion opponents - exchanged angry words blocks from the FleetCentre on Sunday. Two people were taken into custody.

“This is just the beginning of a week of protests,” said Larry Holmes, a spokesman for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, the coalition that staged the anti-war protests.

Among the rallies, parties and receptions yesterday was one featuring filmmaker Michael Moore, whose Bush-bashing Fahrenheit 9/11 recently became the first documentary to top the $100 million (€82.3 million) mark domestically.

In keeping with tradition, Mr Bush is spending the next several days out of the public eye at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

But Republican strategists are in Boston, where they will answer criticisms and focus on painting Mr Kerry as a liberal.

“The one thing you won’t hear John Kerry talk about this week is the record that earned him the ranking of the Senate’s most out of the mainstream member,” said Steve Schmidt, a Bush campaign spokesman.