US: Standing in front of an aircraft carrier and accompanied by fellow Vietnam veterans, Senator John Kerry declared his bid for the presidency yesterday with an attack on President Bush's failings as a wartime leader and an advertisement of his own military credentials, writes James Harding in Washington
"Being flown to an aircraft carrier and saying 'mission accomplished' doesn't end a war," said Mr Kerry, who commanded a navy gunboat in Vietnam and won a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and three purple hearts. "The swagger of a president saying 'bring 'em on' will never bring peace."
The martial theme of the senator's declaration of his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination underlines a shift in the way his party is seeking to unseat Mr Bush. Last November Mr Bush led the Republican party to a historic victory in the mid-term Congressional elections by playing on his party's perceived advantage on national security. The Democrats sought, in vain, to highlight the economy.
But Mr Howard Dean's campaign, fuelled by an anti-war message, has captured the imagination of Democrat activists and prompted fellow Democrats to make Mr Bush's foreign policy a central campaign issue.
"An international policy where we stand almost alone is wrong for America," Senator Kerry said yesterday. "If I am president, I will never forget that even a nation as powerful as the United States needs to make some friends in the world."
Senator Kerry, from Massachusetts, voted in favour of the US-led invasion of Iraq last year but has since turned on Mr Bush for allowing a "rush to war" without a sufficient plan for securing and rebuilding Iraq.
Having been introduced by former Georgia senator Mr Max Cleland, who lost both legs and an arm in the Vietnam War, and backed by crew members from his navy gunboat in Vietnam, Senator Kerry embraced the language of wartime leadership: "This is no ordinary campaign, because this is no ordinary time," he said. "George Bush's vision does not live up to the America I enlisted in the navy to defend, the America I have fought for in the Senate, and the America I hope to lead as president."
While the bulk of Senator Kerry's attacks were directed at Mr Bush and the "arrogance" of Mr Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, and Mr Paul Wolfowitz, his deputy, he also sought to set himself apart from the other eight candidates for the Democratic nomination.
Senator Kerry said he would not repeal all the Bush administration's tax cuts, seeking to protect the tax relief for middle-incomes. With his nuanced approach to repealing the Bush tax cuts and his emphasis on his military record, Mr Kerry's attempt to relaunch his campaign was designed to offer an alternative to Mr Dean, who holds a lead in the latest polls in Iowa and New Hampshire. - (Financial Times)