US: With the party royalty having anointed the candidate in two heady days of speeches, the most united Democratic Party Convention in memory is moving smoothly to a climax tomorrow night when Senator John Kerry delivers an acceptance speech outlining his vision for post-9/11 America, writes Conor O'Clery in Boston
Bill and Hillary, Edward Kennedy, Al Gore and Jimmy Carter were among the big names who energized the 5,000 delegates with rousing tributes to Mr Kerry, depicting him as a war-tested commander in chief who would lead their country back to the economic well-being of the Clinton years.
Former president Mr Bill Clinton, whose first convention speech two decades ago was so bad it nearly ended his career, delivered such a finely crafted oration on Monday evening that he had nostalgic Democrats leaping to their feet in a thunderous standing ovation.
Hardly mentioning President George Bush by name, Mr Clinton articulated the differences between Republicans and Democrats in making the case that Mr Kerry should be elected to bring back more peaceful and prosperous times.
In keeping with the injunction from party leaders that there should be no overt Bush-bashing, he used self-deprecating humour to mount a searing indictment of the Republican administration.
"During the Vietnam War, many young men, including the current president, the vice president and me, could have gone to Vietnam and didn't," Mr Clinton said.
"John Kerry came from a privileged background. He could have avoided going too, but instead, he said: 'Send me'." Republicans would claim that Mr Kerry and his running mate Mr John Edwards would not stand up to the terrorists, he went on. "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." Mr Clinton argued that the country longed to be united after 9/11 but the president and his colleagues "made a different choice".
The Bush administration had attacked Iraq before arms inspectors finished their work and withdrawn from international treaties.
The Bush tax cuts only benefited the one per cent of the population in which he was now numbered.
"I almost sent them a thank you note for my tax cuts until I realized that the rest of you were paying the bill for it," he said.
Mr Clinton left Boston yesterday, declaring himself a "foot-soldier" in the fight, to leave the field to Mr Kerry.
Mrs Hillary Clinton also implicitly condemned the Bush administration, saying Mr Kerry would "lead the world, not alienate it. He will lower the deficit, not raise it. He will create good jobs, not lose them."
Former president Mr Jimmy Carter (80) drew roars of approval from delegates by saying that "in the world at large we cannot lead if our leaders mislead." Declaring that the nation's soul was at stake, he accused the Bush administration of alienating allies, dismaying friends and gratifying its enemies. It had abandoned the Middle East peace process leaving the region "increasingly swept by anti-American passion." Former vice president Mr Al Gore told delegates he had hoped to return to the convention seeking another four years.
"You know the old saying, you win some, you lose some, and then there's that little-known thirds category," he said, referring to his fate in 2000.
Addressing television viewers, he asked "Did you really get what you voted for. Is our country more united today or more divided? Has the promise of compassionate conservatism been fulfilled. Or do those words now ring hollow?" He added he knew all about the bad economy. "I was the first one laid off."