NYT Seelye/Wilgoren: Dems Gather Stars and Cash for Kerry

[DeepModem Mom]

Democrats Gather Stars and Cash for Kerry

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE and JODI WILGOREN

Published: March 26, 2004


(Article begins with smarmy comments about "stars in the Democratic firmament," "true to form," "lacking a certain coordination" arranging themselves on stage for a photo op, adding that Senator Edwards "maneuvered smack into the center, between Mr. Clinton and Mr. Kerry.")

***

The photo opportunity over, they dispersed into the ballroom of the National Building Museum, where 2,000 of the party's most generous donors were eating barbecue on plastic plates, in an effort to save money for the general election fight ahead. The dinner, sponsored by the Democratic National Committee, raised $11 million in "hard" money, the limited, regulated kind that donors can give only to national parties....

(In his speech, President Carter made a plea to Ralph Nader, explaining that Nader had given him advice during his Presidency: "Tonight I want to return the favor by giving him some advice."..."Don't risk costing the Democrats the White House this year as you did four years ago.")

But it was Mr. Clinton whose speech seemed to overshadow all others. He singled out Howard Dean for praise.

"Howard Dean was the first person who legitimized it for all of us to say we don't like what's going on here," Mr. Clinton declared, to extended applause.

He excoriated the Bush campaign's tactics and mocked it for complaining that Mr. Clinton's aides had come to the White House wearing blue jeans and flannel shirts. "They remind me of teenagers who got their inheritance too soon and couldn't wait to blow it," Mr. Clinton said. And he warned that the Bush team would distort Mr. Kerry's votes and try to turn him "into a cartoon."...

***

(In his speech, Senator Kerry "promised a tough campaign.")

(He)said he would "wage a more effective war on terror" than Mr. Bush by rebuilding global alliances. And he focused on accusations that have roiled Washington in recent days: that President Bush diverted attention from the war on terror after Sept. 11, 2001, to bring down Saddam Hussein in Iraq....(He said America deserves leadership that tells the truth, and "knows that when we live up to our values, the United States of America never goes to war because it wants to — we only go to war because we have to."...)

***

(After the dinner, Presidents Carter and Clinton, Senator Clinton, and the Rev. Al Sharpton went to Dream, a Washington nightclub, "where they received a tumultuous reception.")

***

(Earlier yesterday, Senator Kerry received Governor Dean's endorsement, and that of the UAW and AFSCME, whose president said the union would spend $30 million "mobilizing" its 1.4 million members.)


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/26/politics/campaign/26DEMS.html