Kerry vows freedom anew

Promising ''a new birth of freedom" for Americans facing economic uncertainty and security threats, John Forbes Kerry accepted the Democratic presidential nomination last night with a pledge to strengthen the US military and reform its intelligence services, introducing himself as a Vietnam veteran who healed divisions as a US senator and will unite a world uncertain about American power to fight against terrorism.

''As president, I will bring back this nation's time-honored tradition: the United States of America never goes to war because we want to, we only go to war because we have to," Kerry, 60, told a roaring Democratic audience bathed in red, white, and blue lights. ''With confidence and determination, we will be able to tell the terrorists: You will lose, and we will win. The future doesn't belong to fear; it belongs to freedom."

Casting the race for the White House as a decisive moment in American history, Kerry offered himself to voters as a battle-tested Democrat who would ''restore trust and credibility to the White House" by forging bipartisanship at home and rebuilding frayed alliances with European nations. And though he treaded lightly over his 19-year record in the US Senate, Kerry drew a sharp contrast between his vision for the future and the policies of the incumbent Republican administration.

''I will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war. I will have a vice president who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws. I will have a secretary of defense who will listen to the advice of our military leaders. And I will appoint an attorney general who will uphold the Constitution of the United States," Kerry said, delighting the partisan audience in his most direct attack on their favorite targets: George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald H. Rumsfeld, and John D. Ashcroft, respectively.

After riding in a motorcade from his Beacon Hill home past cheering passersby to the FleetCenter, Kerry entered the convention hall to the thunder of Bruce Springsteen's ''No Surrender." Dressed in a navy blue suit, white shirt, and red tie, Kerry made his way through ''swing alley" -- where delegates from Pennsylvania, Colorado, and other battleground states were stationed -- and then joined a dozen fellow Vietnam veterans on the dais. Flashbulbs flickered like strobe lights through the hall -- which had to be closed by police for overcrowding -- as Kerry opened his remarks to cheers.

''I'm John Kerry, and I'm reporting to duty," he said, saluting.

Before a national television audience largely unfamiliar with his life story, Kerry rejoiced at his coronation in his hometown of Boston -- ''Tonight, I am home" -- and then recalled growing up as the son of a foreign service officer and World War II veteran and a Girl Scout leader who eventually earned her 50-year service pin.

He said that his experiences bicycling into Soviet East Berlin, commanding men as a Navy lieutenant in Vietnam, and traveling the world as a thrice-reelected senator had hardened him into a champion of democracy.

''I felt goose bumps as I got off a military train and heard the Army band strike up 'Stars and Stripes Forever,' " Kerry said, in remarks that dwelt on patriotism and national security for nearly half its 50 minutes. ''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."

Kerry also wrapped himself in the mantle of his hero, John F. Kennedy, the last president from Massachusetts, as the inspiration for his generation and his own 35-year career in the military and public service. ''We believed we could change the world -- and you know what? We did," Kerry said. ''But we're not finished. The journey isn't complete. The march isn't over. The promise isn't perfected. Tonight, we're setting out again."

Kerry's twin themes of national security and economic security were aimed at undecided voters, given that the Massachusetts Democrat -- the first since Michael S. Dukakis in 1988 to win the nomination -- already enjoys enormous support among the party faithful infuriated by President Bush's war policy and tax cuts. Kerry sought to reassure voters who have seen their jobs go overseas, who are homeless or poor, by repeating each time, ''Help is on the way."

How the speech resonates with voters may not be known for several days. But it was one of the most artfully crafted of Kerry's 18 months as a campaigner, and if Kerry sounded a bit stilted as he opened up with remarks about his birth in Colorado, he sounded passionate in talking about his war service and policy goals, and he flashed the heartiest smile of his campaign when he formally accepted the party nomination at 10:20 p.m. Kerry hoped that voters would take his measure as a man and a leader, and to make the election what he called ''a contest of ideas" -- a referendum on Bush's policies. ''In these dangerous days, there is a right way and a wrong way to be strong. Strength is more than tough words," Kerry said. ''We need to be looked up to, not just feared."

At points Kerry addressed himself directly to President Bush, challenging him to run the race as ''optimists, not just opponents," and also cast himself as a soldier who fought under the flag while Bush, who did not serve in war, used patriotic symbols to defend his policies. ''That flag doesn't belong to any president, " Kerry said, pointing to an enormous, electronic image of the American flag overhead. ''It belongs to all the American people."

A chief goal of the speech was to cast an immutable image of a muscular Kerry that would counter Republican attacks on him as weak, liberal, and too close to the United Nations, whose mission he champions regularly.

Kerry said that he would ''never hesitate to use force when it is required" and ''never give any nation or international institution a veto over our national security." He said he would adopt all of the recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 commission to restructure the CIA and FBI, while increasing troops by 40,000 and doubling the number of US special forces.

Time and again, Kerry seized on the legacy and imagery of his Vietnam War service in presenting his credentials to be commander in chief, starting with his introduction by fellow veterans who have proved popular with undecided voters at Kerry's rallies on the campaign trail.

One of them, Jim Rassmann, a Republican from Oregon who worked for decades in a sheriff's department, retold the story of how Kerry saved his life by pulling him from a narrow waterway while their swift boat was taking fire in Vietnam.

''Any one of these 12 guys will tell you, in a tight situation, when your whole future -- your whole life -- depends on the decisions of one man, you can count on John Kerry," Rassmann said.

Kerry's daughters, Vanessa and Alexandra, in a loving tribute to their father, recalled how he served as a role model for them. Kerryleft it to Cleland to note that the candidate won a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts in Vietnam, and choosing himself to use that era to evoke his dedication to the country. ''I defended this country as a young man, and I will defend it as president," Kerry said.

There were other strands of security that Kerry tied into his message -- economic security for families, health-care security for children and poor Americans, energy security by weaning the United States off of Middle East oil.

''I want an America that relies on its own ingenuity and innovation -- not the Saudi royal family," Kerry said, pinking up a line of attack in the anti-Bush film ''Fahrenheit 9/11" by director Michael Moore.

Kerry said he would create 10 million new jobs in four years and send his first bill to Congress this winter for a national health insurance program that would cover all children, lower premiums by $1,000 on average, and allow Americans to buy into the congressional health-care plans.

''People are working weekends -- two jobs, three jobs, and they're still not getting ahead," Kerry said.

''We can do better, and we will," Kerry said. ''We just need to believe in ourselves -- and we can do it again."

Patrick Healy can be reached at phealy@globe.com.