Running on values, biography
John Kerry yesterday put on his Navy uniform and boarded the swift boat that has powered his political career since his first race for Congress, setting the rudder for the White House.
A convention dominated by speakers telling their personal stories served as a prelude to the ultimate autobiographical political moment: a presidential candidate who promoted himself more forcefully than any policy or platform.
Kerry did not offer a plan for Iraq or the war on terrorism -- he offered a set of principles based on his life experiences, particularly his time as a swift boat commander in the Vietnam War.
The message he will carry into the fall campaign seems to be this: He will make America stronger because he will be wiser than George W. Bush -- more mindful of allies, smarter and more inquisitive, more sensitive to the sacrifices of others.
Traditionally, Democrats offer policies and Republicans offer values -- the current president most of all. Kerry, with his disinclination toward specifics and embrace of values, signaled that he thinks he can beat Bush at the president's own game.
In putting his personal qualities at the center of his campaign, Kerry is all but daring Republicans to knock him down, and he even launched a preemptive war against anyone questioning his patriotism.
''We have an important message for those who question the patriotism of Americans who offer a better direction for our country," he said. ''Before wrapping themselves in the flag and shutting their eyes and ears to the truth, they should remember what America is really all about."
In describing his own qualities, Kerry offered a barely veiled critique of Bush: ''Strength is more than tough words. After decades of experience in national security, I know the reach of our power and I know the power of our ideals."
By suggesting that Bush's tough talk is a disguise for weakness, Kerry played to the deep feelings that unify the Democratic Party -- its dislike of Bush.
But by offering no specifics for securing the peace in Iraq or fighting terrorism, he sidestepped the divisions of a party with a sizable antiwar constituency and tried to keep the focus on his life's story.
As in the primaries, when Democrats said they chose Kerry for his ''electability," the nominee is clearly hoping antiwar voters will back him despite his continued support for troops in Iraq, because his heroism in Vietnam will draw moderates to the campaign against Bush.
Delegates seemed inclined to trust Kerry, with or without specifics, believing that he would ultimately represent their views.
''We're trying to show the world we have a proven leader, someone tested in battle, with a long history of public service, who is prepared for this moment," said delegate Barry Ladendorf of San Diego. ''John Kerry is ready to assume this office."
Ladendorf, like most delegates, seemed to accept the notion of a modern convention as launching pad for a candidate, with no debates, no disagreements, and no showcasing of diverging views.
In the convention hall, delegates took their places alongside electronic flags, wide-screen movies, and gospel-infused musical performers. The delegates dutifully stopped their clapping when asked to adhere to a TV schedule and changed signs between speakers to provide a fresh backdrop.
They were props at a Democratic Party telethon.
The speakers were the only news at this convention, and they offered enough testimonials and touching stories to fill a double issue of People magazine, from keynoter Barack Obama's quest for education to Ron Reagan's advocacy for stem cell research after his father's death from Alzheimer's disease.
Teresa Heinz Kerry, breaking with the tradition of candidates' wives attesting mainly to their husbands' virtues, offered her own account of growing up in Africa, fighting against apartheid, and coming to the United States from a totalitarian government.
She pledged to be true to her experiences, speaking out on issues from the perspective of a naturalized citizen.
On Wednesday came the vice presidential nominee, John Edwards, who told of his father's life in the mills and his own rise from the working class to college and law school.
Edwards' story provided a domestic bookend to Kerry's experiences overseas, and assured that the Democratic ticket will be offering personal explanations for each of its policy proposals.
As Edwards, a successful trial attorney, knows very well, empathy is an effective appeal to a jury. But it works best in the service of facts and figures.
Kerry is hoping voters embrace him for who he is more than anything he stands for. 