2004 Democratic National Convention

The 2004 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention that took place from July 26 to July 29, 2004 at the TD Banknorth Garden, then called FleetCenter, in Boston, Massachusetts. The convention was one of a series of historic quadrennial meetings of the Democratic Party with a primary focus on officially nominating a candidate for President and adopting a party platform. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson served as chairman while former presidential advisor to Bill Clinton, Lottie Shackelford, served as vice chairman.

Edwards's address

Not yet formally nominated for the Vice Presidency, John Edwards took the stage at the Convention to give the first major national speech of his political career. Delegates, excited by his presence, raised red-and-white vertical "Edwards" banners and chanted his name. The theme of Edwards's address was the divide between the "two Americas," his populist message throughout the primary campaign and now one embraced by Kerry. He tied the division to his own roots in North Carolina, and introduced his family to the audience. Edwards addressed his parents from the podium: "You taught me the values that I carry with me in my heart: faith, family, responsibility, and opportunity for everyone. You taught me that there's dignity and honor in a hard days work. You taught me that you look out for your neighbors, you never look down on anybody, and you treat everyone with respect."

Related Topics:
John Edwards - Populist - North Carolina - Dignity - Honor

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Edwards went on to define the two Americas he claimed to exist, one for the rich and one for the poor, and repeated several times that "It doesn't have to be that way." Edwards offered, through the Democratic ticket, one united America. He called for one health care system, equal in quality to the coverage received by Senators and other elected officials, and promised to establish a Patients' Bill of Rights. Edwards proposed one public school system for all, arguing that "None of us believe that the quality of a child's education should be controlled by where they live or the affluence of their community." He appealed for the end of the two economies, "one for the people who are set for life, kids and grandkids will be just fine, and then one for most Americans who live paycheck to paycheck." Edwards also stated how the Democrats expected to pay for their agenda: "We'll roll back the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, close corporate loopholes, and cut government contractors and wasteful spending. We can move our country forward without passing the bill and the burden on to our children and grandchildren."

Related Topics:
Rich - Poor - Health care - Patients' Bill of Rights - Public school system - Economies - Tax cut - Corporate

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Many pundits noted that while Edwards's charismatic style was in evidence, he had rushed through the speech, ending several minutes earlier than planned. The delegates in the FleetCenter, however, were enraptured, and Edwards led them several times in a statement-response chant: "Hope is on the way." This, and the general upbeat tone of the address, was a response to attacks by the Bush campaign claiming that Kerry and Edwards were pessimistic and cynical; it was altered and echoed the next day in the more detailed speech of John Kerry: "Help is on the way."

Related Topics:
Charisma - Chant

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Quotes

• "We hear a lot of talk about values. Where I come from, you don't judge someone’s values based on how they use that word in a political ad. You judge their values based upon what they've spent their life doing. So when a man volunteers to serve his country, and puts his life on the line for others — that's a man who represents real American values." —John Edwards
• "I have heard some discussions and debates about where, and in front of what audiences we should talk about race, equality, and civil rights. Well, I have an answer to that question. Everywhere. This is not an African-American issue, not a Latino issue, not an Asian-American issue, this is an American issue. It's about who we are, what our values are, what kind of country we want to live in. What John and I want — what we all want — is for our children and our grandchildren to be the first generations to grow up in an America that's no longer divided by race." —John Edwards