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2004 Democratic National Convention

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2004 Democratic National Convention
2004 Democratic National Convention

The 2004 Democratic National Convention is taking place from July 26-July 29, 2004, and is currently being held at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts. The convention is one of a series of historic quadrennial meetings of the United States Democratic Party with a primary focus on officially nominating a candidate for President and adopting a party platform. The convention is chaired by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

Defining moments of the 2004 Democratic National Convention include the featured keynote speech of Barack Obama, a Honolulu native and candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and the confirmation of the nomination of John Kerry as the candidate for President and of John Edwards as the candidate for Vice President. The two face incumbents George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in the 2004 presidential election.

The 2004 Democratic National Convention marks the formal end of the active primary election season, although in reality all meaningful primary elections had finished months earlier. Kerry campaign staffers noted an acceptance of public financing for the general election. Such an acceptance of federal funds established a deadline to spend money raised since the campaign began for July 29, the day of acceptance of the presidential nomination.

Convention Themes

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President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton galvanized the delegates on opening night. Democratic National Convention delegates voted the president and senator as the most popular Democrats in the United States.

The 2004 Democratic National Convention was planned with four specific themes in mind. The first night of the meeting focused on the theme "Plan for America's Future" with speeches devoted to building optimism for John Kerry's candidacy. The second night of the meeting focused on the theme "A Lifetime of Strength and Service" devoted to John Kerry's biography and his path to his nomination. The third night of the meeting focuses on the theme "A Stronger More Secure America" devoted to issues of homeland security and the global war on terror. The last night of the meeting focuses on the theme "Stronger at Home, Respected in the World" devoted to the overall agenda of the party to secure the borders, improving domestic welfare while at the same time promoting international cooperation in world affairs.

Boston Venue

The 2004 Democratic National Convention holds several distinctions — the first held in Boston, one of the few held in the home state of the presidential nominee and the first since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. With its bid to host the meeting, Boston leaders became a target of criticism by residents and businesses while others welcomed the bid with fanfare.

Security

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Former Vice President Al Gore addressed delegates saying, "When policies are clearly not working, we can change them. If our leaders make mistakes, we can hold them accountable – even if they never admit their mistakes."

Frustration grew over increased counterterrorism measures nearly shutting-down the city. Counterterrorism measures included rigid regulation of transportation in and out of the city, closure of several major road arteries and the imposition of random baggage checks for metropolitan train system. Manhole covers were welded shut while garbage receptacles and postal boxes were removed from the streets for fear they would become tempting hiding places for explosives.

Free Speech Zone

One of the most controversial counterterrorism measures was the declaration of a designated free speech zone for protestors, limiting where and when protestors could exercise their first amendment rights. Outraged protesters through the American Civil Liberties Union mounted an unsuccessful lawsuit for the right to protest outside of the designated free speech zone, which the group claimed was unconstitutional. FleetCenter access promulgated tight security measures that frustrated even the news media. Credentials enabling reporters to enter and exit the meeting became the subject of strict rules forbidding the act of borrowing and sharing such passes, a common practice for the major media outlets in the past.

Police Strike

Other Bostonians took advantage of the meeting as a national stage for specific agendas. The police union, for example, gained attention with threats of picketing of delegates from entering and exiting functions — a dilemma for Democrats as the party has traditionally been an ally of organized labor. Having worked without a contract for two years, the police union struck a deal with Boston mayor Thomas Menino for a new contract, avoiding a major embarassment for the party.

Keynote Address

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Barack Obama delivered the keynote address. Many past keynote speakers, like Bill Clinton, have been thrust into widespread prominence.

Illinois legislator Barack Obama was bestowed the honor of delivering the keynote address for the 2004 Democratic National Convention — only the third African-American since Barbara Jordan to do so. A candidate for the United States Senate, Obama was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii beforing settling in Chicago, Illinois which he represents in the Illinois General Assembly. Crowds roared as Obama took to the lectern and watched as delegates from every state waved blue and white Obama signs and chanted his name. His reception rivaled the excitement of President Bill Clinton's presence the night before.

As the keynote speaker, Obama set the tone for the party platform and worked to raise the hopes of delegates by proclaiming, "There's not a liberal America and a conservative America—there's the United States of America." He was critical of the status quo of the administration of George W. Bush, attempted to define the differences between the agendas of the two major political parties, reiterated the core values of the Democratic Party and said, "We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states and have gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America." (American popular culture has identified states as leaning Democratic with the color blue while states leaning Republican are identified with the color red.)

The overall theme of Obama's keynote address was the nature of the "American Dream." He emphasized his father's heritage from Kenya and his marriage to a white woman from Kansas. The product of an interracial marriage, Obama recounted the privilege of attending an exclusive academy at Punahou School even in poverty, attending Harvard University, establishing himself as a successful attorney and raising a family in Chicago. "In no other country on Earth is my story even possible," Obama proclaimed. He identified himself as "a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too."

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Barack Obama received an enthralled reception that was compared to the excitement of President Clinton's performance the night before.

Obama's successful performance led to much speculation as to his place in the party and the nation's future. After Obama had left the stage, media commentators, panels of historians and political scientists on the major television networks began explicating what many began calling the "Obama phenomenon" — in Illinois and elsewhere in the country. It was pointed out that many in Illinois openly discussed Obama's future as a possible presidential candidate, especially evident in his ability to capture white votes like no other racial minority candidate had ever done in downstate Illinois. While Obama was praised greatly by pundits and offered enthusiastic speculation, others cautioned that Obama was still a mere state legislator and had much more to experience and accomplish before even attempting a run for national office.

Quotes

  • "That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe or hiring somebody's son. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted-or at least, most of the time." —Barack Obama
  • "In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? I'm not talking about blind optimism here...No, I'm talking about something more substantial. It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. The audacity of hope!" —Barack Obama

Speakers

Monday, July 26th

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President Jimmy Carter spoke at the opening emphasizing the importance of international cooperation in achieving peace. He said, "Unilateral acts and demands have isolated the United States from the very nations we need to join us in combatting terrorism."

Quotes

  • "Democrats and Republicans have very different and honestly held ideas on that choices we should make, rooted in fundamentally different views of how we should meet our common challenges at home and how we should play our role in the world. Democrats want to build an America of shared responsibilities and shared opportunities and more global cooperation, acting alone only when we must. We think the role of government is to give people the tools and conditions to make the most of their lives. Republicans believe in an America run by the right people, their people, in a world in which we act unilaterally when we can, and cooperate when we have to. They think the role of government is to concentrate wealth and power in the hands of those who embrace their political, economic, and social views, leaving ordinary citizens to fend for themselves on matters like health care and retirement security. Since most Americans are not that far to the right, they have to portray us Democrats as unacceptable, lacking in strength and values. In other words, they need a divided America." —Bill Clinton
  • "And so I say to you and to others around the world, whether they wish us well or ill — do not underestimate us Americans. We lack neither strength nor wisdom." —Jimmy Carter
  • "I'll be candid with you. I had hoped to be back here this week under different circumstances, running for reelection. But you know the old saying — you win some, you lose some. And then there's that little-known third category." —Al Gore
  • "Take it from me — every vote counts. In our Democracy, every vote has power. And never forget — that power is yours. Don't let anyone take it away or talk you into throwing it away. And let's make sure that this time every vote is counted. —Al Gore

Tuesday, July 27th

Quotes

  • "I’ve seen their desire to take our country back for the American people. I saw it in a college student in Pennsylvania who sold her bicycle and sent us a check for one hundred dollars with a note that said, "I sold my bicycle for democracy." I saw it in a woman from Iowa who handed me fifty dollars — all in quarters. She saved it from her monthly disability check, because she wanted to make America well again. And I saw it in the 19-year-old from Alabama who had never been involved in politics before he got in his car and drove up to Vermont, because he didn't feel like he was being heard in Washington. He was just one of so many. They learned that politics was too important to be left to the politicians. They didn't just pack their bags—they backed their hopes that we can take our country back. And you know what? We will." —Howard Dean
  • "Words can be cheap in a political year, we all know that. But I'm going to borrow some familiar ones, to tell you that we need John Kerry as president — because we need a uniter, not a divider, in the White House. We need John Kerry as president because it's time to restore honor and dignity to the White House — to have a president whose whole life is a testament to his goodness and decency, to his courage under fire. We need John Kerry as president of the United States of America, because he will fight for working families, and help America to be what it ought to be." —Richard Gephardt
  • "Today, more than two centuries after the embattled farmers stood and fired the shot heard "round the world," the ideals of our founders still resonate across the globe. Young people in other lands — inspired by the liberty we cherish — linked arms and sang "We Shall Overcome" when the Berlin Wall fell, when apartheid ended in South Africa, and when the courageous protests took place in Tiananmen Square. The goals of the American people are every bit as high as they were more than two hundred years ago. If America is failing to reach them today, it's not because our ideals need replacing, it's because our President needs replacing. —Edward M. Kennedy
  • "I learned something then, and I believe it still. There is a value in taking a stand whether or not anyone may be noticing and whether or not it is a risky thing to do. And if even those who are in danger can raise their lonely voices, isn't more required of all of us, in this land where liberty had her birth? In America, the true patriots are those who dare speak truth to power." —Teresa Heinz Kerry
  • A twelve-year old founder of Kidsforkerry.Org addressed the delegates. She scolded Dick Cheney for his use of an expletive in a public remark to U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy. "When our vice president had a disagreement with a Democratic senator, he used a really bad word. If I said that word, I would be put in a timeout. I think he should be put in a timeout." —Ilana Wexler

Wednesday, July 28th

Thursday, July 29th

See also

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