Kerry's War - Hero Image Attracts Veterans

[Florida_Geek]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Kerry-Veterans.html

Kerry's War - Hero Image Attracts Veterans
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: February 17, 2004


Filed at 9:08 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- John Kerry stands astride the decades, reaching back 35 years to his days as a Vietnam War hero to show the measure of his character now as a presidential candidate.

The pitch has been a powerful energizer for Kerry's campaign and now critics are hoping to use the rest of Kerry's war story to the opposite effect.

Kerry rarely gives a speech anymore without thanking the ``band of brothers'' who helped catapult his presidential bid from lost cause to apparent Juggernaut. With phone banks, personal appearances and campaign ad testimonials, Kerry's war buddies and other veterans have been a surprisingly potent mobilizing force for the Massachusetts senator.

``We noticed it first in Iowa,'' says Max Cleland, the former Georgia Democratic senator and decorated Vietnam veteran who has campaigned tirelessly for Kerry. ``It is a generational phenomenon. ... John Kerry empowers veterans to feel good about themselves.''

..more at AP