2004 Democratic National Convention

thumb|Boston mayor [[Thomas Menino welcomes delegates to the convention]]

The 2004 Democratic National Convention convened from July 26 to 29, 2004 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston, Massachusetts, and nominated Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts for president and Senator John Edwards from North Carolina for vice president, respectively, in the 2004 presidential election.

The 2004 Democratic National Convention was famous for the keynote speech of Barack Obama, who would go on to be elected President four years later. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson served as chairman of the convention, while former presidential advisor to Bill Clinton, Lottie Shackelford, served as vice chairwoman of the convention.

The 2004 Democratic National Convention marked the formal end of the active primary election season, although all meaningful primary elections had finished months earlier. After the convention, John Kerry and John Edwards were defeated by the incumbent George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in the general election.

Convention themes

The 2004 Democratic National Convention featured a theme for each day of the convention. 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 focused 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 focused 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. The phrase "Help is on the Way" was often repeated by speakers such as John Edwards.

This was the first major party presidential nominating convention to be held since the terrorist attacks of September 11 attacks.

Party platform

The 2004 Democratic National Convention successfully passed an official party platform. A forty-three page document, the party platform was entitled "Strong at Home, Respected in the World" – also the name of the theme conveyed on the last night of the convention. The first part of the platform was called "A Strong, Respected America". The section defined specific goals and actions to defeat terrorism, to keep weapons of mass destruction from the hands of terrorists, to promote world peace and security, to strengthen the military, to achieve energy independence and to strengthen homeland security. The second part of the platform was called, "A Strong, Growing Economy". The section defined specific goals and actions to create what the party called "good jobs" and "standing up for the great American middle class." The third part of the platform was called, "Strong, Healthy Families." The section defined specific goals and actions to reform the healthcare system in the United States, to improve education and to protect the environment. The final part of the platform was called, "A Strong American Community." It stressed the diversity of the nation and the importance of upholding civil rights as a major tenet of the party.

Site selection

thumb|left|The FleetCenter during the 2004 Democratic National Convention

thumb|238px|Beacon Hill and Downtown Boston as seen from Cambridge

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Bidding cities

! City !! Status of bid !! Venue !! Financial package<br />pledged by city !! Previous major party conventions hosted by city

| Boston, Massachusetts || Winner || FleetCenter || $49.5 million || $40 million || $72 million || || Democratic: 1832, 1835, 1840, 1844, 1848, 1852, 1860, 1872, 1912<br />Republican: 1864<br />Whig: 1844, 1852, 1856

After an initial notice to 34 cities, 10 cities requested the RFP to host the convention: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Miami, New York City and Pittsburgh. Of those, Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, Miami and New York City submitted bids.

The 2004 Democratic National Convention was the first major party presidential nominating convention to held in Boston. With John Kerry arising as the winner of the primaries, it ultimately was one of the few presidential nominating conventions that was held in the home state of the party's nominee.

As a result of the selection of Boston, organizers of the Reebok Pro Summer League developmental basketball program had to fold the league into the upstart Las Vegas Summer League due to a lack of lodging in the Boston area.

Until Chicago, Illinois, was selected as the host of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, 2004 was the last time that either major party chose to hold their convention in a state that was not considered to be a swing state (the Republicans held their 2004 convention in New York City).

Logistics

Security

thumb|The [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard providing security during the convention]]

thumb|A U.S. Coast Guardsman patrols the waters adjacent to the FleetCenter

During the convention, U.S. Capitol Police, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other governmental organizations took many security measures to protect the participants of the Democratic National Convention. Security measures included bomb-sniffing dogs, 7-feet high metal barricades, a ban on corporate and private flights at Logan International Airport, along with the temporary closure of Interstate 93. 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 Boston Police Patrolmen's Association struck a deal with Boston mayor Thomas Menino for a new contract, avoiding a major embarrassment for the party.

Obama noted his interracial and international heritage: he was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to a Kenyan immigrant father and a white mother from Kansas. He emphasized the power of education, recounting the privilege of attending the exclusive Punahou School and Harvard Law School despite his family's poverty, and criticized the perception that poor black youths who read books are "acting white." He went on to describe his successful career in law and politics while raising a family in Chicago. "In no other country on Earth is my story even possible", Obama proclaimed. Towards the end of his speech, he emphasized the importance of hope in the American saga, and he illustrated how that hope manifested itself in the lives of John Kerry, John Edwards, and even his own personal life, as "a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him too." According to Obama, the "audacity of hope" is "God's greatest gift" to Americans, allowing him to feel optimistic that the lives of average Americans can be improved with the right governmental policies. Following the speech political commentator Chris Matthews rightly predicted "I just saw the first black president".

Edwards' 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 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 in my heart: faith, family, responsibility, opportunity for everyone. You taught me that there's dignity and honor in a hard day's work. You taught me to always look out for our neighbors, to never look down on anybody, and treat everybody with respect." 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.

! style="width: 17em" |Candidate

! style="width: 5em" |Votes

! style="width: 7em" |Percentage

| John Kerry

| style="text-align:right;"| 4,253

| style="text-align:right;"| 98.40%

| Dennis Kucinich

| style="text-align:right;"| 43

| style="text-align:right;"| 0.99%

|- style="background:#eee; text-align:right;"

|| Abstentions

|| 26

|| 0.60%

|- style="background:#eee; text-align:right;"

|| Totals

|| 4,322

|| 100.00%

Vice president

John Edwards was chosen by acclamation.

Kerry's address

thumb|300px|Kerry and others aboard a boat in [[Boston Harbor during the convention]]

Prior to his speech, John Kerry's daughter spoke about her father. After this, a video played, showing highlights from Kerry's life, including his birth in Colorado, his childhood in New England, the travels with his diplomat father to post-World War II Germany, and his service in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, interspersed with clips of Kerry speaking and narrated voice overs. After the video's conclusion, former U.S. Senator Max Cleland delivered a speech proclaiming that the global conflict and active wars in Afghanistan and Iraq required a decorated military hero such as Kerry in the White House. This concluded with Kerry's entrance, where he made a military salute and announced, "I'm John Kerry, and I'm reporting for duty!" Kerry then accepted the nomination for president.

Democrats reacted positively to John Kerry's acceptance speech. With Democrats strongly opposed to the Bush administration, John Kerry spent most of his speech appealing to independent voters and to swing voters. to cut the national deficit in half within four years,

Other speakers

In addition to the Obama, Edwards, and Kerry addresses, there were also speeches from former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, former vice-president and 2000 presidential nominee Al Gore, New York Senator and former First Lady Hillary Clinton, Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy, former candidate Al Sharpton, and presidential advisory counsel on HIV/AIDS Denise Stokes. Ron Reagan, son of Republican president Ronald Reagan, also spoke at the convention, blaming Bush's hijacking of his father's legacy for his switch in support to the Democrats.

Lack of convention 'bounce'

Polls conducted after Kerry's speech showed no significant increase of support (or "convention bounce") for the Democratic nominee's bid to unseat President Bush. Democrats ascribed the disappointing numbers to an unusually polarized electorate that year with few undecided voters, though Bush did get a small bounce out of his convention.

Demonstrations and protests

thumb|Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich speaks out against the Iraq War. thumb|Tom Hayden urges anti-war activists to continue efforts to organize.

There were a number of demonstrations during the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Protesters included members of the Bl(A)ck Tea Society, a group of self-described anarchists, who opposed the war in Iraq.

The largest protest was held on the Sunday evening before the convention was set to start. An estimated 2,000 anti-war members marched at the same time as approximately 1,000 anti-abortion activists, and the two groups crossed paths en route to the convention center.

References

External links

Unofficial Convention Website (archived)
Democratic Party Platform of 2004 at The American Presidency Project
Kerry Nomination Acceptance Speech for President at DNC (transcript) at The American Presidency Project
Official FleetCenter website
Complete text, audio, video of Barack Obama's DNC Address AmericanRhetoric.com
Video of Kerry nomination acceptance speech for President at DNC (via YouTube)
Audio of Kerry nomination acceptance speech for President at DNC
Video of Edwards nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at DNC (via YouTube)
Audio of Edwards nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at DNC
Transcript of Edwards nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at DNC