Kennedy Records DNC Video As Democrats Draft Platform

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Democratic National Convention

Sen. Edward Kennedy, who recently underwent surgery and chemotherapy to combat a malignant brain tumor, taped a five-minute video this weekend at his home on Cape Cod. The video, the Associated Press reports, is meant to be shown at the Democratic National Convention. Kennedy has been little seen since his May 17th seizure, though he did cast a vote on Medicare in July on the Senate floor.

In other convention-related news, Democrats this weekend completed a 44-page draft of the Democratic platform. The Denver Post reports that the proposed statement of party principles "reinforces Obama's theme of change but acknowledges Clinton's differing view on health-care reform and her supporters' desire to blast sexism in the media."

The document, which was drafted in Cleveland, now goes to the 186-member platform committee, who are meeting this weekend; it must be approved by the time the convention begins later this month.

The Post reports that Democrats stressed party unity this weekend while working on the platform and played down any rifts between Obama and Clinton supporters. On health care, where Clinton and Obama's plans differed, the language added to the platform was this: "While there are differing approaches within the party about how best to achieve the commitment of universal coverage, we stand united to achieve this fundamental objective through the legislative process."

The Obama campaign released a statement saying "Sen. Clinton has been working with us on drafting the platform, and the Democratic Party is unified to bring about the real change we need" on the economy, education, energy, and health care.

The draft platform has much harsher language on the Iraq war than the 2004 version, dubbing it an "ill-considered" "strategic blunder." The sexism-related section reads in part: "...standing up for our country means standing up against sexism, whether voiced by the media, our opponents or our friends."