Convention Wrap

Dotty Lynch, Beth Lester, Clothilde Ewing, Cody Kucharczyk and Dan Furman of the CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the Democratic convention.

* John Kerry: The Movie

* What Happened to the Protesters?

* Extreme Makeover: Day Four

* Ads Appear and Then Reappear

* Trail Bytes

* Worth Noting

Jurassic Kerry: At the 1992 Democratic National Convention, there was "The Man from Hope" and this year there will be "A Remarkable Promise." The nine-and-a-half minute video will debut in prime time during Thursday night's festivities, according to the Kerry campaign. The film is narrated by Morgan Freeman, directed by Steven Spielberg protégé James Moll and "advised" by the great Mr. Spielberg himself, giving it all the Hollywood panache it needs.

According to Kerry campaign officials, the film is "part of an ongoing effort to tell John Kerry's story to the nation over the course of this four-day convention." The convention has featured several videos, one on each night, but none will have the impact or high-wattage team.

"It's not a political film; it's a personal film," Kerry adviser Bill Knapp told the Washington Post. "It doesn't push political information down your throat like political ads, where you have to drive a message with bullet points."

Pushy or not, the video is no shrinking violet. According to the Post, the film is set against "swelling orchestral music (with an original score)" and "uses home movies and still photographs to trace the arc of Kerry's life."

Continues the Post, "As if designed as an antidote for a candidate some people find stiff and formal, the movie is filled with personal reflections from his wife, brother and sister. Kerry talks about how his mother was his den leader in the Cub Scouts. Teresa Heinz Kerry describes how she and her husband sometimes get grouchy with each other. Former brother-in-law David Thorne recalls Kerry as a young prosecutor who "went after white-collar crime with a vengeance."

But lest things get too serious, "Kerry's daughters, Alexandra and Vanessa, poke fun at his old rock band, the Electras" during the film. That may be, admits Kerry, but "it was a great way to meet girls."

What Happened to the Protesters?: Although enough Boston jail cells and court rooms were cleared to handle 2,500 arrests at this year's Democratic National Convention, the current total number of protest-related arrests has been one. While protests have been held, the number of protesters present at the convention is much less than originally anticipated, according to The Boston Globe.

Protesters and organizers have cited a number of reasons for the decrease in numbers. "Clearly, what this represents is that folks on the left have decided it would be counterproductive to protest the DNC," said Jason Pramas, a labor organizer from Cambridge.

While this sentiment echoes the sense of unity Democrats are eager to display, long time protesters, like 79-year-old Hal Carlstad, give entirely different justifications for their absence from the convention. Carlstad, "a lifelong activist" and California resident who attempted with no success to get arrested at the DNC in 2000 said, "I'm so disgusted with the Democrats, I've got things here I can really do."

Still others cite the condition of the "free speech zone," as the reason for dampening the spirit of protest in Boston. The zone, a razor-wired area built by the city for protesters, has drawn comparisons "to the Guantanamo Bay prison camp."

While protesters have not flocked to Boston in droves, organizers have still been able to generate interest in rallies across the city. On Sunday, 700 people took part in an anti-war rally, the biggest protest the DNC has seen all week. Today, protesters are organizing a "flashlight peace vigil near the FleetCenter" as well as a bike ride.

This decrease in protester activity draws a sharp contrast to previous conventions. Just four years ago, nearly 200 protesters were taken into custody at the Democratic National Convention and approximately 390 were arrested at the Republican convention.

Although the number of protesters at the DNC has been unexpectedly low, organizers are anticipating a surge in numbers for the Republican National Convention, to be held August 30 through September 2. "We are confident the New York demonstrations will be quite massive," said Leslie Cagan, national coordinator for United for Peace and Justice, a coalition of antiwar groups. Her organization has obtained a permit for a 250,000 person rally in New York.

Extreme Makeover: On Day Four of their "Extreme Makeover" week, Republicans gathered in Boston on Thursday described the Democratic convention as long on entertainment, but all sizzle and no steak. RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie, former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani held a rally in the Kennedy Room (of all places) at a local hotel to tell supporters that at their convention they will run "on" President Bush's record and not "against" it.

Giuliani, introduced by Gillespie as "America's mayor," was clearly the star of the show, telling the crowd that, at the GOP convention, Republicans will not need a makeover to impress voters. Former Massachusetts Gov. Weld, the moderate Republican who lost a very close race against Kerry in 1996, is not as visible on the trail and his off-message comments on Thursday illustrated that. With intimate knowledge of Kerry as an opponent, Weld was asked about Kerry's debate skills. Kerry is the "international grandmaster at the art of changing the subject," Weld said. He also said that Bush may feel like he's been "shadow boxing at the end of it" and that his debate with Kerry would be an uphill battle.

Despite the cavalry being in town, Gillespie insists that the Republicans presence in Boston didn't mean they were worried about their chances in November.

Campaign Ads Dis(Appear) as the DNC Comes to the Rescue: This week the Democratic National Committee will buy $6 million worth of its first television ads of the presidential campaign. According to the Associated Press, these ads will air in "key" states. Campaign finance laws allow the DNC to run some ads in coordination with the campaign but this buy will be from the DNC's Independent Expenditure unit, which is s legally barred from coordinating with the Kerry campaign in any way.

This buy comes as Sen. John Kerry's campaign goes dark since it will have stop spending privately raised money after Thursday. Kerry will try to save money for the fall when the media advertising will really be in full force, reports the New York Times.

Timing puts President Bush at a significant advantage. He can raise and spend private money for five more weeks until the Republican convention in August. He will likely accept the federal contribution along with its private fundraising restriction as well.

The Kerry camp has been investigating ways to make up this deficit. Cam Kerry, John Kerry's brother and one of his top fundraisers, had a meeting on Wednesday with top Democratic Party bankrollers. One of the strategies will be to increase collections for the DNC. Other fundraising initiatives involves directing money to state parties in battleground states and collecting contributions for a special fund that candidates use to pay for accounting and legal expenses. The DNC already has $63 million in the bank and is working to raise an additional $100 million. Liberal interest groups will also help the Kerry camp out in making sure the candidate doesn't disappear from the airwaves.

The Bush-Cheney campaign will spend about $2 million in ads on national cable networks in the immediate aftermath after the Democratic convention. Bush just finished taping new ads at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Trail Bytes: John Kerry went over the top at 11:35 pm on Wednesday night and word is he will not turn the nomination down. On Thursday night he will be the 186th speaker at this year's convention and the first one to speak from center stage. All the other speakers, including vice presidential nominee John Edwards, spoke from one of the two side podiums.

Traveling with the Kerry campaign, CBS News' Steve Chaggaris has been listening to the music around the Senator from Massachusetts.

Kerry blew into Boston at full force Wednesday as he arrived to a rally in Charlestown, Massachusetts on a water taxi with a dozen of his Vietnam crewmates. Welcoming them, blaring from the public address system, was the upbeat – but perhaps, not the most appropriate – choice of songs: Outkast's "Hey Ya!"

The rap group's hit is always a great way to rile up the crowd but its lyrics do not really seem to work at a political rally, considering the song is pretty much about a guy who's trying to pick up a gal.

"Don't want to meet your daddy / Just want you in my Caddy," is one of the song's lines.

But they got it right shortly afterwards as one of the Kerry campaign's staple song choices accompanied the candidate as he walked on stage: Bruce Springsteen's "No Surrender." And during his remarks, Kerry indicated his pleasure with the selection.

"I just want to say Bruce Springsteen had it right," declared Kerry. "No retreat. No surrender. We're taking this fight to the country and we're going to win back our future and our democracy."

Meantime, the Edwards folks might not want to publicize the name of the song that was played after his convention speech Wednesday night.

Being a graduate of North Carolina State and the University of North Carolina, the alumni from those schools definitely would not be happy to know that the tune that looped as Edwards thanked the crowd was Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke."

Although the song is about Duke Ellington and other jazz musicians, the title features the name of the exceptionally bitter rival of both of Edwards' Tarheel State's schools, whose mere mention anywhere around an N.C. State or UNC alumni usually causes fits of rage: Duke University.

For John Edwards, hope is on the way and so is his anniversary present. As the Senator rested his voice prior to his primetime convention speech (written with the help of speechwriter Wendy Button, who is fast becoming the Democrats' Peggy Noonan) Elizabeth Edwards spent some time at Filene's Basement. CBS News' Bonney Kapp looks at the Edwards family's day outside the Fleet Center.

Despite a late night, John Edwards was up and out early Thursday in Boston, visiting with delegates from his home state of North Carolina. "Hope y'all got more sleep than I did," said the surprisingly fresh looking senator, wearing his usual dark suit, white shirt and a light blue tie.

He took an afternoon jog Wednesday after a quiet day preparing for his speech to the convention. The rest of his family took in some of Beantown's attractions. After a morning of TV appearances with daughter Cate, Elizbaeth Edwards chose to spend the hours before her introductory speech Wednesday shopping for her husband's anniversary present at Boston's famous Filenes's Basement—no word on whether or not the trip was successful. Emma Claire and Jack checked out Boston's aquarium.

Edwards' big speech to the convention drew from his primary speeches and his current stump, the mostly optimistic message promised "hope is on the way."

"Fabulous," one delegate said as she exited the building last night. "He's just so inspiring—it's everything we need to hear in this country to put us on the right track.

"He's excited," campaign manager Peter Scher said of Edwards after the speech. "He accomplished exactly what he set out to do."

After a bit of time in the hold room, Edwards' motorcade zipped through Boston towards a party hosted by the DNC, where rocker John Mellencamp sang a few of his old standards and Terry McAuliffe grooved—if not a bit out of synch.

"So did we have a great night tonight or what?" Edwards asked the mostly Mellencamp-aged and up crowd from the steps of Boston's Wang Center. The ever gracious running mate continued, "But—the night that really matters is tomorrow night when John Kerry tells America how we're going to move America forward."

Edwards also told the group he had just spoken with Senator Kerry and shared the Senator is "fired up about his speech" tonight at the Fleet Center.

Bush Ready to Roll: Here is a report from CBS News' Mark Knoller, who is covering President Bush.

The president Thursday ends his seven-day ranch visit and returns to Washington. He'll be back at the White House in plenty of time to watch the acceptance speech by John Kerry - should he be so inclined. The president has kept pretty much under the radar since arriving in Crawford last Friday. In fact - his return to the ranch marks the first time we'll have seen the president in the week since he got here. And he will quickly move to retake the political spotlight. First thing Friday morning he's off on a two-day swing through four battleground states: Missouri, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. In 2000, he won Missouri and Ohio and lost the other two - but by narrow margins.

Still at the ranch on Thursday morning, President Bush held another secure video conference call with his National Security Council. He also conferred with his task force on the 9-11 recommendations. The White House holds by its statement that Bush will announce a decision to implement some of them "within a matter of days." Some can be implemented by executive authority while others require congressional action. Mr. Bush is also weighing a final decision on a new CIA Director to replace George Tenet, who left early this month.

Worth Noting: There are a lot of "I could have been a contender" Democrats running around Boston this week. Former Colorado Senator Gary Hart, who ran in 1984 and 1988, was spotted by CBS News running around the Marriott Hotel in Cambridge working the Utah and Kansas delegations. The 1988 standard bearer, Michael Dukakis, has been leading walking tours around Boston. CBSNews.com's David Kuhn spent time with 1972 nominee George McGovern and 1984 nominee Walter Mondale.

Former 1984 Democratic Presidential Nominee Walter Mondale has been attending conventions for forty years. In a conversation on the convention floor Wednesday night, he said his most memorable moment was "the night that we nominated Geraldine Ferraro.

"We went from a really bad situation – we were running against Reagan which was a hopeless idea – but by the time the convention was over we were over him," he continued. "But we didn't sustain it."

George McGovern sat near the center of the convention floor. The 1972 Democratic nominee said Kerry should spend his time tonight "laying out his program, laying out his criticisms of the incumbent administration," adding, "that's the way you define where you are on the big issues of the day."

Are you optimistic about this election?

He thought about it, nodded and said "I am," pausing, he continued, "I think we are going to win this time. I've never seen the Democratic Party as united as right now."

McGovern has been attending conventions since 1948. He didn't bemoan the scripted nature of their current incarnation. "They are tailor made for prime time television," he said, shrugging.

Mondale was reflective, earlier in the night, as Rev. Al Sharpton brought the floor to its feet. Asked if there was a mistake in his campaign Mondale hoped Sen. John Kerry didn't make, he replied, "Times are so different, you know. I was coming from 20 to 25 points behind in a satisfied nation."

Leaning back in his chair, "All I could think of doing was trying to say what I really believed and take some risks but some tactics were unpopular. But I think I gained a lot of respect from people."

"I must have done something wrong to come out that way," he continued. "But that's the way I look at it." And as he shook this reporter's hand, he smiled, and said, "When I look back, I was a damn fool to run."

A damn fool?

"To run against Reagan, yeah," Mondale replied, shaking his head.

Quote of the Day: "It's the busiest week I've had in years," former presidential candidate and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis (Washington Times).