Democrats Kick Things Off

Democrats opened their 44th national convention on Monday with Bill Clinton, the last Democrat to occupy the White House, and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, highlighting the evening's prime-time lineup.

Democratic party chairman Terry McAuliffe called the convention to order at 4 p.m. ET, ending months of preparations for the four-day event.

The Democratic ticket is watching the first day of the convention from afar. John Kerry is campaigning today in Florida and will accept his party's presidential nomination in Boston on Thursday.

Running mate John Edwards is home in North Carolina, resting his voice and rehearsing for Wednesday's acceptance speech

Former President Clinton dismissed any notion he might overshadow soon-to-be nominee Kerry.

"I feel good about the way he relates to voters," Mr. Clinton said Sunday. As for himself: "I'm going to give a talk and get out of town."

Former first lady Hillary Clinton was to introduce her husband after speeches from New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, former President Jimmy Carter and former Vice President Al Gore, who lost to George W. Bush in 2000 after a drawn-out ballot recount in Florida.

"I know that right now the American public in my view at least has decided that they want an alternative to President Bush," Mrs. Clinton told CBS News Anchor Dan Rather. "And this is the opportunity for those of us who know and admire John to help convince a lot more of our fellow citizens to support John Kerry."

This year's convention is the first since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and police and military authorities were on alert. Camouflaged military police kept watch from elevated rail lines overlooking the FleetCenter, the sports arena where the 4,350 delegates are gathered. Helicopters circled overhead, and bomb-sniffing dogs and officers with guns patrolled nearby streets.

Metal barricades about 7 feet high ringed the arena, directing foot traffic and limiting access. Some 40 miles of roads in and out of the city will be closed during the convention, but expected traffic gridlock failed to develop Monday morning.

Despite the looming terrorism threat, the convention's message was relentlessly upbeat, underscoring the unity behind Kerry as the man Democrats hope will drive President Bush from office.

No platform fight loomed, and the relative lack of Bush-bashing was a strategy conceived in part because of polls indicating Kerry's Democratic base is solidly behind him.

CBS News Correspondent Cynthia Bowers reports that Democrats acknowledge that in order for the convention to be a success, Kerry has to define himself as something other than just not being President Bush.

The focus will be on Kerry and his agenda, said one strategist, who contended that there was no need to assail Mr. Bush because continuing violence in post-war Iraq and an economy still emerging from a slump was undercutting the president.

On Monday, Kerry pressed his case in Florida on why voters should put him in the White House in place of President Bush.

"We need to push the curve of discovery,'' Kerry said while meeting with workers at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. "We need a president who believes in science and who's prepared to invest America's efforts to cure Parkinson's and AIDS and diabetes and Alzheimer's, and do stem cell research."

On Sunday night, Kerry, who runs even to slightly ahead of President Bush in pre-convention polls, popped into Boston for a brief surprise visit, throwing out the first pitch at the Yankees-Red Sox game at Fenway Park. The rest of the Kerry family welcomed delegates to Boston.

And there were no apologies from the Kerry camp after Kerry's wife Teresa Heinz Kerry told a Pittsburgh newspaper editor to "Shove it" on Sunday after she claimed he misquoted her.

Heinz Kerry had given a speech urging fellow Pennsylvanians to turn back "sometimes un-American traits" creeping into politics.

When the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Colin McNickle asked her what she meant by "un-American," she said she "didn't say that" — and later told him, "You said something I didn't say.

Protests remained mostly scattered. On Monday, anti-abortion groups filed a federal lawsuit contending the city improperly revoked their permit to protest in front of Kerry's townhouse in Beacon Hill. Kerry supports abortion rights.

The Secret Service, which provides security for Kerry, asked the city to revoke the permits, according to the groups, which want a judge to allow their protest. A Secret Service spokeswoman confirmed that the permit had been granted and then revoked, and said the agency and city officials were working with the groups to find an alternate location.

Two people were taken into custody Sunday after separate groups — about 3,000 mostly anti-war protesters and about 1,000 abortion opponents — exchanged angry words near the Fleet Center.