Revived Kerry Back On Trail
John Kerry says he feels rejuvenated and is ready to return to the campaign trail.
After nearly a week of vacationing in Idaho, Kerry is expected to pick up endorsements Thursday from a major union and former rival Howard Dean – and celebrate his status as the presumed Democratic presidential nominee.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is set to endorse Kerry after a meeting of the union's executive council. He also has a private meeting with Dean's congressional supporters and donors before he accepts an endorsement from Dean, who was a bitter critic of Kerry during the campaign, at a George Washington University rally.
Kerry's first day back on the campaign trail ends with a fund-raiser attended by top Democrats acknowledging Kerry's new status as head of the party. About $10 million is expected to be raised for the Democratic National Committee.
Former Presidents Carter and Clinton, 2000 Democratic nominee Al Gore, DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe and all of Kerry's primary rivals, except Dennis Kucinich and Carol Moseley Braun, are expected to join the celebration.
Kerry also was meeting privately Thursday with DNC members to discuss joint strategies for the fall campaign, and was addressing the National Newspaper Publisher's Association, which represents black community newspapers.
The Massachusetts senator has been largely out of public view for the better part of a week as he and his wife, Teresa Heinz, vacationed at their home in Ketchum, Idaho. He arrived in Washington late Wednesday and told reporters traveling with him that he felt revived.
"No more long answers," Kerry said. "It doesn't take me long to recharge my batteries."
Kerry said he would stay focused on jobs and the economy and was unlikely to comment on the past two days of testimony about intelligence failures before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
In the coming days, Kerry plans a series of speeches to outline his key campaign issues and differences with President Bush. He delivers the first speech on Friday in Detroit, which aides billed as a major policy address dealing with jobs, Kerry's plans to create them and his critique of Mr. Bush for presiding over the loss of more than 2.2 million jobs.
Aides said Kerry would give at least three speeches focusing on economic issues, the area where Kerry argues that he can make inroads against the president. Polls show a tight race between the two men, with the senator doing best on domestic, economic matters and the Republican incumbent strongest on national security and fighting terrorism.
President Bush was also talking jobs – and raising more money for his re-election campaign – on a trip Thursday to New England.
He's highlighting his plans for retraining laid-off workers during a stop in New Hampshire, a state that's lost 17.8 percent of its manufacturing jobs over two years, the greatest percentage decline of any state in the country.
Mr. Bush then heads to Massachusetts to prove that there's Republican money in Kerry's hometown of Boston. It will be only the fourth time since taking office that Mr. Bush has been to Massachusetts, a state that gave him one of the biggest defeats in the 2000 election, reports CBS News Correspondent Mark Knoller.
He doesn't expect to win there this year, but he will pick up some contributions at a $2,000-per-person fund-raiser for a re-election campaign that has already raised $170 million. A Boston fund-raiser by Vice President Dick Cheney brought in $1.2 million last June.
The Bush campaign is also rolling out a new ad casting Kerry as a tax-raising threat to the American economy.
"John Kerry's economic record: Troubling," says the announcer in a 30-second ad.
The ad, obtained by The Associated Press, accuses Kerry of voting in the Senate to increase taxes on Social Security benefits, opposing small businesses tax credits and supporting a 50-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax increase. It also says he would raise taxes by $900 billion, a charge denied by Kerry's campaign.
As in past commercials and criticism, the Bush campaign drives home its point by making assumptions about the Democrat's policies and scouring his 19-year Senate record for vulnerabilities. Kerry has accused Mr. Bush of distorting the facts; Republicans say his past votes and statements are fair game.