Kerry – Edwards
A New Team for a New America
July 06, 2004
For Immediate Release
Pittsburgh, PA
Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry announced today that he has
chosen North Carolina Senator John Edwards to join his campaign to build a
stronger America. Experienced, energetic leaders who will restore hope
here at home and respect around the world, the Kerry-Edwards ticket
represents a new team for a new America.
“John Edwards speaks the heart of America – hope and optimism,” Kerry
said. “He is a lifelong champion for America’s families who has shown
courage and conviction standing up for America’s values. In the Senate, he
has a record of reaching across party lines and working to reform our
intelligence, combat bioterrorism, and keep our military strong. Together,
we will campaign tirelessly across the country – fighting to build an
America that is stronger at home and respected in the world.”
Edwards will be a passionate advocate for the Kerry agenda of an America
that is stronger at home and respected abroad. He has spent his lifetime –
in and out of government - fighting for the same values and priorities as
Kerry. Together, Kerry and Edwards will take this vision to Americans
across the country, fighting for good paying jobs, affordable health care,
energy independence, a strong military and a respected America that leads
strong alliances around the world.
Kerry announced his choice this morning in an email to the heart and soul
of his campaign – the more than one million grassroots supporters at
johnkerry.com.
“In the next 120 days and in the administration that follows, John Edwards
and I will be fighting for the America we love,” Kerry said. “We'll be
fighting to give the middle class a voice by providing good paying jobs
and affordable health care. We'll be fighting to make America energy
independent. We'll be fighting to build a strong military and lead strong
alliances, so young Americans are never put in harm’s way because we
insisted on going it alone.”
Remarks of Senator John Kerry
July 06, 2004
Pittsburgh, PA
This morning I have talked with a number of talented and decent Americans
who have been both courageous and patriotic enough to allow themselves to
be considered for Vice President of the United States.
Teresa and I are personally so grateful to them and their families for
caring enough about the direction of our country to go through what is
inevitably a very intrusive and frustrating process.
Each of those individuals would make a great Vice President and indeed, in
their own right, could lead our country.
But I can only choose one as a running mate and this morning I have done
so.
I have chosen a man who understands and defends the values of America, a
man who has shown courage and conviction as a champion for middle class
Americans and those struggling to reach the middle class—a man who has
shown guts, determination and political skill in his own race for the
Presidency--- a man whose life has prepared him for leadership and whose
character brings him to exercise it. I am pleased to announce that the
next Vice President of the United States will be John Edwards of North
Carolina.
This campaign for the presidency really began two years ago. Throughout
those two years as well as four years before that, I have worked with John
Edwards side by side and sometimes head to head.
I’ve seen John Edwards think, argue, advocate, legislate and lead for six
years now. I know his skill. I know his passion. I know his strength. I
know his conscience. I know his faith. He has honored the lessons of home
and family learned in North Carolina, and brings those values to this
struggle to shape a better future for America. He is ready for this job.
There’s something else about John Edwards that is important to this
campaign and our country at this critical time: I am determined that we
reach out across party lines, that we speak the heart of America—hope and
optimism. And John Edwards will join me in doing that.
As so many of you know, throughout the campaign, John talked about the
great divide in this country—the “Two Americas”—that exists between those
who are doing well and those who are struggling to make it from day to
day. That concern is at the center of this campaign. It is what it is all
about. It has been part of my fight for 35 years. And I am so proud that
together we’re going to build one America.
As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a leader in fighting
bioterrorism, he shares my unshakable commitment to maintaining a military
second to none, and to restoring old and building new alliances.
There’s also a great bonus to having John on this ticket—and that’s a
strong, brave woman, Elizabeth Edwards. Teresa and I and our family will
be proud to stand with the Edwards family in this campaign—with their
daughter Cate, who just graduated from college, and with their little ones
Emma Claire and Jack.
Anyone who knows them, knows that this is a family that loves one another
and loves America.
In the next 120 days, John Edwards and I will be fighting for the America
we love.
We’ll be fighting to make America stronger at home and more respected in
the world.
We’ll be fighting for good paying jobs that let American families actually
get ahead— an America where the middle class is doing better, not being
squeezed.
We’ll be fighting to make healthcare a right for all our people.
We’ll be fighting to make this nation energy independent.
We’ll be fighting to build a strong military and lead strong alliances, so
young Americans are never put in harm’s way because we insisted on going
it alone.
And we’re going to win this fight by standing together, not as two
Americas, but as one America.
When I was in Vietnam, I served on a small boat on the Mekong Delta with
men who came from places as diverse as South Carolina and Iowa…. Arkansas
and California. No one asked us our politics. No one cared where we went
to school or what our race or backgrounds were. We were literally all in
the same boat—and we came together as one.
We were just a band of brothers who all fought under the same flag, and
all prayed to the same God. Today, we’re a little bit older, we’re a
little bit greyer. But we still know how to fight for our country. And
what we’re fighting for is an America where all of us are truly in the
same boat.
So I ask for your help. Talk to your neighbors; talk to your friends.
Enlist in our cause.
In great movements for civil rights and equal rights, the environment and
economic justice for all, we have come together as one America to give
life to our mighty dream.
So come together and stand up for a great purpose – to make America
stronger at home and respected in the world. We’re a country of the
future; we’re a country of optimists. We’re the can-do people. And we just
need to believe in ourselves.
The poet Langston Hughes put it in this way: “Let America be America
again. Let it be the dream it used to be.” – for those “whose sweat and
blood, whose faith and pain, whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the
rain must bring back our mighty dream again.”
In 2004, with your help….with John Edwards by my side…. we will bring back
our mighty dream again.
Let America be America again!
Thank you and God Bless America!
Statement of John Edwards on Being Chosen John Kerry’s Running Mate
July 06, 2004
For Immediate Release
Washington, DC
Senator John Edwards released the following statement today on being
chosen as John Kerry’s vice presidential running mate:
“I was honored this morning to receive a call from Senator Kerry asking me
to join his ticket. I was humbled by his offer – and thrilled to accept
it.
“I’ve served with John Kerry. He is a man of strength, character and
courage. He has a vision for our country that will make life better for
all Americans - those in the middle class who struggle every day to make
ends meet, and the millions of Americans fighting to enter the middle
class.
“I look forward to seeing all of you in the days ahead and talking to the
American people about the next president of the United States."