Edwards promises victory in Iraq

BOSTON — Sen. John Edwards vowed last night that if elected, he and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry “will win this war” in Iraq.

Mr. Edwards, the party’s vice-presidential pick, also promised to fight terrorism, telling al Qaeda in particular, “You cannot run. You cannot hide. We will destroy you,” as the Democratic National Convention went through the formality of officially nominating Mr. Kerry.

But on a night meant to highlight the party’s commitment to security, the loudest applause lines came during a series of fiery anti-war speeches.

“We lost hundreds of soldiers. We spent $200 billion at a time [when] we had record state deficits. And when it became clear that there was no weapons, they changed the premise for the war, and said, ‘No, we went because of other reasons,’” the Rev. Al Sharpton said.

The New York minister was one of Mr. Kerry’s challengers during the primary and carried the anti-war banner for Democrats both then and last night.

“If I told you tonight to, ‘Let’s leave the FleetCenter, we’re in danger,’ and when you get outside you ask me, ‘Reverend Al, what is the danger?’ and I say, ‘It don’t matter. We just needed some fresh air,’ I have misled you. And we were misled,” he said.

Mr. Kerry tapped Mr. Edwards of North Carolina to be the vice-presidential candidate because of the appeal of his “Two Americas” message and his ease with talking about values. Mr. Edwards delivered on that promise last night.

“Where I come from, you don’t judge someone’s values based on how they use that word in a political ad. You judge their values based upon what they’ve spent their life doing,” Mr. Edwards said. “So when a man volunteers to serve his country, a man volunteers and puts his life on the line for others, that’s a man who represents real American values.”

Mr. Edwards also showed a deft touch in weaving into his positive message an attack on President Bush and the Republican Party’s message.

“The Republicans are doing all they can to take this campaign for the highest office in the land down the lowest possible road,” Mr. Edwards said. “This is where you come in. Between now and November, you, the American people, you can reject the tired, old, hateful, negative politics of the past.”

He detailed some of the campaign’s domestic priorities, including a $4,000-a-year tax credit for college tuition, a $1,000 tax credit for child care, tax penalties for American companies that move jobs overseas and increased spending for education.

“Hope is on the way,” he said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, officially placed Mr. Kerry’s nomination before the convention early in the evening. No other name was formally submitted. Mr. Kerry was officially nominated after Mr. Edwards spoke,with the battleground state of Ohio finally delivering the 2,162 votes to cement the nomination.When the roll call finally ended at 12:15 this morning,Mr. Kerry had 4,254 votes, with 43 delegates voting for other candidates.

But with Mr. Kerry’s nomination a foregone conclusion for many months, the point of the evening was to prove to American voters that Democrats can keep the country safe and, just as important, to indict Mr. Bush’s ability to do so.

A video showed a series of retired high-ranking military officers calling for a change in leadership and endorsing Mr. Kerry as a commander of military forces.

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