"That flag is our flag"

Veterans, led by war heroes Wesley Clark and Max Cleland, charge out of the trenches in Boston for John Kerry.

By Tim Grieve

Jul 26, 2004 | As John Kerry positions himself as a viable alternative to George W. Bush in a time of war abroad and amid fears of terrorism at home, he's wrapping his party in imagery that might fit more comfortably at the Republican National Convention next month. There are Americans flags almost everywhere in Boston, and veterans for Kerry everywhere else.

The big-ticket daytime event Monday was the Democrats' first-ever Veterans Caucus. Minutes after the Black Caucus wrapped up in the Grand Ballroom at the Sheraton Hotel, a sea of red, white and blue patriots filled -- and overfilled -- the room for a salute to those who have served. It began with white-gloved firefighters singing "America the Beautiful" and "God Bless America," segued into a long, flag-draped video montage of veterans, including shots of Kerry in Vietnam, and then continued with the introduction of former Clinton advisor Jim Carville -- that's "former Marine Corporal James Carville" to you -- who in turn introduced a panel of Kerry's Swift boat crew mates.

Then came the national anthem. And then came the Pledge of Allegiance.

If John Ashcroft had stepped to the stage for a round of "Let the Eagle Soar," he wouldn't have seemed entirely out of place. Instead, the veterans were given retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who Carville said will make "major contributions in the John Kerry administration."

Clark's speech -- when he wasn't making inside Army-Navy jokes -- made it clear that the Kerry campaign intends to run right at Bush on war and terrorism, the only area where the president still holds polling advantages over his challenger. Clark acknowledged repeatedly that America is "at war." But that's not a reason to stick with the current administration, he said. It's time to "change horses midstream."

"There's another party out there, and they would have you believe that they're the best qualified to keep America safe and secure," Clark said. "I'm here to say it's not so."

In a building riff that brought veterans to their feet, Clark said: "That flag is our flag. We served under that flag. We got up and stood reveille formation, we stood taps, we fought under that flag. We've seen men die for that flag, and we've seen men buried under that flag. No Dick Cheney or John Ashcroft or Tom DeLay is going to take that flag away from us."

Clark's fiery performance knocked the GOP-style stuffing out of the veterans' event, turning it into a Bush-bashing barnburner. By the time Carville reclaimed the stage he was in full sputtering ragin' Cajun mode. "I know the Kerry people back there are having a heart attack," Carville said. "They're saying, 'There goes Carville, the mad dog, the pit bull.'"

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