April 6, 2004

“Change Starts Here”… at GW

Sen. John Kerry Brings His Presidential Campaign to GW Twice in Eight Days

By Thomas Kohout

Only months before they were campaign rivals vying for the opportunity to take on George W. Bush. But when Sen. John Kerry joined Howard Dean on a stage to receive the former governor’s endorsement for the presidency of the United States before a crowd of more than 2,400 cheering GW faculty, staff, and students in Kogan Plaza March 25, the mood was as sunny as the afternoon. It was the second time in eight days that the Massachusetts senator had visited GW.

“GW does not endorse candidates,” reminded President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg as he welcomed the raucous crowd. He added the mission of the University is to “educate students and today’s event is very much in that educational spirit At this moment, this quadrangle is, in essence, an outdoor classroom and this is a learning moment.”

The rowdy group erupted as Kerry and Dean took the stage and Dean egged them on further leading chants for “Kerry, Kerry, Kerry…”

“I’m a senior at GW and I thought I knew what a crowded Kogan Plaza looked like, but you guys are unreal,” exclaimed Ari Mittleman, founder of Generation Dean who along with Colonials for Kerry founder Adam Zwerner introduced the candidates.

“I have special fondness for GW,” Dean told the crowd. “We have the largest chapter of Generation Dean anywhere in the country right here at GW. And in the end it’ll be Generation Dean voting for John Kerry for President of the United States that’s going to send George Bush back to Crawford, TX, where he belongs.”

In his endorsement of Kerry, Dean touched on themes certain to be repeated throughout the eight-month race — job creation, environmental conservation, health care coverage, social security stabilization, and balancing the budget.

“I know who I trust,” exclaimed Dean. “I trust John Kerry, that’s who I’m voting for, that’s who I’m working for, and we’re sending George Bush back to Crawford, TX.”

Kerry focused his comments on the tasks at hand — defeating the incumbent and marshaling the young voter support he believes can help him accomplish that goal.

“Howard Dean and I believe what unities us as Americans is what brings us together today,” Kerry said. “We understand that this election is not about us, it’s not about our party, it’s about our country and it’s about you and your future, and we need to hold that.

“Behind me, beside Ari and Adam, are young people wearing shirts that say ‘Change Starts Here.’ Those aren’t just words, that’s a reality. You have the power. This is where change begins, and this is an election for a generation if not a lifetime.”

In his previous visit to GW March 17, Kerry insisted that though a unilateral approach to foreign policy, President Bush has severely taxed the US military, while cutting veterans health benefits and other essential services. Kerry, accompanied by former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Shalikashvili, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and former Secretary of Defense William Perry, outlined his plans to strengthen the US military and support military families in a policy address entitled “Protecting Our Military Families in Times of War” before a standing-room-only crowd in the Jack Morton Auditorium.

John F. Williams, provost and vice president for health affairs, and Corrie Westbrook, a third year Law School student from Birmingham, AL, who will spend next year clerking in the Court of Appeals for the Armed Services before entering officers training school in preparation for a career in the Judge Advocate General Corps, were on hand to greet Kerry.

The address came nearly one year after the war in Iraq began and just a day after it became mathematically impossible for Kerry to be defeated for the Democratic nomination.

“We were misled about weapons of mass destruction,” Kerry said of the rationale for war. “We are misled now when the costs of Iraq are not even counted in the President’s budget. …Our military families have the right to expect real leadership of the armed forces from the Commander-in-Chief. They have a right to competitive pay and quality housing, decent health care and dental care. … If I am President, I will fight for a constant standard of decency and respect for those who serve their country in our armed forces — on active duty and as veterans.”

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