BOSTON, July 29: The Democratic Party on Wednesday nominated John Kerry to challenge President George Bush for the White House after running mate John Edwards took centre-stage to introduce himself to Americans with the promise that "hope is on the way".
The nomination of John Kerry sets up a three-month election battle with Mr Bush that polls show is essentially a dead heat. Mr Kerry was formally nominated shortly before midnight when the state of Ohio, a key battleground in the November election, cast its votes to put him over the 2,162 delegates needed to lead the party against Republicans.
John Edwards, the ticket's new No 2 and a relative newcomer to national politics, invoked for delegates the values of faith, family and responsibility that he said he learned growing up in a small southern town and promised that Mr Kerry would strive to lift up all Americans.
He challenged Americans to reject partisanship and embrace "the politics of hope", saying Mr Kerry would be a "decisive, strong" commander-in-chief. "What John Kerry and I believe is that you should never look down on anybody, we ought to lift people up," Mr Edwards told the Democratic National Convention. "We don't believe in tearing people apart, we believe in bringing them together."
Mr Edwards, who talked often during his failed presidential bid earlier this year about the "two Americas" - one for the rich and one for the struggling, reprised the theme, but said "it doesn't have to be that way, we can build one America".
The speech by Mr Edwards provided the first-term senator from North Carolina his biggest national stage and a prime-time televised showcase for a candidate that voters know even less about than Mr Kerry.
John Edwards, the son of a mill worker who was the first in his family to go to college, said Republicans were "doing all they can to take this campaign for the highest office in the land down the lowest possible road".
"You can reject the tired, old, hateful, negative, politics of the past, and instead you can embrace the politics of hope," Mr Edwards told the cheering convention delegates without ever mentioning Bush by name.
Mr Kerry arrived in Boston earlier on Wednesday, where he was joined by his former navy crewmates as they crossed Boston Harbor on the "Lulu E" - a water taxi - to greet supporters at the Charlestown Navy Yard, a few hundred metres from the convention site.
"I just want to say Bruce Springsteen had it right. No retreat. No surrender," Mr Kerry said after concluding a six-day cross-country trip to his hometown of Boston.
BUILDING BRIDGES: California Senator Dianne Feinstein placed Mr Kerry's name into nomination, calling him a leader who "will build those bridges necessary to restore America's credibility abroad."
The convention session on Wednesday focused heavily on Mr Kerry's background as a decorated Vietnam War veteran, which advisers believe will counter Republican efforts to paint him as a traditional liberal who has not supported the military.
Twelve retired generals and admirals endorsed Mr Kerry on Wednesday, and a special video tribute featured the officers talking about Mr Kerry. Retired Gen. John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the convention that Mr Kerry "heeded his country's call to service when it needed him." -Reuters
