From The Birmingham News (AL.com)
OBAMA ENCOURAGED BY BIRMINGHAM'S RACIAL PROGRESS
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
KATHERINE BOUMA, News staff writer

Barack Obama, the rising young black star of the national Democratic Party, paused for a prayer inside the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on Monday after a fund-raiser next door.

"Let's say a little prayer because I believe in the power of prayer," Obama said to the church pastor, the Rev. Arthur Price, and others touring the site of Birmingham's most notorious civil rights-era bombing.

After the prayer, Obama quickly left, pausing only to answer a few questions from reporters.

A state senator from Illinois, Obama visited Birmingham on Monday for a $1,000-per-person fund-raiser at the Civil Rights Institute. Obama is the Democratic nominee and front-runner for a U.S. Senate seat, leading Republican Alan Keyes by 41 points. If elected in November, he will become the Senate's only black member.

In a coincidence, Keyes spoke at a church in Vestavia Hills on Sunday.

Obama hit the national spotlight with a prime-time speech at the recent Democratic National Convention, speaking of his upbringing by a mother from Kansas and a father who was a goatherd in Kenya, but who had the courage to hope for better for their child. He called on Americans to have the audacity to hope and, in a New Testament reference, to have "faith in things not seen."
Monday, he said he found Birmingham different from the city where four black girls were killed in the 16th Street church on a Sunday morning 41 years ago.
"I'm encouraged by coming to Birmingham to see people of different races coming together," Obama said.

"I also wanted to see the Sixteenth Street church and remind myself how far we've come," he said, "and then how far we have to go."

He made similar remarks about racial progress at the fund-raiser, which he said he attended at the invitation of his Harvard Law School classmate, U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, D-Birmingham.
Alabama Democratic Party chairman Redding Pitt, who attended the event, said Obama compared the South and southern Illinois, which has racial turmoil in its past.

"He talked about the level of racial progress in southern Illinois and in the South and in Birmingham," Pitt said. "We've come a long way in Illinois and Alabama ... He talked about carrying the white vote in southern Illinois when he became the Democratic nominee."

Hosts at the fund-raiser included former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington, state Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, Ginger Avery Buckner, executive director of the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association, and Alabama New South Coalition director Toni Smalls.
Others attending the event included Birmingham Mayor Bernard Kincaid and former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones, who helped prosecute and convict two suspects in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombings.

"Obviously this was a crowd that was very favorable to him," said Jones, who called Obama "a very impressive man."



From MSNBC.com
REPUBLICANS RECALL 9/11, HAIL BUSH'S LEADERSHIP
Sharply conservative platform approved as party presents roster of speakers to appeal to moderates
Sept. 3, 2004

NEW YORK -- Republicans opened their national convention Monday with an appeal to the moderate and independent voters who are expected to decide the presidential election, sending out two of the party's most beloved national figures, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, to issue ringing defenses of President Bush's leadership in the war on terrorism.

McCain, a war hero whose bravery became the stuff of legend during five years in a Vietnam prisoner-of-war camp, and Giuliani, whose steadfast stewardship after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks galvanized New York and the nation, vividly reminded Americans of the horrors of that pivotal day, when almost 3,000 people died in Manhattan, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.

Alone among the evening's primary speakers at Madison Square Garden in New York, McCain did not criticize the Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, an old friend who was widely reported to have tried to persuade him to cross party lines and join the Democratic ticket.

"We are arguing over the means to better secure our freedom and promote the general welfare. But it should remain an argument among friends who share an unshaken belief in our great cause and in the goodness of each other," said McCain, who has defended Kerry against allegations by other Vietnam veterans that he lied about his service in the war.

Indeed, McCain's relations with Bush, who defeated him for the Republican nomination in a bitter primary fight four years ago, have been far rockier, but he has embraced Bush on the campaign trial this summer, and he made his loyalties clear Monday night.

McCain said only "the most deluded" could doubt Bush's decision to go to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. "Like all wars, this one will have its ups and downs," he said. "But we must fight. We must."

"For his determination to undertake [the war on terrorism], and for his unflagging resolve to see it through to a just end, President Bush deserves not only our support, but our admiration," McCain said, bringing the 4,853 delegates and alternates to their feet in cheers with an emotional salute to Bush's "determination to make this world a better, safer, freer place."

The strongest reaction of the evening came when McCain dismissed liberal director Michael Moore, whose documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" energized opposition to the president, as a "disingenuous filmmaker." The crowd began booing loudly.
Moore, who is attending the convention as a columnist for USA Today, grinned from his seat and waved to the crowd.

Attacks on Kerry
It was left to other speakers to tear down Kerry, and they did so avidly on a day when delegates approved a sharply conservative agenda endorsing many of the policies the president championed after the terrorist attacks just a few miles away.
Giuliani told the delegates and a national audience watching on cable and public television - the major networks chose not to cover the night's events - that "President Bush sees world terrorism for the evil that it is. John Kerry has no such clear, precise and consistent vision."

Giuliani returned to a favorite Republican attack on Kerry, their contention that he "flip-flops" on major issues in response to public opinion.

"When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, John Kerry voted against the Persian Gulf War. Later he said he actually supported the war," Giuliani said. "Then, in 2002, as he was calculating his run for president, he voted for the war in Iraq. And then, just none months later, he voted against an $87 billion supplemental budget to fund the war and support our troops.

"... At this rate, with 64 days left, he still has time to change his position at least three or four more times," Giuliani said to laughter and sustained applause.

By contrast, "since September 11th, President Bush has remained rock solid," he said. "It doesn't matter how he is demonized. It doesn't matter what the media does to ridicule him or misinterpret him or defeat him.

"They ridiculed Winston Churchill. They belittled Ronald Reagan. But like President Bush, they were optimists. Leaders must be optimists. Their vision was beyond the present and set on a future of real peace and true freedom."

Echoes of 9/11
Giuliani's emotional evocations of Sept. 11 and its impact on his city made it clear that the Republicans intend to campaign on memories of the terrorist attacks and Bush's widely praised leadership in the immediate aftermath. Democrats have accused the party of cynically exploiting a historical tragedy that they say should remain outside the political arena.

"On September 11th, this city and our nation faced the worst attack in our history," Giuliani said. "On that day, we had to confront reality. For me, standing below the north tower [of the World Trade Center] and looking up and seeing the flames of hell and then realizing that I was actually seeing a man - a human being - jumping from the 101st or 102nd floor drove home to me that we were facing something beyond anything we had ever faced before."

Giuliani said he feared that "we would be attacked many more times that day and in the days that followed." He said he embraced Bernard Kerik, the former police commissioner who also addressed the convention Monday night, and said, "Thank God George Bush is our president.

"And I say it again tonight. Thank God George Bush is our president."

Kerik, likewise, maintained that "we live in a much safer world as a result of this president's strong leadership," saying, "There are two candidates in this race, but only one fills those needs."
Bush as a war leader

The convention program for the entire week was devoted to trumpeting Bush as a war president unflinching in the face of terrorism at home and around the world.

"My friends, this is no time to pick a leader who is weak on the war and wrong on taxes," House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois said. "George W. Bush is a strong leader with the right vision for America."

Democrats responded quickly. Breaking with the tradition that says nominees should remain inconspicuous during their opponents' conventions, Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, pointed to Bush's comments in an interview with NBC News that suggested that the war on terrorism could not be won.

"After months of listening to the Republicans base their campaign on their singular ability to win the war on terror, the president now says we can't win the war on terrorism," Edwards said in a statement. "This is no time to declare defeat."

Mixed messages?
The roster of speakers Monday night highlighted moderates in a conscious effort to revive Bush's 2000 campaign self-portrait as a "compassionate conservative." At the same time, the party adopted a sharply conservative platform calling for constitutional bans on gay marriage and abortion and the doubling of federal funding to promote abstinence as a family planning method.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, the platform chairman, maintained that the platform was squarely in the Republican mainstream, telling delegates that it "highlights the principles that unite our party."

The platform, too, praised Bush's response to the terrorist attacks. "The president's most solemn duty is to protect our country. George W. Bush has kept that charge," it said.

Nor did the party shrink from its support for the USA Patriot Act, the security law enacted in the wake of the attacks, which has emerged as a polarizing issue for Democrats and some Republicans who say its provisions have assaulted Americans' free speech and privacy rights.

Robert Khuzami, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan, thanked Bush for having "the courage and wisdom to seek passage of the Patriot Act, a critical tool in the effort to prevent future terrorist acts."

"The Patriot Act has helped our homeland security team dismantle terror cells from New York to Oregon, disrupt efforts to obtain weapons and cut off sources of terrorist funding," he said.

Bush promised no retreat in an interview Monday on NBC's "Today" show. When asked "Can we win?" Bush said: "I don't think you can 'win' [the war on terrorism]. But I think you can create conditions so that the - those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world."

That brought a storm of Democratic criticism.

"I decided a year ago that he cannot win the war on terror," retired Gen. Merrill McPeak, former chief of staff of the Air Force, said at a news conference organized by Democrats.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan clarified the president's remarks, telling reporters aboard Air Force One: "He was talking about winning it in the conventional sense ... about how this is a different kind of war and we face an unconventional enemy."

War records
Hastert welcomed the delegates and more than 10,000 volunteers Monday to Madison Square Garden, where Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney will be sent into the fall campaign to keep the White House. Their names were placed in nomination for second terms, to be ratified in an alphabetical state-by-state roll call that will proceed over all four nights of the convention.

"George W. Bush shares the hopeful vision of Lincoln and Reagan," said Hastert, the convention's permanent chairman.

But as the convention got under way, the controversy that has dominated the campaign for the last few weeks - attacks by a veterans group on Kerry's military service in Vietnam - continued to provoke sharp discussion.

Even McCain said it was fair to criticize Kerry's leadership of Vietnam veterans who opposed the war three decades ago. As he has before, he said on CBS's "Early Show" that the ads were "dishonest and dishonorable." But "what John Kerry did after the war is very legitimate political discussion," he said.

Some delegates, meanwhile, mocked Kerry, who was awarded three Purple Hearts for his service in Vietnam, by wearing Band-Aids decorated with miniature purple hearts.

Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, responded angrily, noting that more than 3,700 Purple Hearts had been awarded during the war in Iraq and calling it "inexcusable for a Republican delegate to mock anyone who has ever put on a soldier's uniform. It is inexcusable to mock service and sacrifice."

Frist, for his part, tried to shift the debate away from the controversy. In an interview on MSNBC's "Hardball," he said it was clear that "John Kerry served nobly."

The real challenge for Kerry, he said, is to "tell me about your service in the United States Senate," where he said Kerry had opposed conservative judges and attempts to strengthen America's defense. "What has John Kerry done the last four years in my body, the Senate?"

Mainly quiet amid heavy security; one detective injured
The convention opened with polls showing Bush and Kerry in a virtual tie among a highly polarized electorate, leaving them to fight over the small pool of undecided voters.

Bush, who arrives Wednesday after a tour of eight battleground states, will spend one night in New York before returning to the campaign trail. He spent some time Monday morning in pre-speech preparation in the theater of the White House residence, some of it practicing with a Teleprompter, McClellan said.

Kerry, sticking to the tradition of laying low, was in Nantucket, Mass., on vacation.

Around the convention center, thousands of police imposed tight security. Protesters, who numbered at least 120,000 during loud but peaceful demonstrations Sunday, generally melted away Monday, leaving only small groups to heckle convention-goers.

One of the marches briefly turned violent Monday night when a protester stomped and punched a plainclothes detective and hundreds of officers in riot gear pushed demonstrators away from Madison Square Garden, witnesses and police said. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly called it "a blatant, vicious attack."

The detective, who was identified as William Sample, was briefly knocked unconscious
and was hospitalized with head injuries that were not life-threatening. His assailant escaped.

By MSNBC.com's Alex Johnson. NBC's Chip Reid and Alicia Jennings contributed to this report.



From BANKRATE.COM
MY FIRST HOME: A GUIDE FOR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS
By Jeff Gregory, Bankrate.com
Monday, Sept. 13, 2004

Adjustable rates can ease mortgage burden

Dear Jeff,
I'm 27, married with two kids. We are now in the process of buying a $405,000 condo in Irvine, Calif. And would be doing a 100-percent financing. This is our first home/condo purchase. Our goal with this place would be to live there for two to five years and then sell and move up.

I make $65,000 a year. Each of our credit scores are over 720. No credit card debt. Only debt now is $7,000 on a car. We pay $1,450 a month in rent right now. The estimated monthly payments for the condo, including taxes, HOA, etc., would be $2,200 to $2,500 -- which I think we could meet without struggling. But do you think this purchase is wise?
Thank you.

Sincerely,
Miguel


Miguel,
If your income is the only one in your family, I question the wisdom of this purchase.

Based on the income and payment info you provided, your monthly housing cost would be anywhere from 40 percent to 46 percent of your gross income. With the car loan, your monthly debt expenditures would be more than 50 percent of your income.

Most experts recommend not having more than 36 percent of your income going toward recurring debt payments. FHA loans will allow borrowers to push that debt level up to 41 percent of income.

While there are lenders who will find ways to approve you with a 50-percent debt-to-income ratio, I don't recommend it. Be cautious about stretching your budget that tight. That is dangerous debt ground to tread.

Many financial pundits set 50 percent as the point where you need to call in professional help for your debt load. Some set the mark even lower.

So, in short, I'd recommend looking for something in a lower price range, if possible. Easier said than done in Irvine, I know.

However, if you are determined to purchase this house and sell it within five years, ask your lender or broker for a quote on an 80/20 loan using 5-1 adjustable-rate mortgages (fixed rates for the first five years with adjustable rates every year thereafter up to a predetermined maximum interest rate) and a .
Restructuring the loan with an eye for selling the house in five years should reduce the weight of the mortgage payment and your debt ratio, and it would allow you to either pay down more principal, pay down the debt on your car or add to your emergency savings fund.

With your solid credit rating and low initial debt-to-income ratio, the lender should be willing to offer you a good deal with both loans having adjustable rates or with an adjustable-rate first mortgage and a fixed-rate second mortgage.

Best wishes,
Jeff



From BANKRATE.COM
20 THINGS THAT CAN ALTER THE VALUE OF YOUR HOME
By Dana Dratch, Bankrate.com

When you're house-hunting it's important to be able to identify the things that increase the value of a home and those that actually detract. The seller and his agent, after all, will try to convince you that rail line that runs through the backyard is good because it provides extra green space. Here are 10 features that can add value to your home, and another 10 that could reduce the sales price:

1. An updated kitchen. "Kitchens are critical," says Robert Irwin, author of "Home Buyer's Checklist." "Today, people like a big kitchen with a lot of workspace."

They look for solid surface counters and high-quality flooring, such as wood, laminate, tile or stone. And they want newer appliances in working order.
Even if it's not huge, it should have "countertops that are serviceable that aren't going to have to be replaced soon and cabinetry in good condition," says Alan Hummel, past president of the Appraisal Institute. "It has to be well-appointed and large enough to fit your needs."

And it doesn't hurt if it opens onto another room. "A lot of families are looking for that openness," says Hummel.

It helps to have a window over the sink, says Don Strong, a remodeler with Brothers Strong Inc., a Houston remodeling firm.

Be wary if renovations are out of character with the community, such as granite countertops in a subdivision where plastic laminate is the norm.
"Will you sell faster? Yes," says Hummel, CEO of Iowa Residential Appraisal Co., in Des Moines. "Will it sell for more? Not if the appointments you've done are significantly higher quality that the rest of the neighborhood."

2. Modern bathrooms. Buyers are looking for "master baths that give a little room to roam," says Hummel.

A big asset: spa or whirlpool tubs. "I'm always entertained by the people who have them in the master bath and don't use them," says Ron Phipps, principal broker with Phipps Realty & Relocation Services in Warwick, R.I. "But it's a big feature."
Some other features buyers are seeking: separate showers with steam and/or multiple jets, double sink, separate room for the toilet.

And make sure the plumbing and hot water heater can handle the job. The pipes have to be large enough to carry an adequate volume of water and the hot water heater has to be big enough to accommodate it. "You need a bare minimum of a 75-gallon hot water heater, and most of my customers have 100 to 150," says Kurt Mittenbuler, a home inspector with Kurt Mittenbuler & Associates in Chicago.

"You don't want to see that false economy of a $30,000 bathroom but nobody spent $15,000 to upgrade the pipes," he says.

3. A well-appointed master suite. "People are really excited about master suites," says Hummel. The wish list: a luxurious bathroom, lounging areas and walk-in closets.

4. Natural materials. "People like natural materials," says Phipps. "Ceramic tile, hardwood floors, granite. We've gone back to a real appreciation for historically true materials. And simulated works as well. The look is very popular."

In floor coverings -- especially bathrooms or kitchens -- look for ceramic tile or wood rather than linoleum, which can tear, says Strong.

In the rest of the house, wood or laminate products are a plus over wall-to-wall, says Gary Eldred, author of "The 106 Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make (and How to Avoid Them)".

But if you have carpet, it should be a good product and well maintained so that "a person doesn't have to walk in and think, 'I'm going to have to spend five grand right off the bat," says Strong.

5. Curb appeal. "A good first appearance on a home can add as much as 5 percent to 10 percent to the value of the home," says John Aust, president of the National Association of Real Estate Appraisers. "Homes in a neighborhood tend to vary about 10 percent from house to house, assuming all other things are the same."

6. A light, airy spacious feel. "People buy space and light," says Myra Zollinger, owner/broker with Coldwell Banker Realty Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. "I have yet to have anybody walk into a really dark house and say, 'I love this.'"

Richard "Dick" Gaylord, member of the executive committee for the National Association of Realtors, agrees. "That's a very big feature," he says. "I haven't sold many homes that aren't bright and airy."

7. Good windows. "People are looking at exposures and windows," says Phipps. "It's been a cold winter for most of the country and energy efficiency is very important."

Insulated windows are always a plus, says Strong. "Typically, they pay for themselves in five years," he says. The cost: for an average 2,600-square-foot home, estimate about $10,000 for new windows, he says.

Well-placed skylights are also a good touch to add value, says Phipps.

8. Landscaping. Mature trees "are worth $1,000," says Strong.

And having outdoor spaces with touches such as pergolas and Victorian garden swings "can be very helpful," says Phipps.

Appraiser John Bredemeyer remembers one $250,000 home in Omaha that had no landscaping at all. "It was stark," says Bredemeyer, national chair of government relations for the Appraisal Institute, a professional group for real estate appraisers. "It just stood out as unappealing."
Conversely, you don't have to spend a fortune on plants, either. Just keep it "typical with the neighborhood," he says.

9. Lots of storage. Nothing beats an oversized garage, some attic space and plenty of closets. "If you have a two-car garage, do you have extra space for those things we all have -- bicycles, lawn mower, snow blower?" says Hummel. "Space is important."
A nice plus in the master suite? "His and hers walk-in closets," says Irwin.

10. Basement. "If it's dry, it's a plus," says Kenneth Austin, co-author of "The Home Buyer's Inspection Guide." "But it's a negative if it has water problems."

A finished basement adds even more value. "Ten years ago, nobody cared," says Mittenbuler. "Now everybody wants them."

Liabilities
On the flip side, here are 10 things that could harm your home's value:

1. A pool. Forget what you might have heard. An in-ground pool in most parts of the country doesn't automatically raise the value of your home. "I would stay away from pools if you can at all avoid it," says Irwin.

Having a swimming pool will automatically limit your market when it comes time to sell, he says. "It's constant upkeep, they get cracks, the equipment goes down and it's expensive to replace, and the liability is high."

Others consider it a mixed blessing. "For the people who want the pool, they're willing to pay for it," says Austin. "But there are an awful lot of people who don't want a pool."

Consider your home value and location. In a million-dollar house, not having a pool is a detraction, says Irwin. "But they won't give you much more" if you do have one.

2. No garage or small garage. Unless you're living in a condo, retirement community or historical or in-town neighborhood, most buyers will look for at least a two-car garage. "If you don't have a garage, it's a real negative," says Austin. "If you have a one-car garage, that's a problem, too."

3. Garbled floor plan. Small rooms and bathrooms, an inconvenient floor plan or a layout that requires you to access bedrooms or bathrooms through other rooms will detract value from your home.

4. Outmoded appliances or systems. Who wants an electrical system or plumbing system incapable of handling modern conveniences? Would you buy a home if the appliances were worn or broken?
Phipps remembers walking into one house with clients who casually opened the oven door -- and it fell off.

5. Stale or overly personal decor. Sure, red is the hot wall color right now, "but for how long?" says Hummel.

"We've gone into houses where they've had purple walls or electric green," says Austin. "It's a turn-off to many people."

6. A bad roof. Roofs are expensive to replace and a good roof is considered standard equipment in a house. If your roof has problems, expect to take a hit in the price.

7. Bad location. Phipps remembers one neighborhood with a significant difference in value between the even- and odd-numbered houses. The reason? The odd numbered ones backed on an interstate highway, as well as some ugly utility lines.

As a result, "the even-numbered houses were worth about 10 percent more than the odd-numbered homes," he says.

8. Poor maintenance. "If you've got an old roof and outdated paint, I don't care if you've updated the kitchen, you won't even get the buyer out of the car," says Bredemeyer.

"If you know you've got to have something fixed, fix it," says Zollinger. Otherwise, people "will subtract the cost or not make an offer on the house. And if people think the house hasn't been taken care of, they will wonder what else they're not seeing."

9. Environmental hazards. Besides being a danger to human health, lead, mold or asbestos can kill home value.

10. A laundry list of needed improvements. "It detracts if you have to do work," says Gaylord. "A house that you can move in today -- and it's livable -- is fine."

But a list of must-dos just to conduct everyday life will scare off a lot of potential home buyers.

"Especially with first-time buyers," he says. "Most of them are [already] scraping just to get in."

From MSNBC NEWS
MSNBC staff and news service reports
BUSH VS. KERRY AT A GLANCE
How Republican, Democrat stand on key issues

Here's a quick look at where Sen. John Kerry and President Bush stand on the central issues expected to dominate the 2004 race for the White House.

Economy
Bush: The president has repeatedly called on Congress to make his tax cuts permanent, saying failure to do so would amount to a tax hike and threaten prospects for a robust economic recovery capable of generating new jobs. Congressional analysts say that making the tax cuts permanent would cost about $1.3 trillion over the next 10 years.

Kerry: Kerry has called for repeal of the Bush tax cuts for Americans earning more than $200,000 a year, in order to pay for broad health care reform. However, he would retain the tax cuts for the middle class. He says he can halve the record half-trillion dollar budget by the end of one four-year term, even while spending $72 billion a year to extend health care to 27 million of the 40-plus million uninsured. His campaign has provided no details.

Energy and environment
Bush: Bush, who pulled the United States out of the Kyoto protocol on greenhouse gas emissions, believes the threat of global warming should be addressed through new economic growth and efficiency. He also favors oil exploration in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and backs legislation that would seek to reduce air pollution and acid rain by offering major polluters access to market-based incentives to reduce harmful emissions.

Kerry: Kerry favors U.S. participation in an international climate change program to curb global warming and would cut mercury emissions by American utilities and plants. To encourage more renewable energy sources, Kerry wants to create a renewable energy trust fund to reduce oil consumption by 2 million barrels per day, which is roughly the amount imported from the Middle East. Kerry also backed Senate legislation to impose stricter mileage standards on gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and automobiles.

Foreign policy
Bush: After straining relations with major European allies and the United Nations over war in Iraq, Bush has shifted his foreign policy focus to the spread of democracy by pushing a Greater Middle East Initiative that would aim to resolve the region's political, economic and social problems through democratic reform. The president, criticized for the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, is also pursuing a policy that seeks to unravel the black market in nuclear components and block programs in North Korea and Iran, countries he has labeled an "axis of evil" along with prewar Iraq.

Kerry: While insisting he would never cede U.S. security to any other nation and would use force when required, Kerry envisions "a new era of alliances" to replace what he sees as the White House's go-it-alone approach to foreign policy. He has pledged to restore diplomacy as a tool of U.S. foreign policy, treat the United Nations as a "full partner" and pursue collective security arrangements. His inner circle of foreign policy advisers features prominent Democratic veterans, including some figures from the Clinton days.

Post-war Iraq
Bush: After seeing his plan to bring democracy to Iraq through regional caucuses scuttled by a leading Shi'ite cleric, Bush has succeeded in brokering an interim constitution for the oil-rich Arab nation and pledged to work with Iraqi leaders and the United Nations to prepare for full Iraqi sovereignty by June 30. The administration expects U.S. troops to remain in Iraq indefinitely as a security measure against insurgents and sectarian violence.

Kerry: He voted in 2002 in favor of the war against Iraq, but has since attacked the administration for misrepresenting the military threat posed by Baghdad and for mismanaging the post-war occupation. He later voted against the appropriation of $87 billion for the U.S.-led effort, a move that has led some critics, including some in his own party, to accuse him of hypocrisy.

Trade
Bush: Bush, an avowed free trader, has embarked on a series of trade agreements with countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. But his administration has also faced charges of protectionism over steel tariffs that the World Trade Organization ruled illegal, and its reluctance to trim import barriers that protect U.S. sugar, dairy and beef industries.

Kerry: Kerry has promised a 120-day review of all existing U.S. trade agreements upon taking office, and favors using the World Trade Organization to challenge China's currency practices. He also has pressed for stronger labor and environmental language than Bush has required in growing collection of bilateral free trade agreements with countries around the world.

Israel and the Palestinians
Bush: Bush, a staunch defender of Israel, backs the stalled "road map" to Middle East peace that calls for creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel by next year. The White House has also expressed concern about Israel's construction of a security barrier through Palestinian territory, ostracized Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and cautiously embraced Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposal to dismantle Jewish settlements in Gaza.

Kerry: Kerry says he would breathe new life into the moribund Middle East peace process and name a special presidential envoy to the Muslim world, who would seek to encourage moderate elements.



From EONLINE.com
BRUCE AND FRIENDS ROCK FOR CHANGE
by Charlie Amter
Aug 4, 2004

Bruce Springsteen has finally been drafted.

After weeks of speculation as to whether or not the megastar would play a protest concert at Giants Stadium during the Republican National Convention, the Boss will eschew the solo show to play dates as part of Vote for Change, a tour featuring the likes of the Dixie Chicks, R.E.M., the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, James Taylor, John Mellencamp and Bonnie Raitt.

"I felt like I couldn't have written the music I've written and been onstage singing about the things that I've sung about for the last 25 years and not take part in this particular election," says Springsteen, who has typically avoided partisan politics.

"A vote for change is a vote for a stronger, safer, healthier America," adds Dave Matthews in a statement. "A vote for Bush is a vote for a divided, unstable, paranoid America. It is our duty to this beautiful land to let our voices be heard. That's the reason for the tour. That's why I'm doing it."

Sponsored in part by liberal groups MoveOn.org and America Coming Together, Vote for Change tour will play 34 shows in 28 cities in the so-called "swing states"--Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin and, yes, Florida--in an effort to unseat President Bush in November's election.

As unveiled Wednesday, the tour will group artists together for each show. Springsteen and his E Street Band will play five dates, joined on the bill by R.E.M., John Fogerty and Bright Eyes. Pearl Jam is paired with Death Cab for Cutie for six gigs. Also playing six shows: Dave Matthews teamed with Jurassic 5 and My Morning Jacket; the Dixie Chicks, with Taylor; and Raitt, with Jackson Browne and Keb' Mo'. Mellencamp and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds will perform five shows together. Other artists are expected to join the effort.

The shows kick off Oct. 1 in Pennsylvania, with each grouping of superstars hitting a different city. The last scheduled shows will be Oct. 8 in Florida, although Billboard reports that a larger concert, featuring many of the top acts, is expected to be added for Oct. 10 in Miami.

All shows will go on sale Aug. 21; there has been no immediate word on ticket prices.

The Vote for Change concert tour is just the latest example of musicians throwing their support behind a political cause. Once the rarified territory of artists like Neil Young, now it seems every conceivable genre of musician is down to get involved with this fall's election in one way or another.

Artists ranging from rap star P. Diddy, who launched his own Citizen Change campaign July 20, to soft-rock queen Linda Ronstadt (booted from a Las Vegas casino after she made laudatory comments about Michael Moore) have found themselves in the headlines lately--whether they wanted the attention or not--thanks to their political convictions. Bush, meanwhile, has received plugs from Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, Toby Keith, Larry Gatlin and Ted Nugent, among others.

Springsteen himself has been becoming more outspoken regarding the Bush administration. He told a crowd of 50,000 at an October 2003 New York City concert to "shout a little louder if you want the President impeached." Springsteen also has had the full text of Al Gore's controversial New York University speech posted on the front page of his Website for weeks. Perhaps picking up on Springsteen's frustration with the real boss of the United States, New York-based concert promoter Andrew Rasiej launched DraftBruce.com in June hoping to enlist the "Born in the U.S.A." singer to headline a massive Giants Stadium gig in September.

Despite the 125,000-plus signatures gathered online to draft Bruce to play the proposed Concert for Change, Springsteen opted to tour with like-minded artists like Pearl Jam and R.E.M. in the similarly named Vote for Change.

Rasiej is happy Bruce is getting involved, even though the concert he imagined will not take place. "Anyone who signed the petition should be happy," he tells E! Online. "The purpose of the effort was to show public support for Bruce and other artists getting involved."

And getting involved is exactly what many artists dream about these days.

"The upcoming election provides everyone an opportunity to change the direction our country is headed and to elect a government that is just, rational and respectful of the views and rights of the people it serves," says Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard. "This coalition of artists wants to be a part of that change."

Waxing political can be commercially risky. Just ask the Dixie Chicks, who faced fierce criticism, radio bans and album-destroying rallies in the wake of comments made by singer Natalie Maines during a concert last year in England. But the Chicks persevered, selling out their tour dates months after the height of their controversy.

But ultimately the Vote for Change artists say they felt compelled to get involved this election year, critics be dammed. "R.E.M. is very happy to be a part of the Vote for Change tour," says band bassist Mike Mills. "This unprecedented coming together of musicians underscores the depth of the desire for change in our country's direction, and it feels right to use some of the freedoms granted to us in a democracy to try and affect that change."

"At some point, you can't sit still," adds Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, a frequent critic of Bush's policies. "You can't spend your life, when people are getting killed, without asking serious questions about why."