2004-7-9
This is Bob Doughty with In the News, in VOA Special English.
The Democratic National Convention begins July twenty-sixth in
Boston. The party will officially nominate its candidates for
president and vice president in the November election. This week
John Kerry chose John Edwards for vice president.
The two senators competed against
each other earlier this year for the nomination. But Mister Kerry
says they share values and a belief in strong international
alliances and a strong military. He say they will work together to
seek support from independent voters as well as Democrats.
Many people who liked John Edwards as a presidential candidate
said they liked his energy and his message. He says President Bush
has created "two Americas," one for the wealthy and one for
everybody else.
Mister Edwards' father was a textile worker. His mother was a
letter carrier. But Mister Edwards became a trial lawyer. He won big
cases for injured people. He earned millions of dollars.
The choice for vice president is usually the first major decision
for a presidential candidate. The vice president becomes president
if ever the president cannot carry out the duties of office. Vice
presidents also act as president of the Senate. They make the
deciding vote if the Senate is evenly split.
Presidential candidates traditionally choose a vice president
from another part of the country to provide geographical balance.
But not always. In nineteen-ninety-two, for example, the Democrats
won with two Southerners: Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Al Gore of
Tennessee.
John Edwards is from the South. John Kerry is from the Northeast.
Democrats say the addition of the senator from North Carolina should
help Mister Kerry win more Southern votes. They hope it will also
strengthen the Kerry campaign in states where the vote is expected
to be close.
These so-called battleground states include Pennsylvania,
Florida, North Carolina and Ohio. Some people say Ohio, in the
Midwest, could decide the race.
Mister Edwards had never served in public office before North
Carolina voters elected him to the Senate in nineteen-ninety-eight.
He decided not to seek a second term this year. He ran for president
instead, but won only a single state in the Democratic nominating
elections. That was South Carolina, where he was born.
Critics say Mister Edwards lacks political and foreign policy
experience. Republicans say his Senate record is too weak and too
liberal. President Bush said this week that Dick Cheney is better
prepared to be president.
In any case, political experts say vice presidential candidates
usually have little effect on elections. They say voters in November
are likely to consider issues like the war in Iraq and the economy
far more important.
In the News, in VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk.
This is Bob Doughty.