Fiery Kucinich starts bid for presidency
Originally published in the Toledo Blade
Politics | Article published Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Fiery Kucinich starts bid for presidency
Candidate vows ‘a government we can trust'
By FRITZ WENZEL
BLADE POLITICAL WRITER
CLEVELAND - Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich officially began his campaign for the U.S. presidency yesterday with a sometimes fiery, sometimes emotional speech to family, friends, and hundreds of supporters gathered in the city's ornate council chambers, where he began his political career three decades ago.
Frequently addressing his siblings, the former Cleveland mayor recounted childhood lessons of hope and opportunity - recalling how his poverty-stricken family survived two periods in which they lived in cars on the city's streets.
He thanked supporters for sticking with him through a career in which he rose quickly from city councilman to youthful mayor. He presided over a city in default in the late 1970s, a situation that led to his defeat and 15 years of exile from public office.
He pledged that, if elected president, he would seek to craft a government ready to provide free education and medical care to even the poorest Americans.
"This moment celebrates not my potential, but the creative potential of every child, and our responsibility to make each dream come true," he told the audience, which responded generously right to the end of a program of nearly two hours.
The audience was most responsive to his calls to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq and to hand over mop-up operations to the United Nations.
His listeners clapped wildly as he pledged to take Iraqi reconstruction contracts away from American companies hired by the Bush administration and let the U.N. decide who would rebuild Iraq. He also said he would push to give the U.N. control of all Iraqi oil revenue.
"This is the moment when we can reconnect with the international community," he said.
Mr. Kucinich, 57, also criticized the Patriot Act, passed by Congress and signed into law shortly after the terror attacks of September, 2001, saying the law was too intrusive.
"We need to have a government we can trust, and we need a government that trusts the American people," he said.
"How can we afford to be the policemen of the world when we can't afford to hire police, fire, and [emergency medical] personnel here at home?" he asked.
"It's a question of, ‘What are our priorities as a nation?'" Mr. Kucinich said. "My priorities will be the social and economic welfare of the people. My priorities are to break the shackles of fear which are causing this country to spend more and more money on military purposes, and less and less money on social concerns."
Mr. Kucinich said his presidency "will be about reordering the priorities of the American people, and we will have peace as we work with the world community on matters of international security."
Cleveland Councilman Jay Westbrook praised Mr. Kucinich for a career that "took birth in the door-to-door, people-to-people politics that brings people hope."
The event here kicked off a three-day, 11-state tour of the nation to promote his campaign. He also was scheduled to speak yesterday in Detroit; Manchester, N.H., and Madison, Wis.
Subscribe to this blog's feed