MINNEAPOLIS — Sen. John F. Kerry, continuing his drive to burnish his credentials as a potential commander in chief, on Friday unveiled an effort to organize support from 1 million veterans across the country.
"All of you bring to the table something that is unique: the special bond of having served your country and of remembering those lessons and being willing to share those lessons with the rest of the country," the presumed Democratic presidential nominee told veterans participating in a conference call arranged by the campaign.
From the start of his presidential bid, Kerry has stressed his service as a decorated naval officer in Vietnam. At critical moments of the Democratic primary race, he often surrounded himself with fellow Vietnam veterans, especially crewmates from the swift boats he commanded in the Mekong Delta.
Friday's announcement marked an escalation in the campaign's focus on veterans. John Hurley, who heads Kerry's national outreach to veterans, announced the campaign had recruited coordinators for that effort in every state. He also said 100,000 veterans had signed up on Kerry's website to support the campaign.
Kerry said he was receiving support not only from veterans, but also from large numbers of current members of the military.
"You would be amazed at the number of active-duty personnel who are coming up at events around the country ... and telling me how important it is for us to stand up and fight for those who are not able to speak out for themselves right now, for obvious reasons," he said.
Later, dozens of veterans sat behind Kerry at a rally that drew more than 3,000 supporters to a University of Minnesota athletic center.
President Bush's reelection campaign in May announced its own coalition of supporters who are veterans. And campaign officials said Friday they believed Bush enjoyed far more support among veterans than Kerry did.
They noted that the president had won endorsements from 40 Medal of Honor recipients and the Rolling Thunder veterans organization, which has 70 chapters nationwide.
Bush's reelection team "is building the largest grass-roots veterans organization that any campaign has ever created," said Steve Schmidt, a campaign spokesman.
Also Friday, the two campaigns continued a months-long feud about Bush's record on veteran-related issues.
