Kerry Counts on Veterans to Take Iowa

John F. Kerry was in his element, waxing poetic about patriotism and politics -- veterans in front of him, veterans behind him, an American flag stretched from the ceiling of the Black County Soldiers Memorial Hall.

So when he finished his speech about keeping faith with America’s fighting men and women and the standing ovation ended and the graying audience creaked back to its seats, the first question Tuesday morning was a bit of a jolt after nearly an hour of emotion and affection: “Tell us why those of us who are uncommitted should support you.”

The decorated Vietnam war hero is betting big on the veterans vote to bring him to victory -- or something like it -- in Monday’s Iowa caucuses. His staff calls veterans the “cornerstone of our campaign” in the state, and announced Tuesday that more than 10,000 former soldiers and sailors plan to support Kerry on caucus night.

On the one hand, it seems like a pretty good bet. With the median age of caucus-goers over 50, “you’re talking about an electorate that would contain a lot of veterans, or at least know a lot of veterans,” said Dennis Goldford, chairman of the department of politics at Drake University in Des Moines.

But veterans are far from a unified group, spanning generations and conflicts. The younger ones lean toward the GOP, and the group as a whole is “not a particularly significant voting block here,”’ said Peverill Squire, professor of political science at the University of Iowa. “But Kerry doesn’t have the unions or the college crowd. He has to look for somebody.”

So veterans have become Kerry’s electoral niche. His speeches are filled with spirited lines about “what I fought for” and “the first definition of patriotism.” Then there’s this remark aimed at President Bush and the flight he took onto the USS Lincoln in May to celebrate success in Iraq: “I know something about aircraft carriers,” Kerry likes to say, “for real.”

His introductions at campaign events are replete with military mentions: of the three Purple Hearts and the Silver Star he won in battle. Audiences lately bristle with VFW hats and Vietnam Veterans of America shirts. Questioners often focus on veterans’ benefits, the war in Iraq and the nation’s growing crew of veterans-in-the-making toiling away in the Middle East.

“We are going to have a new generation of veterans,” said Vietnam veteran Harold White, who listened to Kerry on Monday at the Parthenon Pizza and Steak House in Fort Madison, home of deep-fried macaroni and cheese. “Their benefits are a big concern to me.”

It’s hard to pinpoint how many veterans living in the Hawkeye state might be interested in attending the Democratic caucuses. Research by the Kerry campaign has identified as many as 90,000 prospects.

They’ve been peppered with phone calls from Kerry volunteers and showered with direct mail. The central piece was a plea -- Join the Kerry Brigade -- from Ames resident Gene Thorson, a crewmate of Kerry’s on a swift boat in Vietnam in 1969. He appeared with the candidate in Waterloo on Tuesday.

Waterloo was hometown to the five Sullivan brothers, who were killed while serving on the same ship in World War II. Their modern echo are the Bolanos brothers -- Richard, Luis, Ben and Bill from El Paso, all of whom served in Vietnam at the same time and all of whom traveled from Texas to show their support for Kerry on Tuesday.

As he introduced Kerry, Richard Bolanos tore into Bush and Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean, attacking the two men’s lack of military service.

“We don’t think that as the president you should just ... land on an aircraft carrier and play the part, if when your country called you weren’t willing to be a part of it,” Bolanos said. “We don’t feel that you should seek a deferment from military service ... and use your back as an issue and end up in Colorado skiing ... while your fellow patriots are dying in a war outside of your country.”

Bush served in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War, while Dean got a deferment from the draft because of a bad back.

Kerry, in his remarks, decried cuts in Veterans Affairs Department budgets and the difficulty he said many veterans have getting appointments for medical care at VA hospitals. He vowed that, as president, he would act quickly to bolster the VA budget.

“Let me say this to all of you here,” he said. “We have a great obligation ahead of us, to have a president who, in a very dangerous world, is prepared to remember and apply the lessons learned in war.”

That, he will tell you, is not Bush. And in the Democratic race, it is not Dean or John Edwards or Dick Gephardt. The description could fit retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark, who also was wounded in Vietnam. But Clark is not taking part in the Iowa caucuses, concentrating instead on New Hampshire’s Jan. 27 primary.

Kerry, however, took a rare dig at Clark in Independence, Iowa, on Tuesday, questioning the judgment of the former head of NATO’s armed forces. “Somebody told me that Wes Clark up in New Hampshire the other day said, ‘Guarantee you that no American will ever be a victim of a terrorism attack.’

“Well, ladies and gentlemen, no human being can give a guarantee about a suicidal human being’s intentions.”

The question remains whether the veteran’s vote will have much of an impact. John Hurley, national chairman of Veterans for Kerry, thinks the senator’s efforts are paying off.

“Veterans are angry,” said Hurley. “And John Kerry has become the voice of angry veterans in this country.”