MILWAUKEE-Vowing to encourage companies to create more jobs in the United States and to improve foreign relations that he believes have floundered since the war in Iraq began, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., brought his campaign to Milwaukee Thursday.
Gov. Jim Doyle introduced Kerry, who spoke to a boisterous crowd that filled a Milwaukee YMCA and included Vietnam veterans and local unions.
Doyle stressed the importance of Wisconsin to Kerry's campaign.
\In order for John Kerry to become the next president of the United States, he must carry Wisconsin,"" he said.
Kerry began the afternoon by both joking with the crowd about expecting to be handed a beer and complimenting Doyle's handling of Wisconsin's state debt. His speech quickly turned to policy and his stance on Iraq, thanking the troops for carrying out ""a difficult task and a difficult policy.""
""It is the role of the president to maximize the ability to be successful and to minimize the cost to the American people both financially and in lives,"" Kerry said.
The primary focus of the afternoon centered around the economic future of the United States for the next four years. Kerry centered his speech on job growth and tax cuts for businesses that stay domestic, as well as balancing the budget.
Vowing he would put America back to work, Kerry criticized Bush for failing to create the jobs he promised following Sept. 11.
""This is the first president since the Great Depression and Herbert Hoover to have a loss of jobs during his four years. ... When people have lost their work you don't just stand idly by,"" Kerry said.
Audience members later asked Kerry questions varying from what he will do to help college students receive more money through loans to healthcare for war vets and poor families.
He concluded the speech by promising to begin a grassroots campaign to reach out to those voters he feel have been disenfranchised.
""It's refreshing to hear someone so intelligent and what a contrast that would be to Bush,"" said West Bend resident Pat Olsen.
Later, state Sen. Bob Welch, R-Town of Marion, fired back in a press release.
""While the millionaire husband of a ketchup heiress may not think that tax cuts matter to the average working Wisconsin family, President Bush's tax cuts mean more freedom, more control of their own lives, and a chance to achieve the American Dream,"" he said.
-Maureen Backman contributed to this report.
