Convention to kick off tonight

BOSTON -- Amid the signs and cries of protesters, the possibility of city union workers striking, congested downtown traffic and the ever-present threat of terrorism, Democrats from around the country will converge on their national convention, which will open tonight at the FleetCenter in Boston. \nThe convention, which will formally nominate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass, and Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., to be the Democratic presidential and vice presidential candidates respectively, will conclude Thursday evening with an acceptance speech from Kerry.\nPlanners are expecting over 4,300 delegates, 15,000 members of the media and an additional 15,000 guests, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Convention Committee, the convention's chief organizing body, said. \nIndiana will send 81 state delegates, all of whom are pledged to Kerry. \nKerry won the Indiana May 4 primary by a three-to-one margin. Edwards, now his running mate, came in second with a little over 11 percent of the vote.\nSpokesmen for U.S. Rep. Baron Hill, the ninth district Democrat who represents Bloomington and most of Monroe County, and for U.S. Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh confirmed both Hill and Bayh will attend the convention. \nGov. Joe Kernan, however, will forego the convention and campaign for this year's gubernatorial election instead.\nThe official theme of the convention is "Stronger at Home, Respected in the World," but many believe the convention's real purpose will be prime time exposure for the Democratic ticket. \n"People have pretty firm evaluations and ideas about President Bush, but there's still some uncertainty about Kerry and Edwards," said Edward Carmines, an IU professor of political science temporarily in Massachusetts this summer. "The main thing about this convention is to introduce (Kerry and Edwards) to the American people."\nCarmines said there are still many people who claim they have little knowledge about Kerry, and that his acceptance speech and the convention will be their first introduction to him, which typically serves the unknown candidate favorably.\n"Most of the time when the convention is calm, positive and well-received, the candidate gets a bounce in the poll numbers," Carmines said. "Sometimes they keep that bounce and sometimes they don't."\nHe said the conventions have changed historically and have become primarily media events, although he wasn't so sure such a change could have been resisted. \n"(The conventions) don't serve the purpose of being the nominator of the party anymore. That's taken care of through the primaries now," he said. "But they establish the beginning point of the face-to-face competition and set the tone for the general election."\nConvention planners say they are expecting a number of protesters at the convention. Due to space constraints and security concerns, event planners have erected "free speech zones" for protesters near the FleetCenter, which is home to the NHL's Boston Bruins and the NBA's Boston Celtics. \nWhile safety remains a high priority, Boston law enforcement personnel are working through their own concerns unrelated to security: contract troubles.\nThe Boston Globe reported last week that the city's main police union has vowed to picket many of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's welcoming parties for convention delegates, despite a new contract agreement increasing salaries 14 percent over the next four years. The union believes the city council will not accept the agreement.\nAccording to the Globe, every officer of the 2,032-member Boston Police Department will still be working 12-hour shifts during convention week, and many have plans to ticket while off-duty.\nIn addition to city workers, security for the convention will be handled by state and federal officials as well, including the Secret Service, the spokeswoman for the DNCC said.\nCarmines said a security breach or attack at the convention could affect voter behavior.\n"The conventional wisdom, and what happens historically, is that there's a 'rallying around the president' effect, and even people who may not be positive toward the president give him their support," Carmines said. "But it could be an unprecedented situation, since we've already had one terrorist attack. It may very well be that instead of rallying around the incumbent president, voters rally around the challenger."\n-- Contact Opinion Editor Tony Sams at ajsams@indiana.edu