Economy top priority among Democratic delegates

BOSTON -- It's the economy, John Kerry.\nThat's what delegates to the Democratic National Convention say their presumed presidential nominee or -- they shudder to think -- President Bush should concentrate on first in 2005, an Associated Press survey of Democratic delegates found.\nHealth care was the No. 2 issue, followed by the war in Iraq, according to the survey of some three-quarters of the 4,300-plus delegates.\nThe delegates' to-do list aligns closely with the message that Kerry and vice presidential candidate John Edwards are trying to craft on the campaign trail in the face of rising optimism among the general public. The Democratic duo hopes their message about a struggling economy and job loss strikes a chord with anxious voters.\nIt certainly hits home with a number of delegates, typically among the party's most loyal and active followers.\n"The economic situation is a lot worse than the Republicans lead us to believe. Outsourcing jobs overseas is a huge issue, and raising the minimum wage is a big deal," said Jim Wallace, a delegate from Carson City, Nev.\n"This administration has made a major blunder in tax cuts, which have caused huge deficits," said delegate Ellen Kay Kurpowski of Rancho Mirage, Calif.\nA recent Pew Research Center poll found that Democrats were more trusted to do a better job of handling the economy, health care and education, though the Massachusetts senator and President Bush were still in a virtual tie for election.\nThe delegates, who will officially nominate Kerry and Edwards at the convention in Boston, were asked to rank what they thought should be the next president's top three priorities, regardless of who wins the November election.\nAbout 70 percent ranked the economy and jobs among their top three issues. It was followed by health care, mentioned by some 52 percent of delegates. Roughly 44 percent said the war in Iraq.\n"I don't think you do anything until you fix the mess in Iraq," said delegate Rene Greff of Ypsilanti, Mich.\nEducation (37 percent) and fighting terrorism (17 percent) were next on the list.\nThe economy was also the issue most often ranked as the No. 1 priority, selected by about 35 percent of the delegates. Nineteen percent said Iraq, while health care and education were mentioned as the top priority by about 9 percent.\nDelegates to the 2000 Democratic convention chose health care (30 percent) as their No. 1 priority by a narrow margin over education (29 percent). The economy/employment was next at 16 percent.\nOn abortion, three-quarters of this year's Democratic delegates said they were in favor of abortion rights. The question was not asked in 2000.