PORTLAND — Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry made the first Oregon visit of his presidential campaign Monday, speaking to a crowd of thousands about making college more affordable, providing accessible health care and creating and retaining jobs in America.
After a morning appearance in Topeka, Kan., to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, Kerry rushed to Portland to slam the Bush administration for cutting back student aid, exporting American jobs and for lying to the American people about the reasons for the war in Iraq.
Speaking to a packed crowd at Pioneer Courthouse Square downtown, Kerry stressed the importance of providing student aid for the nation’s college students and criticized the Bush administration for scaling back financial aid.
“They don’t have a plan to guarantee that students can afford to go to college as they cut student aid,” Kerry said. “We’re going to make it more affordable for young people to go to college.”
Kerry talked about giving parents of college students a $4,000 tuition tax credit and said those who devote two years of service to the country under his “Service for College” plan will get four years of tuition paid by the government.
Kerry also spoke about the importance of high-quality health care. Last year, Kerry was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he said, adding that the only reason he was present Monday was because of the high-quality health care senators have given themselves. Kerry vowed to prove that all people deserve health care like the care he receives as a senator.
“I intend to hold that up as the gold standard of health care in America,” Kerry said.
Kerry also slammed Bush’s environmental record and pledged to “prove that caring for the environment is not in competition with jobs … It is jobs.”
Vietnam War veteran Jim Rassmann, a friend of Kerry’s who served with him during the Vietnam War, was also present to voice his support. Rassmann largely silenced the crowd when he told a story about how Kerry, who served on a swift-boat unit, pulled him out of a river by hauling him over the bow while being attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire.

Rassmann, who used to be a member of the Republican Party but recently switched to the Democratic Party to join Kerry’s campaign, said he wants somebody with Kerry’s leadership and character to lead the country.
Kerry took the opportunity to crack a joke.
“God didn’t just give me the privilege of pulling a life out of the water,” Kerry said. “I pulled a vote out of the water, too.”
But Kerry was more serious when it came to criticizing the Bush administration for the war in Iraq, blasting the president for lying to the American public about the reasons for war and for proceeding unilaterally.
“Working with other countries instead of going unilaterally is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of strength,” Kerry said. “We don’t go to war because we want to, we go to war because we have to.”
Actor Sean Astin, who played Samwise “Sam” Gamgee in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and Portland resident and Everclear singer Art Alexakis opened the rally for Kerry. Alexakis played several songs and praised Kerry for braving the Portland rain in the middle of May.
In the buildings surrounding the plaza, people crowded at windows and peered down on Kerry with binoculars. During the rally, a woman holding a “Bush Sucks” sign yelled from the 13th story of an adjacent building that Bush sucks.
She caught Kerry’s attention.
“That, ladies and gentleman, is a very special Oregon window dressing,” Kerry said, drawing laughter from audience members.
University College Democrats members Gabriel Zitrin and Chris Halverson attended the rally to show support for Kerry.
Zitrin, a junior majoring in international studies, said it was important to him to see the candidate and hear his message in person. Zitrin said he didn’t get a chance to speak with Kerry, but he shook his hand and thanked him.
“On every issue that I’m aware of, Kerry has a real solution, and Bush is a real problem,” Zitrin said. “Regardless of what issue you care the most about, John Kerry has a way to make it better.”
Not everybody present Monday was supportive of Kerry. After a rally, people crowded along the streets near the plaza to see Kerry leave. A sizable crowd of Bush supporters held signs and exchanged insults with Kerry supporters across the street.
Portland State University student Shahriyar Smith, who held a sign that read “9 out of 10 terrorists agree John Kerry for president,” said people need to realize that Kerry is a weak leader who is not suitable to protect the welfare of the country.
Though Smith said a couple of people “got physical with him” and screamed in his face, he wasn’t there to rile people, but to educate and talk some sense into them.