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Kerry’s message was decidedly different, too, urging a group of Barack Obama supporters to vote absentee before Election Day during a 20-minute speech on the state Capitol steps.
“I’m excited to be back here, not withstanding the fact that the Boss isn’t here,” the Massachusetts Democrat said at Tuesday’s event, one of four he held across the state to promote absentee voting.
On the other side of the Capitol five days before the 2004 election, Kerry appeared with Springsteen for what observers called one of the state’s greatest political rallies.
As many as 80,000 people crowded streets and front porches to rock out and hear the man they hoped would defeat President Bush.
The event helped Kerry beat Bush in Wisconsin by 11,000 votes but he narrowly lost the election nationwide. Kerry thanked Madison voters for having the “common sense” to back his candidacy and embrace the issues he fought for.
This time instead of Springsteen, a local band warmed up the crowd before Kerry was introduced to about 250 people by an 18-year-old high school student.
Kerry said it’s the time for the man he tapped to deliver the keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic convention to carry on the torch as the next president.
“Time marches on, somebody’s got to get the next one, and I’m proud it’s Barack Obama,” Kerry said.
Speaking before Kerry, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz urged the crowd to think back on “how much hope there was in the air” during Kerry’s 2004 campaign rally in the city.
“Think about how different our country would be if John Kerry had won that election,” he said, saying Kerry would have prevented the financial crisis and ended the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He added, “Now think how you felt that Wednesday after the election ... We need to make sure this time we get it right.”
Earlier in the day, Kerry addressed about 200 supporters in Milwaukee near where he held a rally with Jon Bon Jovi before the 2004 election. At both stops, he urged supporters to march to clerk’s offices to vote after the event.
“We’ve learned historically that the more we got people voting early, the more they were invested, the more it spills over to their neighbors and friends,” Kerry told reporters after the Milwaukee rally. “Last time there were long lines, which can deter first-time voters, or they have jobs and can’t stay. We want to guarantee maximum turnout.”
Kerry dismissed a poll released Tuesday that showed Obama opening a commanding 17-point lead over Sen. John McCain in Wisconsin.
“I don’t believe in any polls at all. In fact, polls terrify me, whether they show you’re up or down,” he said. “They’re snapshot indicators that reflect who’s asking the questions and how they’re asking them. The only poll that counts is on Election Day.”
