Although Kerry has taken similar positions in recent months, many attendees, ranging from first-time voters to veterans with canes, considered the speech Kerry's most forceful to date.

"I thought he was right on," said Dennis Mansker, 59, a member of Thurston County Veterans for Kerry. Mansker said he handed Kerry his book about Vietnam, "A Bad Attitude," and "he was real gracious."

Kerry said he would not rule out the use of pre-emptive military action, a central tenet of the Bush policy, if facing an immediate threat. "If such an attack appears imminent, as commander in chief, I will do whatever is necessary to stop it," he said.

But Bush supporters criticized the presidential candidate for saying "nothing new" and politicizing the war on Iraq to gain the White House.

Jennifer Millerwise, a spokeswoman for the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign, said Kerry's assessment of a unilateral America "going it alone" was wrong, since it comes at a time when "there are 17,000 NATO troops from 30 countries standing shoulder-to-shoulder to end the war -- with the transition to Iraqi sovereignty a month away."

Kerry drew huge applause when he told the McCaw Hall audience that if he becomes commander in chief, "You'll never be sent into harm's way without enough troops for the task, and you'll never be asked to fight a war without a plan to win the peace."

Kerry, who left Seattle yesterday, extends his national security tour through Memorial Day and will end on the 60th anniversary of D-Day on June 6. He will make two more major speeches, in West Palm Beach, Fla., on June 1, and in Independence, Mo., on June 3, but will also take his case to the battleground states of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ohio.

Yesterday's speech drew swift rebuttal from Republicans.

"John Kerry's plan to replace the Patriot Act shows a flawed understanding of the terrorist threat facing our nation," Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash., state chairwoman of the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign, said in a statement yesterday. "John Kerry praised the Patriot Act when he voted for it but changed his mind when he hit the campaign trail in the Democratic primaries."

And despite Kerry's attempts to distance himself from criticism that his candidacy is long on Bush-bashing but short on a substantive platform, Bush supporters said the speech offered further proof of political expediency and "vacillation."

Millerwise said Kerry "voted to authorize force in Iraq, then called himself an anti-war candidate." He also helped block the president's energy bill, which aimed to make the country less reliant on foreign oil, Millerwise said.

Some at McCaw Hall yesterday said they thought Kerry's message resonated more than his previous speeches.

"I still think he's the more effective leader, particularly on environmental issues, which are important to me," said 33-year-old Mike O'Shea of Redmond. "I saw him speak earlier this year at the Sheraton, and I wasn't that impressed, but I thought he was stronger today. ... I'm not in love with John Kerry, but I think he'd be a better leader."

Jerry Alexander, 72, of Seattle said he is a Korean War veteran who is all for Kerry. Alexander said Kerry reflected his own concerns that the United States invaded Iraq while "dissing" key nations such as Germany, France and Russia.

"I also think Iraq is simply an inappropriate place to focus attention," Alexander said. "We had an enemy, Osama bin Laden, in Afghanistan and Pakistan -- and that's where we should have focused our attention."

For some, the speech was a revelation.

Two high school buddies from Olympia who joined the Thurston County veterans group to hear Kerry summed up the range of opinion.

Isaac Silverman "skipped math class" and got Kerry's autograph on a math assignment. He hopes to become a state delegate for Kerry.

His friend Paul Griswold is leaning more toward Bush, but he came to the event out of curiosity and remains undecided. Both said the speech was important background for them; they will be voting for the first time in November.

"A lot of people have said all John Kerry does is bash Bush, but I don't think he did that today," Silverman said. "He had to talk tough about defense -- he has to define himself that way -- as a centrist Democrat."

Griswold said many of his peers are fearful of the world, and apathetic about the political process. Both youths said a lot of their friends either aren't informed enough to vote, or don't care to.

"Listening to him made my day. It made me feel great, it was inspiring," Griswold said. "I'm still not sure who I'm going to vote for, but it was important to be here."

Add P-I Local headlines to
My web site My Yahoo! Google More options