Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry’s Sunday afternoon appearance in Des Moines was in some ways a hatchet-burying event. Jeannie Murray was the Iowa campaign manager for former Kerry rival Howard Dean, but she was at the rally yesterday to show she’s behind Kerry now. “He’s our nominee and he’s a great candidate,” Murray says of Kerry. “This is about beating George Bush, so I’m sure there are people out there who still are licking their wounds a little bit and that’s fine if they need to do that but it’s time to move on and he’s our nominee.” Dave Hennessey of Johnston went to the rally to be make a statement. “I want to see Bush out of there, and that’s just exactly why I’m here,” Hennessey said. Wanda Vanhorn of Earlham supported John Edwards in the Caucuses, but is backing Kerry now and went to yesterday’s rally to hear one thing from Kerry: “That Edwards is going to be his runningmate.” During the rally, Senator Tom Harkin put in a plug for Tom Vilsack to get the vice presidential nod.
