Iowa delegate happy with Kerry’s decision on nomination

An Iowan who’ll be a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in July says he’s glad that John Kerry has decided to accept the nomination at the event. Kerry had considered delaying his acceptance of the nomination so he could raise and spend campaign money with fewer restrictions. Bob Osterhaus, a legislator from Maquoketa, says he’s glad to see Kerry preserve the tradition. He says the nominating process and the role of the convention would be “considerably lessened” if Kerry decided to delay accepting the nomination for a month. Osterhaus says it’s very important to preserve the integrity of the process as much as possible. Osterhaus says he understands why Kerry considered the move. The republican convention is five weeks later than the democrat convention — giving President Bush more time to raise and spend private campaign money.Osterhaus says the money in politics has become very important and Osterhaus says he understands why Kerry and his advisors would think carefully about the dates of the conventions and the possible handicap of the campaign restrictions for the month. At least one other Iowa democrat who asked not to be named says Kerry should have waited to accept the nomination and used the convention to announce his choice for a runningmate.