Challenging President Bush by declaring that "strength is more than tough words," Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry plunged into the general election campaign aimed at convincing millions of undecided voters that his time in Vietnam makes him the right commander in a time of war.
For his part, the president, trailing slightly in polls, told battleground state voters that when it comes to choosing a president, "results matter."
Leaving the warm embrace of his most fervent supporters — the thousands who flocked to the Democratic Party's nominating convention — Kerry is in stronger shape than any presidential challenger in a quarter-century.
