Kerry Campaign Party Turns to Tears and Bitterness

As President George Bush edged closer to the 270 electoral votes necessary to secure re-election, supporters of Democratic nominee John Kerry openly wept and consoled each other at the Election Night celebration in Boston's Copley Square.

Some Kerry supporters called Bush's platform "all lies" and heckled a group of College Republicans who were passing through the crowd.

A distraught woman confronted Democratic U.S. Rep. Harold Ford in the lobby of the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel and screamed, "Can you tell me why everybody made a mistake?" Ford responded, "Let me talk to the candidate before I make a comment. It's been a long day."

Another woman standing near Ford began to openly weep at the prospect of a Kerry loss.

Former California Democratic governor Gray Davis spoke briefly with Ford and then essentially conceded the election to Bush and looked ahead to 2008.

"We owe it to the people that we represent to reassess and try and fix what went wrong and come back with a winning coalition and strategy four years from now and try to figure out a way to win the country back," Davis said.

When CNSNews.com asked why he had confidently predicted a Kerry victory just a few hours earlier, Davis responded, "I, like many people saw the exit polls, which saw Kerry ahead in every battleground state."

"We believed they were a precursor of a great evening," a somber Davis explained.

While Davis said he was "very proud of the campaign Kerry ran," he did criticize the party's efforts in southern states.

"Part of [winning the White House] is certainly not writing off the South. It's too big a part of America just to concede to the other party and expect to win," Davis said.

Davis praised Bush's re-election campaign.

"The president has worked hard for his re-election since the moment he got to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," Davis said. "He is surrounded by very smart people, they are very good practitioners of the art of politics," he added.

'It's all lies'

Meanwhile, outside Kerry's Copley Square rally, a contingent of College Republicans from Northeastern University marched through the sea of Kerry supporters and got heckled.

"You vote for Bush, you get what you deserve," shouted Kerry supporter Bob Bryant to the GOP contingent.

"Bush has put forward a platform that people tend to believe even though it's all lies. Bush is dishonest; he is not being honest with the American people," Bryant said.

Another man shouted to the Republicans "This is why the rest of the world calls us ignorant Americans. You obviously don't read the newspapers or you would not believe as you do."

A woman, unhappy the Republicans were there, screamed, "someone shut up those idiots.'

Brian Henchey, one of the College Republicans marching through the crowd told CNSNews.com that he had "never seen more sad and depressed faces in my life than what I have seen here in Copley Square tonight."

"I think our president is a strong man, he is a strong leader. He is what this country needs," said Megan, one of the GOP marchers.

Kerry supporters from Ireland weighed in on why they believe Bush will likely be re-elected.

"It clarifies the fact that American people aren't so smart. If I could, I would have voted for Kerry," said the woman.

Click on the link to see the source. Kerry Campaign Party Turns to Tears and Bitterness -- 11/03/2004