Heavy hitters - former President Jimmy Carter and two men who ran for the office - rallied Democrats Tuesday night, extolling the traditional ideals of the party.
Many delegates to the national convention left to watch the baseball All-Star game after Carter and Jesse Jackson spoke, but those who stayed to hear Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin were not disappointed."There are some who justify the harsh lives of the poor with claims that they are lazy, lack ambition or care little about family values," Carter said. "These statements are false, either based on ignorance, or racism, or are deliberate attempts to divide Americans from one another for political gain."
The most recent Democratic president said it is not the system that is at fault. "With new leadership in Washington, confidence in our government can be resolved," Carter said, endorsing Bill Clinton.
"Democrats have made a wise choice this year that can bring the needed change in our country,' he said. Clinton "is the only candidate who can unite our government, heal our nation's wounds, face facts with courage and marshal the American people to face a difficult future with hope and confidence."
Jackson was less of a force Tuesday night than he was four years ago as a presidential candidate for the second time, but his speech nonetheless stirred the soul of the convention.
"Vanity asks, `Is it popular?' Politics asks, `Will it win?' Morality and conscience ask, `Is it right?' " Jackson told the crowd, which broke into chants of "Jesse" several times.
Jackson said there is "a lot of talk about family values, even as we spurn the homeless on the street. Remember," he said, "Jesus was born to a homeless couple . . . he was the child of a single mother."
"If Mary had aborted the baby, she would have been called immoral. If she had the baby, she would have been called unfit, without family values. But Mary had family values. It was Herod - the Quayle of his day - who put no value on the family,"Jackson said.
Harkin, who won the hearts of the party's liberal and labor wings before dropping out of this year's presidential race, addressed the delegates briefly in sign language.
"I just wanted to say in a special way that with the Americans with Disabilities act, we've broken down the barriers and opened the doors to all people with disabilities."
He roused the crowd to chants of "George Herbert Hoover Bush."
"In 1992, just like 1932, guess who is going to lose the White House to a sitting Democratic governor? George Herbert Hoover Bush," Harkin said, promising he's "not out of the fight to put a Democrat in the White House."
In an unusual twist, six Republican women got time on a podium. They came to say Clinton would get their votes because of Bush's opposition to legalized abortion.