Easterner Kerry Goes Cajun in Bid for Southern Support | LA Times

Easterner Kerry Goes Cajun in Bid for Southern Support
The candidate, calling himself politically mainstream, says Bush is ducking his record.

By Matea Gold, Times Staff Writer

NEW ORLEANS — No longer dogged by major Democratic rivals, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry pivoted toward the general election Friday as he called on voters across the ideological spectrum to unite in an effort to defeat President Bush.

During a swing through Louisiana, which holds its Democratic primary Tuesday, Kerry vowed to challenge Bush on both domestic and international fronts and portrayed himself as a mainstream candidate, dismissing Republican efforts to pigeonhole him as a liberal.

Standing under swift-moving gray clouds at an afternoon rally, his hair tossed by gusts of humid wind, the lanky candidate pointed out a group of people waving "Deanies for Kerry" signs in the crowd.

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