Returning to the host city of the Democratic convention with his party's nomination under his belt, Senator John F. Kerry last night presided over the largest political fund-raiser in Massachusetts history and offered some red meat from his trail speech for a hometown audience.
"We're not just here tonight to raise money," Kerry told a crowd of 3,300 gathered in a ballroom at the Sheraton Boston Hotel, a group that collectively raised $4 million for Kerry's campaign and $1 million for the Democratic National Committee. "We're here to mark the beginning of the end of the Bush administration."
Joined on stage by his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Kerry reveled in the cheers of an audience that included Democratic activists, members of the Massachusetts congressional and legislative delegations, as well as Cambridge native and actor Ben Affleck; Seth Meyers, the comedian who plays Kerry on TV's "Saturday Night Live;" and Sam Poulton of Chelmsford, an Army reservist and longtime Democrat who just returned from 13 months in Iraq.
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Affleck, a crowd favorite, said afterward in an interview: "I think he's a phenomenal candidate, and I look forward to continuing to support him. I supported him as a senator and I think he'll make a great president."
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/kerry/articles/2004/04/14/kerry_visit_to_boston_nets_4m/