Former GOP Rep. Leach hails Obama in speech

DENVER — Speaking from the Democratic convention podium on Monday night, a former Republican member of Congress urged Americans to vote against the GOP nominee for president.
 
Comparing Sen. Barack Obama to John F. Kennedy, former Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa) said the Illinois Democrat was the right choice to lead America out of this “perilous time.”

{mosads}Leach’s biggest applause line was an echo of a common refrain used by Obama and the Democratic National Committee in campaign ads linking McCain to President Bush.

“This is not the time for run-of-the mill politics … Nothing is riskier right now than more of the same,” said Leach to cheers that rang throughout the convention hall.

The Democratic crowd generally greeted Leach with mild applause.

Leach said Obama’s platform of change was more than just moving beyond the gridlock politics of Washington.
 
“It is a clarion call for renewal, rooted in the time-tested traditions of both Republicans and Democrats,” said Leach.
 
Leach is part of a select group of Republicans and conservatives, including former Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) and Susan Eisenhower, daughter of past Republican President Dwight Eisenhower, who have endorsed Obama rather than McCain for president. Leach lost his House reelection bid in 2006 amid a wave of GOP defeats that swept the Democrats to power in both the House and the Senate.
 
Leach is one of only two Republicans who are scheduled to give speeches from the Democratic convention podium. The other is retired Rear Adm. John Hutson, who was scheduled to speak earlier on Monday.
 
Leach did not deliver much red meat to the crowd, as some party defectors have done, such as former Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.) in a 2004 address to the GOP convention. Leach’s speech was rooted in bipartisanship, as he complimented leaders of both parties.
 
The Iowa Republican praised former Vice President Al Gore for his campaign against global warming. He also spoke highly of former President George H.W. Bush for assembling the international coalition that took military action against Iraq in the first Gulf War.
 
Rather than explicitly criticize McCain, Leach turned his fire on the Republican Party as a whole, saying the GOP had turned its back on its own conservative principles by initiating the Iraq war and ignoring environmental problems, among other issues.
 
“America has seldom faced more critical choices,” said Leach. He added that the country was in need of a leader who could reach across party lines to solve the nation’s problems.

Leach was introduced by his fellow Iowan, Sen. Tom Harkin (D). Harkin said Leach reflected “the great Iowan spirit” of rising above party lines for the national interest.
 
“Jim is here today because he knows red and blue is not as important as red, white and blue,” said Harkin.