When Presidential candidate John Kerry took the stage last Wednesday at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, his first sentiment was disappointment at the crowd’s reception.

“There’s no energy at all out here in highland hills,” he said.

Neither the President of the United Steel Workers of America or the head of the American Nurses Association who introduced the senator, had been able to excite the crowded gymnasium . Even U2’s “A Beautiful Day” playing in the background couldn’t do the trick.

Just the mention of George W. Bush’s name, however was able to get the crowd to their feet booing and shouting anti-administration slogans. At times it seemed that the rally was more anti-Bush than pro-Kerry.

“I came here to mark the beginning of the end of the Bush presidency,” Kerry said. “The one person in the United States who deserves to be laid off is George Bush.”

Kerry’s platform involves more than just his distaste for Bush. One of his most prominent issues is health care.

“We’re going to stop being the only nation, and wealthiest, to believe health care is a privilege,” he said. “I will hold health care up as a gold standard of America, because every person’s health in America is as important as any senator’s.”

Kerry also sought to put forth his economic plan as a stark alternative to the supply-side orthodoxy of the Bush administration.

“I have pledged to cut [the United States] deficit in half in my first four years as president,” Kerry said.

He also pledged to close tax loopholes and end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.

He took on Bush’s No Child Left Behind policy by announcing his plan to let everyone partake in higher education, giving benefits to those who go to college and helping with weighty student loans. If a person gives two years of community service, Kerry will give them four years of an in-state college education.

Kerry pledged to continue the fight against global terrorism, but questioned the methods employed by the current administration.

“There is a war on terror and it is a legitimate threat. This is a war that will require the United States to build cooperation around the world,” he said. “I believe that Bush has run the most inept and reckless foreign policy in the modern history of this country.”

With a united “Bring it on” chant from the crowd, Kerry left the stage accompanied by the song, “Cleveland Rocks.” Kerry is hoping that Cleveland returns the positive sentiments in the primary on Tuesday.