FROM THE PRESIDENT; KERRY'S MENDACIOUS MAKEOVER.(John F. Kerry)

On the second day of the Democratic Party's national convention, many newspapers showed a picture of John Kerry, in a powder-blue NASA "bunny suit," crawling out of a space shuttle. The outfit, covering everything but a portion of his face, is a perfect metaphor for the way he presented himself two days later as the party's presidential nominee: a smiling face of "middle-class values" for the voters--and all his radical values under cover. Let's look at two segments of his acceptance speech.

* We have it in our power to change the world again. But only if we're true to our ideals--and that starts by telling the truth to the American people. That is my first pledge to you tonight. As President, I will restore trust and credibility to the White House. I ask you to judge me by my record [emphases added].

In the rest of his speech, Mr. Kerry promptly concealed the truth about the record by which he asks to be judged. Not only did Mr. Kerry pass over the highly controversial stands he took before he became a senator, he also covered up his subsequent 19-year record in the U.S. Senate and the numerous public statements he has made on social policy issues.

The primary issue that dared not speak its name was, of course, abortion. It is the issue that separates the Democratic Party on a national level from the rest of the country. A "bunny suit" covered the real position of Mr. Kerry and his party.

The Wall Street Journal's Melanie Kirkpatrick (opinionjournal.com, 8/1/2004) observed, "Winning elections is, of course, what this week is all about, and the key question for the Democratic Party is whether its hard-core pro-choice stance is the way to keep on winning. The party is so dogmatic that it even opposes parental notification and a ban on partial-birth abortion, two issues that are favored by a majority of Americans."

Although they kept quiet about it, the delegates at the Democratic convention for the most part agreed with Mr. Kerry's radical pro-abortion stance. A CBS News/New York Times poll (6/16 to 7/17/2004) compared Democratic convention delegates with Democratic voters. About two-thirds (64%) of the delegates wanted abortion to be "permitted in all cases," while only about a third (37%) of Democratic voters have that stance. But for the sake of public appearance, the delegates joined Mr. Kerry in the concealing "bunny suit."

In his speech Mr. Kerry didn't remind the TV viewers that, among other things, he has