Jesse Jackson Joins Kerry Campaign
/Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson joined the campaign
of Sen. John Kerry on Wednesday as a poll showed support for the
presidential candidate slipping among black Americans, a critical
Democratic constituency. The Pew Research Center said Tuesday its
latest poll showed 73 percent of blacks supporting Kerry compared to 12
percent supporting President Bush. In 2000, Al Gore won 90 percent of
the black vote. Democratic groups have aired campaign ads criticizing
Republican efforts to woo black voters. The Kerry campaign said
Jackson, who will serve as a senior adviser, will travel to
battleground states to energize Democratic support for Kerry and
running mate John Edwards. Jackson said : "We will not stand idly
by while African American and minority voters are intimidated, turned
away from the polls or effectively disenfranchised in any way" (press
release, 9/29). [more 
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