CENTRAL POINT — John Kerry was interested in reaching more than the roaring crowd that greeted him Thursday at the Jackson County Expo.

"I know there are a lot of conservative folks down here in this part of the state — I want you to listen to me," Kerry said.

With that, Kerry, who is on the last leg of a two-week campaign across the nation, ran down a list of why he felt the Bush administration was not conservative.

"There is nothing conservative about driving deficits up as far as the eye can see," Kerry said. "There is nothing conservative about an attorney general who has been cited at least twice by his own inspector general for trampling on the Constitution and our civil rights."

Historically, Republicans have outnumbered Democrats in the region. Although Vice President Al Gore edged President George Bush in the 2000 election in Oregon, Bush easily carried Jackson County.

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However, Oregon is considered one of a dozen contested states across the country in this election.

Kerry spoke near where Vice President Dick Cheney appeared two weeks earlier. Cheney drew a crowd estimated at 3,000.

As it did during Cheney’s visit, the temperature hovered around the triple digits. Throughout the campaign rally, volunteers sprayed water into the air, bringing temporary relief from the heat.

Before Kerry arrived, Florence resident Jim Rassmann, the U.S. Army Special Forces officer Kerry rescued while commanding a swift boat in the Mekong River delta in Vietnam, vouched for the candidate’s courage under fire.

He also supported Kerry’s decision to speak out against the war when the former Navy officer returned home in 1971 after being wounded three times.

"Do not ever let anybody tell you that you can’t speak out if you disagree with your government," he said.

Several local politicians also warmed up the pro-Kerry crowd in the hot August afternoon.

State Rep. Alan Bates, D-Medford, who is running for a state Senate seat, told the crowd that Oregon could prove pivotal in November.

"We have the opportunity to settle this thing in Oregon," he said, prompting a roar from the crowd.

Teresa Heinz Kerry, the candidate’s wife, noted that the last major Democratic presidential candidate to visit the Rogue Valley was JFK.

"I hope and pray that portends good news," she said, referring to the fact her husband’s initials are also JFK.

John F. Kennedy did visit the Medford area during the 1960 presidential primary, but unlike Kerry, he was not yet the Democratic Party nominee. Democrat George McGovern campaigned in the area in 1972.

When Kerry spoke, he also mentioned the other JFK.

"Kennedy came to Southern Oregon and said we must do better, we must move forward," Kerry said, adding that he would do just that.

"We can do better in America and help is on the way," he added, a phrase he used several times during the half-hour speech, drawing another thunderous applause each time.

Kerry took issue with President Bush’s tax cuts, arguing that they failed to create jobs and economic growth promised by the administration.

"Over the last four years, we were promised that tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals would create millions of new jobs," Kerry said. "Instead, we’ve lost jobs."

An estimated 1.1 million jobs have been lost since Bush took office, according to government reports.

"If you believe what (the Bush campaign) has been telling us, you’d think we’ve turned the corner," Kerry said.

"Too many of the Americans I’ve met over the last few weeks not only don’t think we’ve turned the corner, they feel like they’ve been backed into a corner by the policies of the last four years," he added.

Kerry promised to protect Social Security and Medicare programs while working to ensure lower prescription drug costs for senior citizens.

Kerry ends his coast-to-coast campaign today in Portland. He plans to do some windsurfing in the Columbia River Gorge on Saturday.

Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at pfattig@mailtribune.com