DNC

01 of 09

JULY 28

JULY 28
Luke Frazza/AFP/Getty/Newscom

John Kerry gets swept into the arms of supporters at the Charlestown Navy Yard after crossing Boston Harbor with 13 of his swift boat crewmates from the Vietnam War on the day before the convention's close.

02 of 09

JULY 28

JULY 28
Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty/Newscom

After hearing the crowd cheer his mantra "Hope is on the way," John Edwards takes daughter Emma, 6, along for the ride as daughter Cate, 22, looks on. Wife Elizabeth had introduced her husband, calling him the "smartest, toughest, sweetest man I know."

03 of 09

JULY 25

JULY 25
Chitose Suzuki/AP

Natalie Portman wears her politics proudly in a retro-style John Kerry T-shirt at Boston's Avalon nightclub. Portman was there for the Rock the Vote kickoff party, where she told revelers, including Ben Affleck, Amber Tamblyn and Lauryn Hill, "Let's start a revolution!"

04 of 09

JULY 27

JULY 27
Lisa Krantz/San Antonio Express/ZUMA

Overlooking a field of supportive signs, Teresa Heinz Kerry – who earlier in the week told a reporter to "shove it" – takes in the crowd at the convention, where she spoke to delegates in Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese. She talked about her right to be "opinionated": "By now, I hope it will come as no surprise to anyone that I have something to say."

05 of 09

JULY 27

JULY 27
Charles Krupa/AP

Man-about-Boston Ben Affleck pays tribute to fellow Massachusetts native Sen. Ted Kennedy at Boston's Symphony Hall, where Kennedy conducted the Boston Pops in "The Stars and Stripes Forever." An hour earlier, Kennedy had told delegates: "Our struggle is with the politics of fear and favoritism in our own time, in our own country."

06 of 09

JULY 26

JULY 26
G.Fabiano/Sipa

Delegates unite in a solemn candle-lit commemoration for the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, while in the hushed FleetCenter auditorium, 16-year-old violinist Gabe Lefkowitz played his rendition of "Amazing Grace."

07 of 09

JULY 26

JULY 26
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters/landov

OutKast frontman Andre 3000 – who said he has never voted but plans to this November – makes a fan out of a Mississippi delegate. Earlier he told a group of young African-American voters: "(If) you talk about what's

going on in your community, on the mic, every day in the studio, and you

don't vote – that don't make sense."

08 of 09

JULY 27 & 28

JULY 27 & 28
Marc Serota/Reuters/Landov

U2's Bono rocks the house Tuesday in a tribute to Sen. Ted Kennedy at Boston's Symphony Hall, while a day later John Mellencamp brings a "Small Town" vibe to the FleetCenter. The convention offered something for everyone: musicians included soul singer Patti LaBelle, RampB's Brian McKnight, hip-hop's Lauryn Hill and more.

09 of 09

JULY 25

JULY 25
Marc Serota/Reuters/Landov

Vanessa (left) and Alexandra Kerry work the room of young Democrats at the Rock the Vote party. It was a warm-up for their speeches Thursday, where they each introduced their father before he officially accepted the Democratic presidential nomination.

Related Articles