Kerry Touts Technology As Key To Job Growth

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is proposing a broad economic recovery program that ties job creation to technological innovation, investment, and training as he campaigns in a Silicon Valley still reeling from the technology bust.

"Today, an agenda for high-tech is an agenda for our economic future," the Massachusetts senator said in a speech to be delivered Monday at Stanford University. "And the promise of the Information Age was more than a bubble--it was a breakthrough from which we will never turn back."

Kerry's praise for Silicon Valley's fabled garage-based startup companies and the soaring possibilities of the Internet carried an ironic note: Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean catapulted to the top of the field through his campaign's innovative use of the Internet in fund-raising and organization.

With Dean dominating polls in New Hampshire, Kerry's aides released a memo over the weekend that said the senator now is "competing for the top three spots in Iowa and top two in New Hampshire." The memo noted that any candidate who gets 15 percent of the vote will win delegates to the party's national convention. It also cited statistics from 2000 that showed 82 percent of New Hampshire Democrats didn't decide for whom to vote until after Jan. 1.

In Iowa on Monday, the Kerry campaign described plans for a live broadcast with uncommitted voters to broaden his appeal in the state and a separate push to attract veterans and women. Staffers said they are increasing the size of their Iowa organization, in part by bringing in workers from other states.

In his remarks at Stanford, Kerry charged President Bush with having an "anti-science attitude" that had hindered research into stem cells and global warming. He also blamed Bush for the loss of 3 million jobs nationwide, including thousands of high-tech jobs in New Hampshire.

Kerry outlined five major goals of his job-creation plan:

_ Encouraging technological innovation by investing in small technology companies, offering tax credits for research and development, and expanding broadband Internet capability;

_ Improving high-tech infrastructure and making Internet access universally available;

_ Strengthening markets by enforcing trade law, preventing intellectual piracy, boosting corporate accountability, and balancing the federal budget;

_ Preparing students for the workforce by improving math and science education and making college more affordable;

_ Using technology to improve health and safety through biotechnology, stem-cell research, and national security.