P'town turns out for Delhunt's FireSide Chat! Iraq, Iraq, Iraq!

By KAREN JEFFREY
STAFF WRITER
PROVINCETOWN - Like a master musician, U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., struck all the right notes with fellow Democrats as they crowded onto the second floor of Napi's Restaurant last night.

But as guest speaker at an event sponsored by the Lower Cape Democratic town committees, Delahunt did not hesitate to sing out in favor of bipartisan cooperation, a leitmotif from the fall campaign.

''I am extremely hopeful,'' he said, of increasing congressional support to end the war in Iraq. ''Is it going to be an easy journey? No. But we're in this together.''

Whether the topic was the war in Iraq, the need to normalize relations with Cuba, or Delahunt's optimism that ''John Edwards' two Americas can be united as one America,'' an appreciative audience frequently punctuated his comments with applause.

An estimated crowd of 100 people attended last night's ''Fireside Chat,'' an ongoing series of meetings with public officials.

The purpose of the chats is to encourage a vigorous give-and-take between party members and elected officials, said Robert Vetrick, head of the Provincetown Democratic Committee. The impetus for the ''chats'' came from the Democrats' success in the November elections, Vetrick said. ''We wanted to keep that energy going.''

Delahunt was nothing if not energetic. From the start, he promised that his remarks would be ''very succinct,'' which prompted an anonymous ''yeah sure'' from the audience, leading Delahunt to throw back his head and laugh along with the crowd. But his initial comments were, in the vernacular of music, capriccio - quick and spirited.

It was during the question-and-answer period that he spoke in more measured tones, saying it is time for the U.S. to return to its true values and regain a voice of ''moral authority.'' Current foreign policy - including the war in Iraq - has tarnished America's image worldwide, he said. In places like Canada, Ireland and Great Britain - nations that traditionally liked the United States - we are now negatively perceived, he said.

''Foreign policy in many respects has become domestic policy,'' Delahunt said, noting that these worldwide negative perceptions are costing places like the Cape millions in overseas tourist dollars.

Among those who attended last night was a band of peace activists who handed Delahunt a petition signed by 180 people, calling on him to support legislation (HR 508) to end the war.

Delahunt is a co-sponsor of House resolution 746, filed by U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., calling for withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

John Bangert of Harwich, a longtime activist, noted earlier that the majority of Americans want to see an end to the war, ''We're finally part of the moral majority,'' he said, nodding his head toward fellow activists.