Democratic White House candidate John Kerry predicted on Monday Republicans would try to "tear down" his character and said some foreign leaders had told him they hoped he would beat President George W. Bush.
The four-term Massachusetts senator and decorated Vietnam War veteran told supporters at a fund-raiser in Fort Lauderdale that he expected a tough eight-month campaign in which Republicans would make an effort to malign he and his wife, outspoken heiress and philanthropist Teresa Heinz Kerry.
"I am convinced that we have the ability to win this race," he said. "It's going to be hard fought, they're going to do everything possible to tear down my character personally (and) Teresa. That's the way they operate."
Kerry cited how Republicans turned on one of their own in 2000, when Arizona Senator John McCain, another decorated Vietnam War veteran who survived six years as a prisoner of war, ran against Bush for the party's nomination.
"They even tried to challenge John McCain's tenure as a prisoner for six years ... they tried to besmirch his character, so I expect everything," he said.
Kerry rejected what he has called the old style politics of divisiveness and said he would not let the finger-pointing distract from the issues of jobs, health care, the economy and national security.