CLEVELAND, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson joined Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry at a church on Cleveland's east side and as an adviser.
The Chicago-based civil rights leader, who traveled to Cleveland with Dr. Martin Luther King 38 years ago, told the predominately African-American congregation Kerry was in the mold of President John F. Kennedy in 1960.
Kerry said he felt humbled "as a white American with a privileged background" to speak to a black audience about King's legacy, the Cleveland Plain Dealer said.
Kerry said the Bush administration was "willing to watch as children are cut off from school programs, watch as children are cut off from healthcare."
Polls give President George Bush a slight lead in battleground Ohio.
The Massachusetts senator vowed to make sure black voters are not disenfranchised on Nov. 2.
Jackson, who has himself run for president, said last weekend he was taking a 30-day leave of absence from the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition to serve as a senior adviser to the Kerry campaign.
