Clyburn takes convention stage

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They couldn't.

Clyburn's father, a fundamentalist preacher, rubbed the cord in the palms of his hands until friction unraveled it. He handed three thin strands to the boys, who easily broke them.

The lesson, the South Carolina lawmaker told the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, is one about unity. Division weakens bonds and separates the whole.

"I often tell that story, but it seems to have more meaning, and in much broader terms, today than ever before," Clyburn said, his forceful voice evoking his father's sermons at the Sumter Church of God.

"There are many threads woven together that create the fabric of America," Clyburn, 64, continued. "This beautiful tapestry has begun to fray and weaken because unsound policies and unfair practices are creating friction among us at home, and between us and our friends around the world."

In a 600-word speech that lasted about five minutes, Clyburn was able to penetrate some quarters of the crowded FleetCenter, where a buzz of cafeteria-like chatter competes with preliminary speakers.

Democratic delegate Edith Chou of Greenville was among the contingent of 55 South Carolina delegates here this week expected to absorb the Democratic message and return home to spread it. The primary goal is to register voters and mobilize people to turn out on Election Day, Nov. 2.

Chou, 73, a retired elementary school teacher, sounded excited at the prospect.

"All the delegates have relatives who are paying excessive health insurance and friends who have lost jobs," she said. "We've been taken over by a group that may understand but doesn't care."

Clyburn, a six-term congressman and former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, did not veer from the Democratic Party script. Although critical of the "current administration's" foreign relations, job losses and tax cuts for the wealthy, he never called President Bush by name. He stayed mostly upbeat and positive.

"Each of us represents different threads in the fabric of our nation, a bit worn in some places and a little shabby in others, but still a unified cord," he concluded. "The Kerry-Edwards team ... will reweave our frayed fabric into a vibrant, beautiful tapestry that will create a better America — an America stronger at home and more respected around the world."