[media-credit name=’Derek Montgomery’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]It’s times like these the Mifflin Street Block Party seems like a small get-together.

One block away from the site of the annual springtime ritual for University of Wisconsin students, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., delivered a blistering stump speech in downtown Madison Thursday in what is quickly becoming an October ritual for Democratic presidential candidates.

West Washington Avenue swelled with upwards of 80,000 supporters as Kerry rallied his base near the Capitol five days before the election. His visit to downtown Madison was reminiscent of campaign stops made by Bill Clinton and Al Gore late in their respective bids for the presidency.

The turnout for Kerry’s rally, however, shattered the lofty attendance figures posted by the former president and vice president. George Twigg, Kerry’s Wisconsin communications director, said the event was the largest campaign rally in Wisconsin history — and one of the largest of the entire Kerry campaign.

“You have no idea how beautiful you look all the way back towards the steps of the Capitol,” Kerry, perched upon a platform on Bassett Street, said to the crowd spanning to the square.

Joined by rock legend Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and nearly every prominent Wisconsin Democratic political figure, Kerry offered a scorching critique of the Bush administration’s foreign policy.

“We have a better chance of success when we have a leader who understands that we’re better off leading strong alliances, bringing people together [and] not going it alone,” Kerry said.

The Democratic nominee said the 380 tons of explosives recently revealed to be missing in Iraq “speak to the continuing misjudgments” of President Bush. He blamed Bush for failing to secure the weapons stock and subsequently neglecting to take responsibility for the mishap.

Kerry repeatedly claimed he, unlike Bush, would look out for the middle class. By lowering the costs of health care and establishing a $4,000 college tuition tax credit and $1,000 child-care tax credit, Kerry said he would combat a decline in real household earnings under Bush.

The Massachusetts senator promised to close loopholes benefiting both the wealthy and businesses that outsource jobs overseas. To prevent undue stress on the bulging federal deficit, Kerry renewed his call for a return to the “pay-as-you-go” philosophy prevailing in Washington under the Clinton administration.

“If you liked the economy we had in the 1990s, you’re going to like what John Kerry and John Edwards do for America,” he said.

Bush has alleged there is a large gap between the new spending proposed by Kerry and his ability to pay for it. During his rally in Richland Center Tuesday, the president indicated Kerry will resort to a “predictable pattern” of tax increases to fill the shortfall.

Prior to Kerry’s arrival, Springsteen and Grohl fired up the crowd with short sets featuring a few of their biggest hits. Kerry later credited Springsteen for singing about the struggles of common Americans, and even used the rock legend’s nickname to jab at the Bush administration.

“When George Bush heard that the Boss was playing with me today, he thought they meant Dick Cheney,” Kerry joked, indicating his belief in who is pulling the strings at the White House.

Grohl delivered a three-song set interspersed with humorous commentary on the presidential race. Turning serious, he said foreigners’ reactions to Americans have taken on a more negative flavor since his earlier days touring with the Foo Fighters and his previous band, Nirvana.

“I’d love to see the world come together again, and I’d love to see people view America with respect,” Grohl said.

Despite the attendance record, some Republicans say it is a bad omen for Kerry to hold two rallies in Madison in little more than a month.

“This is because he knows that he is losing Wisconsin,” former Congressman Scott Klug said in a statement about Kerry’s visit. “Voters here know we have a clear choice on Tuesday between a president willing to do whatever it takes to win the War on Terror and a candidate willing to do anything for political gain.”