DES MOINES — John Kerry returned to Iowa on Sunday, three months after his come-from-behind victory in the Iowa caucuses vaulted him into the front-runner position in the Democratic presidential race.

“For the second time this year, let me say this as clearly as I can: I love Iowa,” Kerry said to 1,200 supporters at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines.

As Kerry launched new television advertisements in Iowa and 16 other battleground states Monday, he criticized President Bush’s advertisements, which have been on television in the same states since March 2, as “having a truth deficit.”

“The Bush campaign has spent $60 million distorting my record and my policies,” he said. “This race is not about attack ads or the destruction of a personality; it’s about our country.”

Kerry spent most of his speech discussing his platform. He promised to create 10 million jobs and cut the federal deficit in half in four years. He said he planned on rolling back Bush’s tax cuts, “which only benefit the wealthiest 2 percent,” and redirecting the funds toward lowering costs of health care, college tuition and child care.

He also criticized Bush’s visit to Iowa last week, in which the president promised to develop technology in rural areas. He said the federal government has a $1.5 billion backup loan for developing broadband Internet in rural areas it refuses to release.

“It’s time to stop faking it and start making it here in Iowa,” he said.

Before he took the stage, Kerry was enthusiastically introduced to the crowd by Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Democrat who has been named as a potential vice-presidential nominee.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, supported a Kerry-Vilsack ticket, telling the crowd a winning presidential team needs a candidate from the Midwest.

“Franklin Roosevelt knew the Midwest was key to winning [the presidential election] in November, so when he was looking for a vice president, he came to Iowa,” he said. “Iowa has a proven statesman in our governor, Tom Vilsack.”

Kerry and Bush have been targeting swing states that were won in 2000 by a handful of votes. Both have increased the frequency of their visits to Iowa, which Al Gore won in 2000 by 4,144 votes.

John Campbell, Des Moines, said Kerry’s commitment to education and job creation would cause Iowa to swing Democratic in November.

“Kerry will take Iowa because he stands for the issues that are affecting the state, like creating jobs,” he said. “We need this for all the young workers that are leaving the state.”

Kerry remained ambiguous about whether he would choose Vilsack as a running mate. However, not all Iowans thought the governor would be a good vice president. Some favored John Edwards, who ran a charismatic presidential campaign that appealed to Southern voters, said Timothy Taffe, Iowa City.

“Vilsack has a miserable chance of becoming the vice-presidential candidate,” Taffe said. “A man who can’t use the Internet or e-mail won’t get the nod from the Kerry campaign.”

The presidential race is in a statistical dead heat. According to a poll published Thursday of Iowa voters by the American Research Group, Kerry had 47 percent and Bush had 46 percent.