Kerry Points Campaign South; Rivals Fight

John Kerry, virtually unchallenged in three weekend elections, pointed his fast-moving presidential bid south on Friday in hopes of knocking two Democratic rivals from the race. John Edwards’ campaign accused Wesley Clark of taking “a dip into the gutter” with his latest attack.

Clark and Edwards, both Southern natives, ignored the weekend caucus states of Michigan, Washington state and Maine to fight it out bitterly in Tennessee and Virginia, site of Tuesday’s do-or-die contests.

“When it came to deciding between the special interests and our veterans, Senator Edwards blinked,” Clark said in a radio interview in Nashville, Tenn. “He didn’t support our veterans.”

The retired Army general said Edwards repeatedly acted against veterans’ interests, including a 1999 vote against adding $1.3 billion in funding for the Veterans Administration.

Edwards, campaigning in Bristol, Tenn., said he’s always supported veterans but got a bit testy when asked if he remembered casting the votes Clark criticized. “No, of course not. Do you remember every single vote?” he replied.

Kerry, who holds a dominating advantage in delegate-rich Michigan, Maine and Washington state, floated above the fray by focusing his attacks on President Bush and touting endorsements by fallen rival Dick Gephardt and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

“I’m here today adding my voice to all of yours,” Gephardt told about 200 people in this blue-collar suburb of Detroit, the second small crowd to greet Kerry on Friday.

Democratic strategists said the day’s dynamics reflected the dearth of options left for Edwards and Clark. They can’t afford to lose in the South on Tuesday, and Kerry is on a hot streak – winning seven of nine contests. Traditionally, the best way to curb a front-runner’s momentum is with attacks, but voters in Iowa punished candidates who went negative.

Clark has decided to roll the dice, hoping to nick Kerry and climb over Edwards to emerge as the front-runner’s chief rival. Edwards’ advisers insist he will stick to his promise to run a positive campaign, hoping to duplicate the political magic that propelled him to a surprise second place in Iowa.

The most recent public poll in Tennessee, conducted before Kerry’s five-state victory Tuesday, showed the Massachusetts senator leading Clark with Edwards in third. There have been no public polls in Virginia, but private polling for the campaigns shows Kerry ahead in Virginia.

Kerry is the only candidate advertising in the District of Columbia, reaching Democratic-heavy northern Virginia. Clark is focused on Tennessee, making Virginia a rare Kerry-Edwards showdown.

Virginia Democrats meet Saturday night to hear from the candidates, a chance for Edwards to shine against Kerry.

“He has got to go to that dinner and say, ‘There is a difference between me and John Kerry.’ If he wants to be the nominee, he has to stop pussyfooting around and act like a nominee instead of somebody who wanted to be John Kerry’s vice president,” said Steve Jarding, a Democratic strategist who had a falling out with Edwards’ advisers and left the campaign last year.

Edwards has said he would not accept a vice presidential nomination. His spokeswoman bristled at the get-tough advice Edwards is getting from many quarters.

“John Edwards has a fundamentally different philosophy than Jarding, reporters and other people talk about,” Edwards spokesman Jennifer Palmieri said, even as she unloaded on Clark.

“This is what politicians do when they are losing,” she said of Clark’s criticism of Edwards. “They dip into the gutter and throw whatever they find, whether it is true or not.”

Clark spokesman Matt Bennett called that a “flailing response” from a failing campaign.

Looking ahead to the fall, Kerry intends to use the Saturday event to preview a new line of criticism against Bush. He will compare mainstream America with “extreme America,” assigning Bush to the latter, and outline White House policies to support the argument, aides said.

Though advisers are careful not to raise expectations for a sweep, Kerry hopes to dispatch Edwards and Clark in Tuesday’s races. The only other major rival, Howard Dean, retreated Thursday to Wisconsin, site of a Feb. 17 primary that could turn into a multi-candidate showdown if Clark and Edwards come out of Tuesday’s races strengthened.

Dean predicted he will win Wisconsin and has told supporters that a loss would push him out of the race. Kerry and Edwards are already advertising in the state. Dean says he plans to do so.

In Michigan, Gephardt said he is convinced that Kerry’s trade policies now conform closely with his own. He never talked to Kerry about a possible spot on his ticket, Gephardt said.