Kerry Begins Bush Push

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry on Wednesday had a clear view to a November match-up against President Bush as rival John Edwards withdrew from the race.

Kerry all but wrapped up the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday with a string of triumphs on the biggest night of the campaign season. He prevailed in nine of ten Super Tuesday states; Edwards, a first-term North Carolina senator, won nowhere.

"We will win this election and we will build one America of freedom and fairness for all," Kerry told cheering supporters in Washington, D.C.

Edwards announced his withdrawal from the race in Raleigh, N.C., and pledged to "do everything in my power" to help Kerry win the White House.

Edwards said he was suspending his campaign, signaling an end to his active effort to gain the presidency after winning only one state out of 30 to hold primaries and caucuses so far.

Hours after his victories on Tuesday night, Kerry opened his general election campaign by heading to Florida, site of the historic 2000 recount election that gave Mr. Bush the presidency.

There, he began laying the groundwork for selecting a running mate. Jim Johnson, a prominent Washington Democrat, was chosen to lead Kerry's selection process. Johnson, vice president of a merchant banking firm, once worked for former Vice President Walter Mondale.

Kerry captured primaries in California, Georgia, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts and Ohio; he also won Minnesota's caucus.

His lone loss came in Vermont, where native son Howard Dean won his first primary of the campaign, despite the fact that he's officially dropped out of the race.

Together, the evening's contests totaled 1,151 of the 2,162 delegates needed to claim the Democratic nomination. After the evening's results, Kerry had 1,212 delegates to Edwards' 429. Dean had 150, Al Sharpton 15 and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich 8, according to a CBS News tally. In a bit of cold comfort, Kucinich won his primary for re-election to the House.

After his triumphs, Kerry received a congratulatory phone call from Mr. Bush. "You had an important victory tonight," the president told Kerry, adding that he looked forward to a "spirited fight."

As in previous primaries, voters on Tuesday were angry with Mr. Bush and his administration – over half of those surveyed described themselves that way – and they remained focused on finding a candidate to beat him, according to CBS News exit polls.

Kerry's emergence as the nominee of a united party marked an unpredictable end to a campaign of surprises. He entered the race as the front-runner, then faltered to the point that his candidacy appeared doomed just days before the kickoff Iowa caucuses in January.

He fashioned a comeback for the ages to defeat his rivals there, then rode a powerful wave of momentum to triumphs in the New Hampshire primary and nearly every state that followed.

One by one, rivals Dick Gephardt, Joseph Lieberman, Wesley Clark and Howard Dean fell by the wayside. On Wednesday, Edwards joined them on the sidelines.

Although relentlessly upbeat and dogged, Edwards knew he had to quit, and aides tipped his hand on that plan on the eve of his formal departure.

"We have been the little engine that could," the North Carolina senator told supporters. Edwards proved an animated campaigner and sharp debater, but won only in his native South Carolina and posted several strong second-place finishes.

Senior advisers said it was possible, but not likely, that Kerry would choose a vice-presidential nominee well before the Democratic nominating convention in his hometown of Boston in July.

Edwards is on top of many Democrats' VP lists, a topic that Kerry didn't touch Tuesday night.

"I have great respect for how he did and what he did and what he accomplished throughout this campaign," Kerry said of Edwards. "He's a tremendous competitor and a great voice for our party."

In his remarks Tuesday night, Kerry said he would campaign to repeal Mr. Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy, raise the minimum wage, protect the environment and make health care more widely available.

If the president wants to make the race a referendum on national security, Kerry said, "Bring it on."

Kerry said several of his former rivals had offered to help raise money and he was confident he could put together the necessary war chest, though it won't be easy. As well, Democratic interest groups, required to act independently of the Kerry camp, plan to start ads soon critical of Mr. Bush.

"The president has an enormous lead," Kerry told The Associated Press. "He has extraordinary sums of money … and we're going to have to fight hard to raise money and compete."

Mr. Bush plans to begin a multimillion-dollar TV ad campaign Thursday to reverse his downward trend in public opinion polls. With eight months remaining to Election Day, Kerry leads the president in nationwide polls, although the Electoral College breakdown is less clear.

Vice President Dick Cheney criticized Kerry on the airwaves Tuesday as a frequent foe of defense and intelligence budgets, seeking to neutralize Kerry's draw as a decorated Vietnam veteran and his Senate experience in foreign policy.