Kerry Rolls While Rivals Brawl

John Kerry secured a key endorsement from one former Democratic rival Friday, then pointed his fast-moving presidential bid south in hopes of knocking two more rivals from the race.

Those two rivals, Sen. John Edwards and retired Gen. Wesley Clark, essentially ceded three weekend contests to Kerry and focused instead on next Tuesday's increasingly bitter battle in Tennessee and Virginia. Edwards' campaign accused Clark of taking "a dip into the gutter" with his latest attack.

Rep. Dick Gephardt, who ended his own presidential bid after losing soundly to Kerry in the Iowa caucuses, announced his support for the Massachusetts senator Friday morning at a rally in a blue-collar town near Detroit.

"I'm here today adding my voice to all of yours to say that we want and need this man to be the next president of the United States," Gephardt said, standing at Kerry's side in Warren, Michigan.

The endorsement, Kerry hopes, will pay immediate dividends with support from Gephardt's base in organized labor.

Michigan is one of three states – along with Washington and Maine – holding weekend elections, and Kerry is expected to easily sweep them.

Clark and Edwards exchanged negative attacks ahead of Tuesday's do-or-die Southern contests. Clark, a retired Army general, accused Edwards of voting "against programs to help our nation's veterans."

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

Clark said Edwards was the only Democratic senator who voted in 1999 "against closing corporate tax loopholes to prevent across-the-board cuts to veterans health care."

The same year, Edwards voted against adding $1.3 billion in funding for the Veterans Administration, Clark said. "And two years later, he did it again, voting against funding for veterans' medical care."

He couched his criticism in polite terms, saying, "I like John Edwards. He's a good man. But our differences are important. I'm a veteran and that means taking care of our veterans all the time not just when it's politically convenient."

Clark's comments drew an angry retort from the Edwards campaign, which issued a statement saying, "This is what politicians do when they are losing – they dip into the gutter and throw whatever they find, whether it is true or not."

The Edwards campaign also argued that the first-term North Carolina senator has supported veterans and voted to increase spending on veterans' programs, and added that the lawmaker's wife, Elizabeth, is the daughter of a decorated Korean War veteran.

Democratic strategists said the exchange reflects 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, who holds a dominating lead in Michigan, Maine and Washington state, wrapped up a tour of the three states Friday with a political powerplay — reveling in endorsements by Gephardt and Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

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.

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 Friday he will win Wisconsin and has told supporters that a loss would push him out of the race. Kerry, flush with momentum and money, is already advertising in the state. Dean says he plans to do so.