PRESIDENTIAL RACE Edwards, Clark focus on loss of jobs in U.S. instead of loss to Kerry

Aides for the two candidates are expecting losses in Tennessee and Virginia.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Democratic presidential candidates John Edwards and Wesley Clark lamented the loss of American jobs today as they campaigned for Southern primary votes and tried to ignore front-runner John Kerry's rout in three weekend caucuses.
Edwards and Clark, the two Southerners left in the nomination race, hoped to make inroads with voters in Tennessee and Virginia, which offer 151 pledged delegates in primaries Tuesday. Losses there could imperil the future of their campaigns, especially if Kerry adds to his daunting record of 10 wins in 12 contests for delegates.
In tiny Morrison, Tenn., Edwards met privately today with Carrier Corp. factory workers who found out last week that the plant was closing, eliminating 1,300 jobs. He said after the meeting at a barbecue restaurant near the plant that the workers deserve to have a president "who understands, who knows what their lives are like" and that President Bush is out of touch.
"The president we have now does not understand what these folks are going through. He does not understand what is going on in the lives of most Americans," Edwards said.
Clark's top issue
Clark told supporters today in Union City, Tenn., that jobs were his top issue.
"People are struggling in this country, and I think it's a moral outrage," Clark said. Calling himself the Democrat uniquely qualified to improve the economy, he said, "I'm strong enough and I'm tough enough to make things happen, and I've proved it on the battlefield."
Neither Edwards nor Clark -- nor one-time front-runner Howard Dean -- could match Kerry's advantage in Maine, which held its caucuses Sunday with 24 delegates at stake.
Kerry outpaced Dean by a nearly 2-to-1 margin in the state, with Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio a distant third. Dean and Kucinich had made 11th-hour appeals to Maine voters. The win there came after Kerry's triumphs in Michigan and Washington state a day earlier.
Kerry has more than twice as many delegates as his closest pursuer, as his win in Maine pushed his total to 426, compared with Dean's 184, according to an Associated Press tally. It takes 2,162 delegates to win the nomination. Kucinich appeared to fall just short of qualifying for delegates in Maine.
Winning streak takes toll
Kerry's winning streak is beginning to demoralize his opponents. Aides to both Clark and Edwards said they expect their candidates to lose Tuesday in Virginia and Tennessee.
Clark and Edwards, who promised on Sunday to forge ahead despite Kerry's increasing advantage, are counting on a Feb. 17 showdown in Wisconsin, where the front-runner can expect withering attacks from all his rivals with the potential for a slip-up by the leader.
Looking beyond his Democratic rivals to a matchup with the incumbent president, Kerry issued a statement after his Maine victory vowing that "when the Republican smear machine trots out the same old attacks in this election, this is one Democrat who will fight back. I've fought for my country my entire life, and I'm not about to back down now."
Kerry ignored his primary opponents Sunday and criticized President Bush on Iraq. He also picked up backing from Virginia Gov. Mark Warner.
Clark, Dean and Edwards, appearing separately on Sunday television talk shows, all said they would continue to challenge Kerry for the Democratic nomination despite the Massachusetts senator's advantage in the polls and in endorsements.
"Real voters are going to decide who the nominee is," Dean, a former Vermont governor, said on CNN's "Late Edition."
Not repeating
Dean, the former front-runner and winless since the start of voting, declined in interviews to repeat his earlier assertion that he would withdraw from the race if he lost Wisconsin. He planned to begin airing a 60-second biographical ad in Wisconsin that describes him as a maverick and focuses on his medical and gubernatorial background.
Clark said on CNN that he would run at least through the March 2 "Super Tuesday" primaries, including in California, Ohio and New York.
Edwards noted on "Fox News Sunday" that some 75 percent of delegates to the Democratic National Convention will still be up for grabs after Wisconsin votes.
American Research Group polls give Kerry sizable leads in all three states: 11 points over Edwards and 12 over Clark in Tennessee; 13 points over Edwards and 18 over Clark in Virginia; and 26 points over Clark and 31 over Edwards in Wisconsin. The margin of error in each poll taken last week was plus or minus 4 points.