PRESIDENTIAL RACE Victorious Kerry, rivals return to campaign trail

Sen. John Edwards said he would not accept a vice presidential bid.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The opening one-two punch of the battle behind them, Democrats took their presidential campaigns nationwide today with John Kerry, fresh from his New Hampshire win, ready to open an advertising blitz in all seven states that vote next and his rivals scrambling to stay competitive.
North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, campaigning in his native South Carolina in a crucial test of his candidacy, voiced confidence he can improve on his New Hampshire primary showing. "Now we're going to places where I feel I will be very strong," he said today.
"I'm going to win in South Carolina. I'm in this for the long haul," Edwards said. When asked on NBC's "Today" show whether he'd run as a vice presidential candidate, he ruled it out. "No. No. Final. I don't want to be vice president. I'm running for president."
Kerry's big win Tuesday stopped Howard Dean short in his attempt to rebound from a third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses and gave the Massachusetts senator all the promise -- and peril -- of wearing the mantle of front-runner.
"Now this campaign goes on to places all over this country, and I ask Democrats everywhere to join us so that we can defeat George W. Bush and the economy of privilege," Kerry, relaxed and beaming, told supporters before leaving New Hampshire to open the next stage of his campaign in Missouri, after a stop in Boston.
How they finished
Dean, once the heavy national favorite, finished second while Wesley Clark, once considered the best bet to challenge him, lagged in a struggle with Edwards for a distant third -- all of that testament to a campaign turned on its ear over the course of a week.
"We did what we had to do," Dean said today. "We got some momentum back in the campaign, but it's going to take a long time to get back the momentum we had as front-runner status."
With nearly all the precincts reporting in New Hampshire, Kerry had 39 percent and Dean 26 percent. Wesley Clark and Edwards were locked in a tight battle for third when counting resumed today in a half-dozen precincts.
Clark and Edwards were under the 15 percent threshold for claiming delegates. Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman was fifth, with 9 percent.
The opening acts of the campaign proved the ability of two small states, with a combined population of barely 4 million, to shape the contest before it ever reaches a large cross-section of America.
Looking ahead
Now it's on to seven states with more than 21 million people and 269 delegates to the Democratic convention at stake. The Missouri and South Carolina primaries are the richest prizes in a lineup next Tuesday that includes primaries in Arizona, Delaware and Oklahoma, and caucuses in New Mexico and North Dakota.
Kerry's victory means a flood of money is likely to flow to him heading into the wildly expensive races ahead, a series more dependent than Iowa and New Hampshire on television advertising and travel.
He was ready to go on the air today with commercials in all seven states -- helped by having raised at least $1 million in the week since his Iowa upset. Clark, Edwards and Lieberman are limiting their advertising to states where their prospects seem brightest; Dean's plans were uncertain.
Dean raised more than $200,000 in the 24 hours before the primary, but has been spending it just as quickly.
An AP analysis of the delegate count showed Kerry winning 13 delegates and Dean capturing nine.
Target
Now, Kerry can be expected to take the brunt of criticism on the airwaves and the stump in the intense round of primaries ahead.
"He hasn't been in that position," Dean said of Kerry in an Associated Press interview. "We'll find out what happens."
Kerry said he can handle it.
"I've been in public life for a long time, and I have been in tough races before and have been scrutinized," Kerry told the AP. "I'm ready to lead our party to victory."
Clark, a retired NATO supreme allied commander and political newcomer backed by many former Bill Clinton aides, had skipped Iowa and made New Hampshire his first stand. He had the state practically to himself for days at a time, but to little effect.
"Four months ago, we weren't even in this race," he said. "We had no money. We had no office. All we had was hope and a vision for a better America.
"We came into New Hampshire as one of the Elite Eight. We leave tonight as one of the Final Four," Clark said.
Lieberman, who also made New Hampshire his first test, vowed to carry on despite the advice of some advisers to quit. "I am the one mainstream candidate in this race," he said.
New Hampshire offered the candidates a chance to test their appeal with independent voters as well as Democrats, and Kerry scored heavily on both sides.
Beating Bush
Democrats liked his chances of beating Bush. Among voters who cared most about defeating the Republican president, 60 percent backed Kerry, according to an Associated Press exit poll of voters.
Moderates favored Kerry by 44 percent to 18 percent for Dean. Altogether, it was a marked turnaround for Kerry, down 25 points in New Hampshire polls when the year began.
"We were written off for months, and plugged on and showed people the determination we have to defeat President Bush," Kerry said.
But New Hampshire has a reputation of being ornery on occasion, too, and Kerry's opponents dared hope the diverse collection of coming contests would redraw the campaign yet again.
In particular, Edwards looked to South Carolina to break out of the pack racing after Kerry. With his Arkansas roots and military credentials, Clark, too, has polled strongly in some southern and Midwest states.
"Beyond South Carolina, I don't want to make any predictions," Edwards said.