Kerry deflects attacks on legislative record

At the debate, candidates addressed reviving Democratic support in the South.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean accused front-runner John Kerry of being a failure in Congress as he looked to soften the political appeal of Kerry's long experience.
Dean leveled the charge midway through a 90-minute debate Thursday that offered Dean and the other candidates their last face-to-face chance to slow Kerry's momentum before a seven-state sweepstakes of primary voting Tuesday.
Beyond Dean's pointed criticism, Kerry emerged from the debate at Furman University unscathed. No other candidate directly questioned Kerry's credentials or agenda and thus appeared to do little to change the dynamics of the race before Tuesday's votes.
The only other criticism of Kerry on Thursday came from Republicans, who accused the Massachusetts senator of being an out-of-touch liberal who's weak on defense issues.
At the same time, Dean all but conceded that he can't compete with Kerry or other Democrats in the primaries Tuesday that will be dominated by Southern and Southwestern states.
Dean's remarks
Dean waited until well into the debate to take a jab at Kerry, on the subject of expanding health care to cover the uninsured. Even then, the once-combative Dean appeared to wrap his fist in velvet lest he appear too angry and invite the kind of backlash that felled his campaign in Iowa two weeks earlier.
"Just to make this a little less mellow, when I was governor, I got everybody in my state who's under 18 health insurance," Dean said.
"Now, Senator Kerry is the front-runner, and I mean him no insult, but in 19 years in the Senate, Senator Kerry sponsored ... 11 bills that had anything to do with health care. Not one of them passed," Dean said.
"If you want a president who is going to get results, I suggest that you look at somebody who did get results."
Kerry dismissed the criticism and lauded his experience.
"One of the things that you need to know as president is how things work in Congress if you want to get things done," Kerry said.
He said he helped pass legislation on early childhood development, AIDS, veterans suffering from the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam, and mental health.
"And I think that it's time to recognize that we got a lot done on health care," he added.
Aiming for the South
The debate, televised on MSNBC and moderated by NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw, was held in South Carolina, one of seven states voting Tuesday and the first in the South after earlier votes in Iowa and New Hampshire, both won by Kerry.
Noting their party's weakness in the South -- Al Gore didn't carry a single Southern state in 2000 -- candidates took turns explaining how they could win back support in the region.
"People in the South care about their jobs, they care about health care, they care about safety, they care about their children, and I intend to campaign on mainstream American values," Kerry said. "I intend to win the South."
"This is a place I can and should win," said Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina. He noted he was born in South Carolina, the son of a mill worker who never forgot his roots.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut said he was the "only experienced moderate" in the race, a shot at Edwards, who's in his first term in the Senate, and retired Gen. Wesley Clark of Arkansas, who's making his first bid for elective office.
Lieberman said he could appeal to Southerners with a record that's strong on defense and civil rights.
Dropping out?
The four candidates who finished at the bottom in the first two voting states brushed off suggestions from party Chairman Terry McAuliffe that they get out of the race if they don't win a primary in the next two weeks.
"We are going to win," Clark said.
"There is so much talent on this stage that I believe this race is going to go all the way to the convention," said Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.
Lieberman also predicted primary victories as the voting turned to more conservative states. "It is only moderate Democrats who win elections," he said.
The Rev. Al Sharpton of New York said he, too, expects to win primaries. But he said he also would succeed if he managed to change the party.
With the race going national, candidates made new calculations about where to spend scarce money.
Dean decided to essentially concede all seven states voting next Tuesday -- Arizona, Delaware, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Carolina -- saying he wouldn't advertise in any of them.
Instead, he signaled he would focus on the next states to vote -- Michigan and Washington on Feb. 7 and Wisconsin on Feb. 17.
He hoped for new life from liberals in Washington and Wisconsin and from union members in Michigan.