US: After securing the Democratic nomination for president with sweeping Super Tuesday wins, Mr John Kerry began laying the groundwork yesterday for a tough eight-month campaign against Republican President George Bush."The president has an enormous lead," the Massachusetts Senator said, referring to his opponent's campaign funds.
"Before us lie long months of effort and of challenge." Mr Kerry asked Mr Jim Johnson, a prominent Washington Democrat, to lead the search for a running mate and moved to assert control of the Democratic National Committee and integrate his campaign with the party apparatus.
Senator John Edwards formally withdrew from the primary contest yesterday and threw his support behind Kerry, calling him an "extraordinary advocate for jobs, better health care, a safer world."
Mr Kerry responded by praising the North Carolina Senator as "a compelling Democratic voice" who held "great promise for leadership for the years to come", but stopped short of offering him a place on his ticket.
Mr Kerry was victorious in nine of the 10 states that voted on Tuesday, losing only in Vermont, where voters gave a consolation prize to their former governor Howard Dean, the one-time front-runner who withdrew two weeks' ago.
The Democratic nominee has now won 27 of 30 contests, collecting more than half of the 2,162 delegates he needs to be formally nominated at the Democratic Party convention in July. He has 1,292 delegates to Mr Edwards's 438, Mr Dean's 182, the Rev Al Sharpton's 24 and Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich's 18.
Mr Kerry's final breakthrough came after a six-week campaign which was at the start almost overwhelmed by a surge of support for Mr Dean, the most aggressive anti-Bush candidate.
In all nine states that he won on Tuesday - California, Rhode Island, Ohio, New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland and Georgia - practically all groups of voters told pollsters that they selected Mr Kerry because they thought he could defeat the president.
This gave Mr Kerry the edge even in Ohio which has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs abroad and where Democrats favoured the anti-trade agreement platform of Mr Edwards.
In New York Mr Kerry scored heavily with seniors, Catholics and Jews and outpolled the African-American candidate, Mr Sharpton among blacks.
In what was in effect the first full day of the presidential election campaign, Mr Bush yesterday reportedly said privately that he believed Senator Kerry will be a "tough and hard-charging opponent" and that he is now studying Kerry's positions and preparing to target his record.
In the first Bush-Cheney campaign ads to be aired today, Mr Bush focuses on the September 11th attacks, with soothing piano music and pictures of the wrecked World Trade Centre. He says: "I know exactly where I want to lead this country," and "I'm optimistic about America because I believe in the people of America."
Mr Kerry did not take a break from campaigning yesterday, heading instead to Florida which holds a primary next Tuesday along with Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. In Florida Mr Kerry received the endorsement of the two Democratic senators, Mr Bob Graham and Mr Bill Nelson.
Republicans in Congress have also begun what one aide called an "organised war" against Mr Kerry, whom the Senate majority leader, Mr Bill Frist yesterday called the "most liberal" Democrat in the legislature and whom Vice-President Dick Cheney criticised as a frequent foe of defence and intelligence budgets.
Mr Edwards formally announced the end of his campaign at an emotional rally yesterday in the Raleigh high school once attended by his son Wade, who died in 1996 at age 16.
Mr Bush also rang Mr Kerry to congratulate him and the Massachusetts Senator reportedly told him: "I hope we can have a great debate about the future of our country and the direction our nation needs to go and the choices that are critical to the people."
Mr Kerry said: "We have no illusions about the Republican attack machine and what our opponents have done in the past and what they may try to do in the future. But I know that together we are equal to this task. I am a fighter."