In N.H., Kerry touts his record and takes on Dean, Clark

PLYMOUTH, N.H. -- Senator John F. Kerry yesterday repeatedly questioned both Howard Dean's and Wesley K. Clark's readiness to be president, as he closed out his most concentrated period of campaigning in New Hampshire yet.

The Massachusetts Democrat highlighted his record of military service, as well as the exposure to domestic and foreign affairs he has gained over 18 years in the US Senate, telling an audience at Plymouth State University he was the best prepared among the party's field of nine presidential contenders to stand up to President Bush next year.

"I'm not new to our party -- three weeks ago declaring that I want to be president," the senator said in an apparent swipe at Clark, a retired Army general who joined the Democratic Party and became a presidential candidate in September. Kerry spoke before a crowd of about 300 students, faculty members, and local residents gathered in the lobby of the student union.

He said he does not "only come with one set of experiences," using a criticism that could apply to Clark and the front-running Dean, whose only government service was as Vermont's governor and lieutenant governor.

After spending 90 minutes ticking through his efforts to block drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, unravel the scandal at the former Bank of Credit and Commerce International, and run for office without taking special-interest donations, the senator expanded his criticism to the Republican incumbent.

"We have a huge global challenge, my friends, and we need a president who doesn't shrink from it, who understands it, who's prepared to stand up and lead America to its rightful place as leader of the free world," Kerry said. "No other candidate running for president has the length, breadth, or depth of experience that I have working with respect to those international issues and working with respect to the domestic issues facing our nation today."

Karen Hicks, Dean's state director, brushed off Kerry's criticism by highlighting Kerry's vote last October in favor of a congressional resolution authorizing war in Iraq. The senator has since criticized Bush's decision to go to war.

"Governor Dean, from Vermont, had the foresight to recognize that it was the wrong war at the wrong time. Senator Kerry, with all his years of experience, did not ask the tough question when he had the opportunity," Hicks said.

Clark spokesman Matt Bennett said: "Neither this campaign nor this candidate is going to respond to those king of negative attacks. We are not going to attack other Democrats. We're here to focus on President Bush and the incredibly negative impact his administration has had on the American economy, the American environment, and America's standing in the world."

Kerry's criticism followed five consecutive days of campaigning that took him across New Hampshire and before a range of audiences.

Focusing on a health care theme, Kerry spoke yesterday in Nashua about expanding access to health care for children. On Monday, he delivered a speech at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center aimed at ensuring the benefits of medical and science research reach average Americans. He began his tour last Friday on the New Hampshire seacoast, speaking to workers at a small business about lowering the cost of health insurance both to companies and their workers.

All told, Kerry has now spent 39 days over 27 visits campaigning in New Hampshire this year, according to an unofficial tally kept by Democracy in Action, a website that provides voter information. Dean, who more than doubled that of the next closest candidate in time spent campaigning in New Hampshire in 2001 and 2002, has spent 38 days over 27 visits campaigning here this year, the website said.

While a recent state poll indicated Dean retained a 10-point lead over Kerry in New Hampshire, the senator's campaign manager said Kerry had always planned to have a late rush of campaigning in New Hampshire and Iowa, the states that kick off the delegate-selection race in January. "We always knew that fund-raising demands and the need to deal with other political priorities in Congress and elsewhere would occupy the first half of the year," campaign manager Jim Jordan said. "We also knew that after Labor Day we would be in Iowa and New Hampshire almost exclusively."

Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com.