As Kerry lead grows, contenders strategize

Howard Dean, on a mission to revive his standing, asserted that he had turned the corner in New Hampshire. He also pledged to carry his campaign to South Carolina next week, portraying New Hampshire as the beginning of the presidential nominating campaign, not its end.

The latest Boston Globe/WBZ tracking results indicated Kerry stretching his lead to 35 percent, with Dean dipping into a tie with retired Army General Wesley K. Clark at 15 percent, and Senator John Edwards close behind with 12 percent.

Gerry Chervinsky, president of KRC Communications Research, which conducted the poll, said there was no evidence that Dean's debate performance Thursday or his interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC's "Prime Time Thursday" had slowed his slide. "He's still going down," Chervinsky said.

Throughout the day, the candidates dashed from one campaign event to the next, acutely aware that who comes in where, and by how much, could redirect a campaign that has been unpredictable. The trailing candidates tried to emphasize their respective themes -- Dean by criticizing Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, Edwards by accusing companies of "war profiteering in Iraq," and Clark by receiving testimonials about his character from people he knew in the military.

The biggest question for Kerry, Dean, Clark, and Edwards may be how to proceed after New Hampshire, with seven far-flung states holding their primary contests on a single day, requiring a massive advertising launch that will further drain their coffers. Although advisers said they cannot make major decisions until they see the primary's results Tuesday, Kerry's growing lead has prompted others to downscale their emphasis on winning New Hampshire.

Edwards, for example, flew to campaign in South Carolina yesterday for the second time this week, part of a "Southern strategy" that attempts to translate his Iowa bounce into success in several of the seven states that vote on Feb. 3. Clark, who skipped Iowa to campaign nonstop in the Granite State, stayed in the state to try to recapture support that has slipped over the last week -- but he, too, has plans to try to recover with strong showings in South Carolina and Oklahoma in the next round of voting if he fares badly Tuesday.

With the candidates still finding their footing on the evolving landscape, Republicans shifted course to target Kerry, no longer certain -- to their disappointment -- that Dean would probably be the Democratic nominee.

Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Committee, who spoke at a gathering of conservatives in Virginia, called Kerry the "liberal senator from Massachusetts," arguing that the state's junior senator is more liberal than Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

A top Dean adviser said the caucus results have caused the campaign to reconsider the approach to the post-New Hampshire race. Originally, Dean strategists had a budget that assumed Dean would have momentum from a strong Iowa finish heading into New Hampshire, and that Kerry and Edwards would be cash-strapped after New Hampshire. Dean's bigger war chest would then fuel a solid showing in South Carolina, Arizona, and New Mexico on Feb. 3. Instead, Kerry won the caucuses, Edwards placed second, and Dean placed third. The results infused cash into both senators' campaigns, with Kerry raising more than $500,000 in the first 48 hours that followed. Edwards went to South Carolina yesterday partly to raise money for his campaign. Clark tried to frame the argument for his candidacy in a slightly different way than he has in recent days, focusing on his character. In the days since the Iowa caucuses, Clark has tended to emphasize his electability, saying he combines Edwards's Southern background with Kerry's credibility on national security.At a town hall forum at Riviera College in Nashua yesterday, Clark appeared with three supporters who offered testimonials about his personal virtues, including Jamie Rubin, the Clinton-era State Department assistant secretary who is Clark's chief foreign policy adviser. Rubin, who worked with Clark during the 1999 war in Kosovo, called him a leader who could withstand pressure, "keep calm on only a few hours of sleep, and bring us to victory." At the same time, Kerry tried to keep a firm hold on his lead, declining to criticize his rivals or, for that matter, make much news. His central headline of the day: an endorsement by Walter Mondale, the former vice president and 1984 Democratic presidential nominee, who praised Kerry in a statement as having "the experience, judgment, and character to serve as president, and he has the skills to do the job on day one." Joanna Weiss, Patrick Healy, and Glen Johnson of the Globe staff contributed to this report.