Kerry wins Virginia and Tennessee, extends dominance to the South

[Purveyor]

(02-10) 17:38 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --

John Kerry vanquished his Dixie-bred rivals in Virginia and Tennessee on Tuesday, all but unstoppable in his march toward the Democratic nomination with a Southern sweep that extended his dominance to every region of the country.

Kerry was pocketing about half the vote in Virginia, with John Edwards of North Carolina a poor second and Wesley Clark of Arkansas a far-distant third. Kerry easily beat Edwards and Clark in Tennessee.
<snip>

With the enormous victories, Kerry expanded his primary-season dominance to the last region on his political scorecard. He has won 12 of 14 contests -- on the East and West coasts, in the Midwest, the Great Plains and the Southwest.

Party leaders began pressing for the nomination fight to end.

"I think Democrats need to unify behind John Kerry and refocus on winning in November," said former Clinton White House chief of staff Leon Panetta, who is not tied to any campaign.

Kerry sought to dispatch his rivals with Tuesday's triumphs, victory next week in Wisconsin or a nail-in-the-coffin showing March 2, when 10 delegate-rich states hold elections.

In the AP interview, Kerry said it's not up to him to decide whether his foes should stay in the race.

"What we showed today is the mainstream values that I've been talking about, fairness and hope and hard work and love of country, are more important than boundaries and birthplace," the Massachusetts senator said.

"People want change in the country. They want to move forward in a new direction and I think I'm articulating what that new direction can be," Kerry said. "It's crossing all lines ... without regard to region and other labels."

AP Source Article

[tabasco]

1. The fat lady's warming up her voice.

We have such great candidates, it is too bad only one can win!

[saltpoint]

2. If Kerry's ascent is impressive, so is --

-- Bush's decline. The level of energy and mobilization against the White House incumbent is remarkable.

Another one-term Bush for the history books.

[LostInTheMaise]

3. That's too bad

Kerry is a pompous ass that will hand it over to Bush in 2004.

A sad day for real Democratic values.

[saltpoint]

4. My oh my.

My oh my. My oh my.

[library_max]

5. Thanks for your "help."

But I suppose "real Democrats" want to help Bush win in November, right?

[LostInTheMaise]

6. Kerry is the worst choice we could make

Sorry but that is my opinion.

[saltpoint]

7. Hey. The worst choice we could make in --

-- November is someone like Zell Miller. It seems to me untoward for you to slam a Democratic candidate after very significant cross-sections of Democrats from all parts of the country have voted him the winner in caucuses and primaries. They obviously disagree with you and there are several hundred thousand of them.

You're allowed to vote however you please. But don't slam the party, our voters, or our demonstrably strong candidates. It's bad form.

[DiverDave]

10. Yup, another

Zell supporter.
You are pretty transparent, pal.
Go away.
There are other sites that cater to your kind.
oops I forgot to ask (again)
Who did YOU vote for in '00, malaise? You did't answer in the "snowmobile" thread.
On second thought, just go away, (I can't call you the name you deserve)

[Terran]

8. Can anyone recall...

...a season of Democratic primaries that were so dominated by one candidate? It seems unusual, but then again, this is an unusual election. I guess most Dem voters are more like me and less like some of the DU partisans--they don't care who it is (more or less), as long as the candidiate seems able to beat bush. Kerry is not my first choice, but I still think he's a good man, and will not "hand it to bush." (!)

Dirk

[Frances]

9. I agree that Bush is the enemy

I thought the name of this forum was Democratic Underground and that the people who post here are Democrats.

[Terran]

11. Well...not exactly!

Frances, you're not exactly new, so you should know: anyone who's a progressive, whether that's a Democrat, Green, Socialist, whatever, is welcome to post here. It doesn't mean everyone has to agree on who the best front-runner is. Kerry's politics are not exactly mine, but I'm more of a realist than many people here...I'll gladly support him as my candidate.

Dirk