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John Kerry: George Bush's days are numbered
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2004-02-08 15:16
U.S. Democrat Senator John Kerry romped to two more big victories in the
Democratic presidential battle on Saturday night, overwhelming Howard Dean in
two of his one-time strongholds, Washington and Michigan, and solidifying his
position as the favorite to win his party's nomination.
Mr. Kerry's twin victories - including the one in Michigan, the biggest state
that has voted to date, with 128 delegates - mean he has now won 9 of the first
11 nominating contests. By contrast, Dr. Dean, who placed second in Michigan and
Washington, has won none.
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| U.S. Democrat Senator John Kerry speaks to
his supporters in Virginia Feb. 7, 2004.
[Reuters] | The result left little doubt of Mr.
Kerry's command of the Democratic field as the candidates head to a vote on
Sunday in Maine, where Mr. Kerry is also considered strong, and in Tennessee and
Virginia on Tuesday. Mr. Kerry had been campaigning intensely in those two
Southern states in a hope of victories that would knock out the two Southerners
in the race, Senator John Edwards of North Carolina and Gen. Wesley K. Clark of
Arkansas.
Mr. Kerry, of Massachusetts, speaking at a rally before a Democratic dinner
in Richmond, Va., on Saturday evening, hailed the results and moved to turn the
discussion away from the Democratic presidential race to the contest with Mr.
Bush this fall.
"In Michigan and Washington, a message is being sent - and it's the same
message that was sent from Iowa, New Hampshire, to Missouri, to North Dakota, to
New Mexico to Arizona," he said, "And it is the message that I am carrying to
Virginia and to Tennessee, and the message is: George Bush's days are numbered."
In Michigan, with 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Mr. Kerry had 52
percent, while Dr. Dean had 17 percent, barely meeting the 15 percent threshold
for qualifying for delegates. Mr. Edwards came in third with 14
percent.
In Washington, with 99 percent of the precincts counted, Mr.
Kerry had 48 percent, compared with 30 percent for Dr. Dean.
In Michigan, state party leaders extended the closing time of the poll to 6
p.m. from 4 p.m. in Detroit after a last-minute shift of six caucus sites led to
confusion across the city. Some advisers to Mr. Sharpton and Dr. Dean said the
last-minute change had the effect of disenfranchising some minority voters, but
Democratic leaders, in announcing the result, said they had confidence in the
tally.
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