THE US: After consolidating his position as front-runner in the race for the Democratic nomination, Senator John Kerry is eyeing Tennessee and Virginia next week, and Wisconsin on February 17th, to see off any rivals who still have a foot in the door.
The Massachusetts senator won five of the seven contests held on Tuesday, adding Missouri, Arizona, Delaware, New Mexico and North Dakota to his wins in Iowa and New Hampshire.
North Carolina Senator John Edwards won South Carolina, the state where he was born, and finished a strong second-place in Oklahoma, keeping his populist campaign alive.
Retired General Wesley Clark had a razor-thin victory in Oklahoma, but failed to impress in other states. He and former front-runner Howard Dean, who did not campaign for any of the seven states, are rapidly running out of time and money to mount a serious challenge in the coming weeks.
As anticipated Senator Joe Lieberman, the most conservative candidate, dropped out of the race on Tuesday evening after failing to make an impact in any state since the campaign began.
"Now we will carry this campaign and the cause of a stronger, fairer, more prosperous America to every part of America," said Senator Kerry, who yesterday won the important endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers.
"It's a huge night, I'm stunned by it. It's a statement by Democrats across the country that I am the candidate who can take on George Bush and beat him," Mr Kerry said after the results were announced.
"George Bush, who speaks of strength, has made America weaker - weaker economically, weaker in education and weaker in healthcare," Mr Kerry said. "Our opponents say they want to campaign on national security. We will not run from that debate - we welcome it."
Wisconsin in 12 days could be the watershed in the Democratic process, which stretches from January 19th to June 8th, according to campaign insiders.
Senator Edwards is setting his sights on a good showing in the mid-western state to prove he can win outside his native south. Aides to Howard Dean said his strategy rested on a revival in Wisconsin to keep his campaign going until the big primaries in New York and California on March 2nd.
Mr Dean said he would keep going and going, "just like the Energiser Bunny", projecting himself as the only candidate who stood up to Mr Bush in the past.
Senator Kerry won 128 of the 269 delegates at stake on Tuesday, and now has nearly 250 of the 2,162 delegates needed for the nomination.
The Massachusetts senator's powerful surge, along with Mr Edwards's double-digit victory in South Carolina, has fuelled speculation about a Kerry-Edwards ticket to oppose President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney in November.
Mr Kerry has demonstrated his vote-getting ability across the range of Democratic voters, scoring strongly among all income groups and among African-Americans and Hispanics.
His greatest asset, according to voters surveyed as they left polling stations on Tuesday, is the same as that which propelled him to big wins in Iowa and New Hampshire - the perception that he has the most experience and best national security credentials to beat President Bush.
The record turnout at the Democratic primaries and caucuses this year has underlined a deep dissatisfaction among Democrats with Mr Bush, making his defeat their number one concern. Even in South Carolina, where he came second, Mr Kerry led by 2:1 among voters who rated electability as their first priority.
Four in 10 voters in Missouri, one in three in Oklahoma and South Carolina and one in two in Delaware said anger at Mr Bush rather than just dissatisfaction drove their decisions, showing that angry Democrats have deserted Mr Dean for other, more viable candidates.
Only around 4 per cent of electors on Tuesday ranked the former Vermont governor, who galvanised a demoralised Democratic Party with his defiance of Mr Bush over the war, as the candidate best able to beat him in the presidential election.
Mr Edwards scored better than Mr Kerry among voters looking for someone who "cares about people like me".Mr Edwards said the race had turned into a two-man contest between himself and Mr Kerry, "and I'll let General Clark argue for whether he should be No 3."
General Clark, energised by his one victory in Oklahoma, went on the attack when campaigning yesterday in Tennessee, saying of his opponents: "They're criticising No Child Left Behind - they voted for it; they're criticising the tax cuts - they voted for them; they're criticising the war in Iraq - they voted for it. They're criticising the Patriot Act - they voted for it."
In a sign of confidence, the side of Mr Kerry's campaign bus and the seat covers on his chartered plane have logos that say simply, "John Kerry President".