Primaries show change in voter opinion, Kerry seems unstoppable

To Talk of Many Things

The results of the Virginia and Tennessee primaries Tuesday served to confirm the power of the juggernaut campaign that John Kerry has conducted to win the Democratic nomination for president. He cruised to two more resounding victories in Virginia and Tennessee.

Howard Dean, meanwhile, has seen his once-flourishing presidential prospects abruptly vanish.

The Virginia and Tennessee primaries were significant because they served as a particularly interesting test ground to weigh the remaining candidates' relative strengths and weaknesses against each other.

In these two Southern states, John Edwards obviously held promise with his Southern background, along with an enticingly exuberant air.

Retired Gen. Wesley Clark possessed some of this appeal as well, with his Arkansas background and military pedigree. Kerry had the advantage of not only having the most prestige within the party, but also a winner's appeal that was augmented with every conquest in the races leading up to this week.

Kerry's campaign momentum turned out to be decisive in securing him fresh wins in two Southern states despite his New England heritage.

Clark also never had recovered from the disabling blow that Kerry dealt him in New Hampshire, where he had expected to run against Dean one-on-one.

Clark simply was not prepared to fight a newly empowered Kerry and Edwards, fresh from their strong Iowa showings, and lack of momentum culminated in his campaign's end Tuesday.

Kerry seems all but certain now to attain his party's blessing, and he certainly has many positive things going for him. His stature in the party and his moderate-to-liberal positions on economic and social issues have enabled him to gather support from many types of Democratic voters.

Kerry's venerable success is extraordinary considering that, at the beginning of the year, Dean was said to be unstoppable. This year's Democratic nomination story simply demonstrates that, as in sports, nothing is certain in politics until the final outcome is established.

Jonathan Kelly is a junior political science major.