Establishment won
Party Leaders Express Relief at the Emergence of Kerry
Democratic leaders expressed relief Wednesday at the emergence of John Kerry as the leader of the party's presidential field, after his twin victories over Howard Dean.
Still, the evident relief among some Democratic leaders was testimony to their concern about what had once seemed the near-inevitability that Dr. Dean would be the party's standard-bearer in November. That concern had markedly grown in recent days, after his third-place finish in Iowa and the raucous concession speech he delivered that night.
"To the extent to which there is an establishment, it wants what the Democratic primary voters want: the strongest candidate in the fall," said Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana. "I think the consensus is that John will be a more formidable candidate than Howard."
A Southern Democratic state chairman, who would not allow his name to be used, said, "There's been a big sigh of relief," while a national Democratic strategist said: "It has been a sea change. People were worried."
Across the nation, Democratic leaders were again taking stock of Mr. Kerry, a candidate many had written off just a month ago
On Capitol Hill, the sense of excitement surrounding Mr. Kerry's back-to-back wins was palpable among Democrats, who are clearly eager to put the divisive primary season behind them. Many lawmakers -- some of whom had been privately despondent about Dr. Dean's rise in the polls last year -- were finally sounding as though they truly believed they could take on Mr. Bush and win.
"I think what's happened is there's an excitement that we could actually win the presidency, and there's a good feeling that Kerry could do it or that Edwards could do it," said Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York