Senator John Kerry's double-digit triumph in the New Hampshire primary makes him the undefeated, undisputed man to beat in the Democratic presidential race, with all the possibilities and perils that come with it.
At the same time, primary day interviews with voters suggest that Howard Dean possesses recuperative powers of the type he'll need to challenge Kerry in the rush of delegate-rich contests ahead.
Senators John Edwards and Joseph Lieberman and retired General Wesley Clark, dispatched to the rear by the voters, face daunting challenges as they look for a way into the thick of the race.
Edwards conceded he must win South Carolina next week.
In victory, Kerry took on the role of front-runner if not the label.
"I ask Democrats everywhere to join us so that we can defeat [US President] George W. Bush and the economy of privilege," he said, remarks that looked to the fall campaign, rather than the 48 states that have yet to pass judgment on the Democratic presidential contenders.
By any standard, Kerry's New Hampshire comeback was remarkable.
A Boston Globe-WBZ poll taken on Dec. 10 and Dec. 11 showed Dean with 42 percent support in New Hampshire and Kerry at 19, abysmally low for a politician who has held office in next-door Massachusetts for a generation.
A victory in the Iowa caucuses bounced Kerry into an immediate lead in the polls.
Tailspin
At the same time, Dean went into a tailspin caused by his fade into third place in the caucuses and a fiery speech to supporters at night's end.
Still, interviews with New Hampshire voters as they left their polling places suggested Dean had managed to right his campaign over the final weekend before the primary.
Kerry trounced Dean by a margin of more than 3 to 1 among New Hampshire voters who made up their minds in the first few days after the Iowa caucuses.
But the margin was far closer among those who made up their minds in the last three days of the race.
"I was pleased to recover," said Dean, not generally given to understatement.
The former Vermont governor also sounded relieved to be rid of the front-runner's mantle -- and the scrutiny that comes with it. "He hasn't been in that position. We'll find out what happens," he said of Kerry.
In the 30 years since the Iowa caucuses rose to political prominence, only Jimmy Carter (twice) and Al Gore (once) have won both the caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Each time the nomination followed.
And Kerry's margin, well into double digits, made it harder for Dean to claim the sort of better-than-expected finish that propelled Bill Clinton toward the White House in 1992.
The voter survey suggested a divide within the party between those whose top priority is defeating President Bush and those most eager for a candidate who stands up for his beliefs.
About 20 percent of the primary voters said defeating Bush was their top priority, and Kerry won six in 10 of their votes.
Top quality
About one-third of the primary electorate said the top quality was "he stands up for what he believes," and Dean won half their votes.
The same survey showed that 30 percent of the voters identified health care as their top priority, opposed to 20 percent who cited the economy and jobs and another 20 percent who selected the war in Iraq.
Whatever the outcome, New Hampshire signaled the end of one phase of the campaign and the beginning of another.
The candidates have been tightly focused for weeks on Iowa and New Hampshire, two relatively low-population states lacking the type of racial diversity that characterizes the Democratic electorate elsewhere in the country and that would influence voting trends.
Democratic Party chairman Terry McAuliffe said that with New Hampshire's primary behind them, the presidential contenders would be turning their attention to "all different constituencies of our party.
"All different regions come into play and you've got to show you can win in all the regions of the country."
February brings primaries and caucuses in 17 states, including seven next week.
The Feb. 3 states include South Carolina, where as much as half of the votes may be cast by blacks, and Arizona, with a strong Hispanic presence.
Missouri, with the most delegates at stake that night, is a classic general election battleground state.
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