Patriot games for war heroes in the firing line

By RUPERT CORNWELL in Derry

Two Vietnam war heroes - one the front-runner, the other the general who has never before stood for public office - are battling here for the veterans' vote this weekend, in a struggle that could have a vital bearing on who wins the Democratic nomination to take on President George W. Bush in November.

As the crucial New Hampshire primary entered its final frantic days, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and retired General Wesley Clark criss-crossed the state in search of undecided voters. And no constituency is more important than veterans, who according to the Clark campaign may account for one in seven of the 463,000 registered Democratic and independent voters eligible to take part in Wednesday's election.

The past few days have been a harsh awakening for the general. The Iowa caucuses result turned on its head his calculation that the fiery Howard Dean would ride his opposition to the Iraq war to victory. This in turn would have made the four-star general and former Nato supreme commander into the sole credible "stop Dean" candidate.

Instead, Kerry - like General Clark, decorated for valour in Vietnam - pulled off a stunning victory, and his new momentum threatens to carry all before it here.

Polls show the Massachusetts senator has pulled into a large, widening lead. The latest, by WMUR TV, New Hampshire's most watched station, gave him 37 per cent, followed by Dean with 19 per cent and Clark with 15 per cent. North Carolina Senator John Edwards was running fourth with 11 per cent, despite his unexpectedly strong second place in Iowa.

While Clark's support seems to have reached a plateau, Kerry and Dean have almost exactly reversed positions.

Addressing a crowd of 600 packed into a high school gym here Clark tried to recapture the initiative, delivering an impassioned message of patriotism, faith and duty.

He alone, he insisted, had the qualities to right the damage done by Bush and restore America's standing in the world after Iraq. "The Iraq war wasn't patriotic," he said. "The Iraq war was bad, deceptive and wrong.

"And it's not my definition of patriotism to dress up in a flight suit and prance around the deck of an aircraft carrier," he said, referring to Bush's sortie to the USS Abraham Lincoln last May to proclaim "mission accomplished" after the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Behind the scenes a scramble is on for the veterans' vote.

"There's a real battle between Clark and Kerry," said Leigh Wheeler, a former Army colonel who is busy making calls to fellow veterans to urge them to support the general. The friendship between them goes back to West Point, from where they both graduated in 1966. Of their classmates, 20 per cent were killed or wounded in Vietnam.

Last week Clark and Kerry made donations to a new shelter for homeless veterans in Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city, in the hope of securing the founder's endorsement - which in the end went to the Massachusetts senator.

Yesterday, Kerry too used the "patriotism" argument against Bush, accusing the President of cutting veterans' benefits even as he trumpeted the virtues of the military: "We're not taking lessons in patriotism from those who don't understand that the first obligation of patriotism is to keep faith with those who fought for their country."

The military rivalry between the two briefly turned nasty on television last week, as the former Nato commander appeared to belittle the Kerry record, suggesting he had stayed in the Army to rise to the rank of four-star general, while Kerry had served merely two years as a lieutenant.

If the veteran vote is important here, it may be even more so later in the campaign. Assuming a respectable finish in New Hampshire, Clark - reared in Arkansas - hopes to make real headway in the south, where military values are particularly resonant.

However, Kerry also needs those votes to show he has appeal across the country, not just in his native New England and the relatively unrepresentative state of Iowa.

The White House is already taking aim at Kerry as Bush's potential opponent in November, identifying him as a member of that dreaded species, a "Massachusetts liberal", weak and out of tune with the country.

- INDEPENDENT

JOHN KERRY

AGE: 60.

EDUCATION: Yale University, BA; Boston College, degree in Law.

FAMILY: Wife Teresa Heinz, two children and three stepchildren.

EXPERIENCE: Navy officer during the Vietnam War, then spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War in 1971. Practised law from 1976 to 1982.

He was Massachusetts lieutenant governor 1983-1985, then was elected to the United States Senate in 1985-present. Has taken President George W. Bush to task on foreign policy. His health may be an issue - he has recently had surgery to remove a cancerous prostate gland.

KERRY ON THE KEY ISSUES:

Bush tax cuts: Would keep some tax cuts focused on the middle classes.

Health care: Emphasis on cutting costs, extending coverage to every child and most adults. The Government would cover 75 per cent of catastrophic claims. Prescription drugs would also be covered under Medicare.

War against Iraq: Supported.

Same-sex marriage: Opposed. Also opposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Believes the issue should be left to individual states.


WESLEY CLARK

AGE: 59

EDUCATION: US Military Academy, West Point; Oxford University, Rhodes Scholar.

FAMILY: Wife Gertrude and one child.

EXPERIENCE: White House fellow, 1974-1975; Director of strategic plans and policy, Joint Chief of Staff, 1994-1996; Commander in Chief, US Southern Command, 1996-1997; Nato Supreme Allied Commander, 1997-2000.

Clark is also a retired four-star general and served in Vietnam. The doubters point to his lack of political experience and the absence of any kind of track record on domestic issues.

CLARK ON THE KEY ISSUES

Bush tax cuts: Would repeal for top wage earners, using the money for a US$100 billion ($148 billion) job-creation programme.

Health care: Priorities are preventive care and extending health care for children.

War: Opposes Bush's handling of post-war Iraq.

Same-sex marriage: Uncompromising support .

Patriot games for war heroes in the firing line