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Analysts debate Super Tuesday results


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(CNN) -- Sen. John Kerry all but wrapped up the Democratic Party's presidential nomination on Super Tuesday, as aides to his main rival, Sen. John Edwards, announced that the North Carolina senator plans to drop out of the race Wednesday. CNN political analysts debated the results of the biggest day in the Democratic primary season.

"You know, people looked at John Edwards and said he's too young. He's too inexperienced. He's only served one term in the Senate. Who does he think he is? And yet look at what he accomplished. He came in second in Iowa. He had a hard time in New Hampshire, but he's done well in some of these other states. But more than anything else, he has proven himself to be a charismatic, effective campaigner."

-- CNN anchor Judy Woodruff

"I don't think it's likely [Edwards] will be the nominee for vice president, but I do think it was smart of him to get out early and to get out on a pretty graceful note, rather than dragging it out as Howard Dean did -- and also to get out now. ... I think he's done it in a fairly stylish way. I think there's some evidence he doesn't wear that well -- the televangelism does get old after a while -- and at this point, he gets out now, he looks pretty good."

-- "Crossfire" co-host Tucker Carlson

"This is now John Kerry's Democratic Party. It will not be official for some time, but it is now his party. And his campaign, we are told by a number of sources, will move very quickly to assert control over the Democratic Party. On the search for a running mate, senior sources in the Kerry campaign tell me that the senator wants to move very quickly because he wants to keep the option open of making his choice well before the Democratic convention in July. Some Democrats believe that would be a way to generate excitement in the lull we will now enter. That the senator has locked up the nomination, they are not committing to that, but they might announce their choice for vice president well in advance of the convention."

-- CNN senior White House correspondent John King

"[Sen. John Kerry] essentially told Democrats 'I can talk about international affairs. I can talk about the military. I can stand next to President Bush and make a credible argument that I can keep you safe.' This was not a year when Democrats were looking for an outsider. Three candidates ran as outsiders: Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, John Edwards. They all failed. That sometimes works. ... In 1992, [Bill] Clinton was an outsider. This year, they wanted someone with experience, credentials and qualifications -- and that's what they saw in John Kerry."

-- CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider

"I think this is going to be a very tough campaign. When you listen to John Kerry over time, his words are a lot of military jargon and a lot of very muscular language. They feel that no one has ever really stood up to George Bush, taking a page from Howard Dean. They feel that because of his credentials, this is a man who really is not going to take anything sitting down. They will. They have responded. If George Bush says something, they're out there with three or four responses before you can turn around -- John Kerry himself responding. So I expect this to be a very fast-moving as well as a very tough campaign."

-- CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley

"I think next week is going to be huge. While we're all focused on Super Tuesday, two big things will happen. First, we'll get the unemployment numbers for February, and remember: If these numbers aren't in the [range of] 200,000 new jobs created and instead are in the 112,000 [range] we saw in January, that's going to be tough for a president who is getting out there and trying to say that he's steadied the economy. The second thing: watch March 9 in Florida. While there's no longer a serious contest, that is ground zero for the general election. And make no mistake about it, the Kerry people are smart enough and serious enough to stage a major event, and what we've seen in Ohio and in other places is that where the Kerry people go, the Bush people follow soon. And so the general election won't take two or three months to break out."

-- CNN political analyst Carlos Watson


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