Kerry's ready for hard knocks

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- As the crowd cheers and U2's "Beautiful Day" pulses through the rink, hockey players circle the ice -- all wearing helmets except one.

That would be the guy running for president.

John Kerry later donned headgear for a pick-up hockey game -- and soon, he will need protective gear for the hard knocks to come in a changing and quickly moving campaign.

For while Kerry is favored to win Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, the upcoming political calendar may not favor the Massachusetts senator. And the new front-runner can expect pounding from rivals similar to what helped knock off Howard Dean.

"This is a race to the finish," Kerry said before the hockey exhibition featuring former Boston Bruins, local firefighters, high school all-stars, and two members of the U.S. women's national team. "There's a lot of work to be done between now and Tuesday evening."

After that, too.

The end of the New Hampshire primary signals the start of a race in which multiple states hold primary election days, the first face- offs coming Feb. 3 in seven states.

The next phase of the campaign also features the first foray below the Mason-Dixon line. South Carolina figures to be patchy ice at best for a senator from Massachusetts, even one who took the Iowa caucuses and appears on the verge of victory in New Hampshire.

"I don't know if it flows into South Carolina, Oklahoma and North Dakota," said political analyst Charles Cook.

Other Feb. 3 contests are in Arizona, Missouri, Delaware and New Mexico.

All the Democratic campaigns are busy trying to decide when and where to campaign after Tuesday, planning made more complicated by an unexpected development: Dick Gephardt's withdrawal from the race. That leaves his home state of Missouri wide open for remaining candidates.

While Kerry would seem to have a better shot in Missouri, South Carolina Democrats say skipping their primary would be an insult to Southerners, including black voters.

Yet John Edwards of North Carolina and Wesley Clark of Arkansas figure to have geographical advantages in the South. Dean, despite last week's troubles, still has the money and organization to compete far down the line.

Kerry aides said that, with money and support rolling in after Iowa, they can compete anywhere. They have the endorsement of outgoing South Carolina senator Ernest Hollings; they are also working toward voting set for the weekend of Feb. 7-8 in Michigan, Washington, and Maine.

"We have a number of opportunities, whether it's South Carolina, Missouri, Michigan, Arizona, New Mexico, Washington state," said Kerry aide David Wade.

"We're going to keep our eye on the ball for right now, which is New Hampshire."

That explains the hockey match that just happened to be held at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Coliseum.

Wearing the blue jersey of the University of New Hampshire Wildcats, John Forbes Kerry said playing with former Bruins is "like a kid's dream come true."

"Today, they get to carry my dream because I'm in the worst shape I've ever been in my life," he added.

Spectators had reason to question that assessment, as the 60-year- old candidate skated well against mostly younger players.

The hockey exhibition was part of a campaign strategy aimed at showcasing Kerry's virile side.

In recent days, copies of a 1998 issue of American WindSurfer magazine with Kerry on the cover have begun showing up at campaign events. A multi-page photo spread inside shows Kerry sailing his board in Nantucket, putting on a wetsuit in the shadow of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and taping up hand blisters in Aruba.

After the hockey exhibition the candidate said: "For everyone who's counting votes before they're cast, remember: Your jersey doesn't hang from the rafters until you win the Stanley Cup. And I'm just going to keep heading down the ice."

Contributing: James Kuhnhenn, Knight Ridder Newspapers.

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