Just over a week has passed since “Comeback Kerry” stole Iowa from Howard Dean. The candidates are now campaigning hard in New Hampshire and the race is heating up. Now that John Kerry has surpassed both Dean and Wesley Clark in the Granite State’s polls, he is surely the man to beat.

After attacking two of his fellow Democratic candidates, Dean is distancing himself further from voters he desperately needs in the New Hampshire primaries. The former governor of Vermont claims his campaign is on the receiving end of some dirty tricks being played by Kerry and Joe Lieberman, whom he explicitly names.

This recent development falls in line with other questionable actions by Howard Dean. The speech he gave after the Iowa caucuses ended rather unpleasantly with an angry listing of the remaining primaries and a now infamous “battle cry” which has been replayed on network television incessantly to further expose the former governor’s follies. He even appeared on David Letterman to do one of the show’s popular Top Ten lists, this one being the “Top Ten Howard Dean Excuses.” Does a showing of humility allow a candidate to rebound from a lack of support?

Not if you’re running for president.

Despite all of this, Dean asserts he is closing the gap between him and front-runner Kerry. However, Dean is still more than 10 percent behind Kerry in most polls. I think we can file this assertion under campaign rhetoric. After all, if Dean can’t hold his composure against an innocent 66-year-old man, how can we expect him to defend himself against an incumbent president who holds one of the highest approval ratings in the history of our great country?

All of this means good things for John Edwards, who has managed to fly below the “yellow politics” radar thus far. If events transpire as they did in Iowa, Edwards could easily pick up the 12 percent slack he currently has trailing Dean. A strong second-place finish for Edwards would spell disaster for Dean’s run for the White House.

Kerry has skipped South Carolina, a state where Edwards has a slight lead over the rest of the candidates, in favor of Missouri. After hiring one of Gephardt’s top campaign aides, Steve Elmendorf, Kerry is confident he will take the state to our south. He also expects to receive endorsement from Gephardt in the near future.

Kerry’s support and abundant endorsements come to him despite his record of flip-flopping on issues important to the presidential election in the fall. The fact that he voted no for Desert Storm and yes for Operation Iraqi Freedom is troubling indeed.

How will Kerry defend himself against President Bush in the upcoming election? It is impossible for him to criticize the president on Iraq because he has been wishy-washy in the past.

In all reality, it seems Kerry is receiving support because of his experience. This is truly the only downfall of John Edwards. He has served only one term with the U.S. Senate and is now running for the presidency. While experience should undoubtedly be considered when electing a president, it should not be the only qualifying attribute as we see now in the Democratic nomination race.

Howard Dean is “tainted goods” as Bill O’Reilly so eloquently put it. There is no possible way for him to be nominated.

Wesley Clark, who shot up too fast, is likely to fizzle out after New Hampshire. Clark won’t lose, however, simply because he became too popular too fast. Instead, he will lose because his view on our recent war with Iraq was the only leg he had to stand on.

The Democratic race is truly between only two individuals, John Kerry and John Edwards.

Beating the incumbent in 2004 is one issue almost every Democrat can agree on. Thus far, however, the candidates have only been beating around the Bush.

When it comes time to decide who the next president of the United States will be, selecting a Democratic candidate with electability is paramount. Kerry has the experience to assume the presidency. Edwards has the fire and passion to capture a nation and beat Bush in the upcoming election.