Kerry greets his supporters following the comeback victory

DES MOINES, United States, January 20 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – U.S. Senator of Massachusetts and Presidential hopeful snatched Monday night, January 19, a come-from-behind victory in the Iowa caucuses, stunning Democratic party frontrunner Howard Dean and shaking up all speculations.

With 98 percent of precincts reporting in the agricultural Midwestern state, Kerry's platform had harvested 37.6 percent of the vote, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who less than a month ago was supported by fewer than 10 percent of Iowa Democrats, came second with 31.8 percent.

The Iowa caucuses were to have been the first step in what Dean had hoped would be his coronation for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

"Iowa, I love you," said Kerry, 60, a veteran of the Vietnam War, savoring a victory which empowered a previously sluggish campaign for the Democratic Party nomination in the November 2 election. 

"Not so long ago this campaign was written off," he told supporters, branding himself the "comeback Kerry," paraphrasing the "comeback kid" nickname of former President Bill Clinton.

"I have a special message for the special interests that have a home in the Bush White House: 'we're coming, you're going, and don't let the door hit you on the way out'."

Record numbers of Iowa Democrats braved frigid temperatures to take part in the fabled launch pad for the U.S. Presidential election year.

"I knew it would be a tough fight," said Jessica Enns, a 22-year-old student, "but people realized we need to nominate someone who is electable and that's John Kerry."

Close behind Kerry was fellow Senator John Edwards, a millionaire trial lawyer who claimed his strong showing had launched a wave of change across America.

Dean Stunned

But voters stung national frontrunner, former Vermont governor Dean, who has run a highflying upstart campaign fuelled by fierce opposition to the Iraq war.

Vowing "we will not quit now or ever," Dean made a public show of rolling up his sleeves before supporters, in a bid to energize his campaign following the defeat.

"We want our country back for ordinary Americans," Dean said in a startlingly defiant speech, screaming the names of states where he predicted victory for his campaign.

Dean licked his wounds with 18 percent while Representative Dick Gephardt, a fourth heavyweight once favored in Iowa, was left staring at political oblivion with 10.6 percent, as he signaled that Kerry's knockout blow would end his campaign.

The four leading candidates were all seeking to seize the momentum ahead of primary elections in New Hampshire on January 27 and 10 other states on March 2.

Wesley Clark, the retired four-star general, and Senator Joseph Lieberman, Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 Presidential election, gambled by not contesting Iowa.

Clark, who has been campaigning in New Hampshire noted Kerry's win, but said he was unfazed by his strong showing.

"With all due respect, he's a lieutenant and I'm a general," Clark told CNN. "I've done all of the big leadership."

Other candidates in Iowa, outsiders Reverend Al Sharpton, the outspoken civil rights activist, and Representative Dennis Kucinich, running on an unabashedly liberal platform, polled tiny shares of the vote.

Officials said the record registration was fuelled by grass roots Democrat anger at Bush's Republican administration.

Bush will grab back the spotlight Tuesday with his annual State of the Union address to Congress, expected to include a defense of his war on Iraq, and a sheaf of election-year domestic initiatives.

Given a choice between Bush and an unspecified Democratic candidate, a New York Times/CBS poll out Sunday, January 18, showed that 43 percent would vote for Bush and 45 percent would vote for the Democrat.

Bush's overall approval rating fell to 50 percent from 58 percent in December.

The caucuses and primaries held in the 50 states will choose 4,315 delegates who will select the Democratic Party's Presidential contender at a national convention on July 26-29 in Boston.