Big primary day today

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Sens. John Edwards and John Kerry leveled a last-minute round of charges about each other's credentials on Monday as Democrats marched toward a round of contests in seven states that party leaders said could transform the nomination battle by forcing some candidates out of the race.

The exchanges between Edwards and Kerry, conducted in the course of a day crammed with rallies, bus and jet rides, and telephone calls to supporters, reflected the significance of today's votes.

Edwards, of North Carolina, who has said he must win South Carolina to keep his candidacy viable, broke his self-imposed vow of political civility on Monday, criticizing Kerry for supporting trade treaties that are highly unpopular here and for accepting contributions from lobbyists.

"We want someone who hasn't been there for 15 to 20 years, if you're going to bring change," Edwards told reporters here, referring to Kerry's service in the Senate. He added: "I don't take contributions from lobbyists. He obviously does."

Kerry of Massachusetts, speaking with a Columbia, S.C., television station via satellite from Albuquerque, suggested that Edwards, who has spent five years in the Senate, did not have the experience to take on President Bush or to lead the nation in perilous times.

"This is not a time for on-the-job training in the White House for national security issues," Kerry said. A moment later, after the interview was over, in an aside that his aides insisted had not been intended for public consumption, Kerry mocked Edwards' claim that he was the strongest Democrat the party could put up against Bush because he was from the South.

"Edwards says he's the only one who can win states in the South," Kerry said to a senior aide, David Wade, in a remark that was picked up by microphones. "He can't win his own state."

Even as he batted at Edwards, Kerry turned an eye to the general election, saying he had not made up his mind about whether to follow up attacks made by senior Democrats challenging Bush's record of attendance in the Air National Guard. On Sunday, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Terry McAuliffe, accused Bush of being AWOL, a reference to questions about whether Bush showed up at required drills in his final months of service.

"There's a larger question here: Do you think the president served the country honorably, or did he somehow shirk on his service?" said Kerry, a veteran of the Vietnam War. "And can you speak in a blunt way?"