John Kerry vowed that he would not be another “wishy-washy, mealy-mouthed” Democrat, pledging Monday to wage a bare-knuckled campaign against President Bush as he sought a Super Tuesday sweep to lay claim to the party’s nomination.

Kerry highlighted the short political career of rival John Edwards in an interview with a television station in Georgia, where advisers to both candidates say the freshman North Carolina senator poses the biggest challenge.

“I have a stronger, longer, broader, deeper record than John Edwards,” Kerry, a 19-year Senate veteran, told WALB in Albany. “John Edwards I respect — he’s been in the Senate since 1999. But there is no showing that he has a stronger record than I do with respect to putting people back to work and what we need to do to show the leadership of the future.”

On the eve of their 10-state showdown, Edwards faced signs of political distress as Kerry’s last major Democratic rival — meager polling, paltry crowds and a growing realization inside his own ranks that the end may be near.

“At some point, I’ve got to start getting more delegates, or I’m not going to be the nominee,” he said in Ohio.

Regardless of today’s results, Bush plans to begin a multimillion-dollar TV ad campaign Thursday to reverse his downward trend. Kerry’s campaign is considering a modest response designed to put the White House on the defensive, said two senior advisers who spoke on condition of anonymity. Democratic allies may move sooner.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., gestures addresses a rally at Ohio State University in Columbus. Kerry hopes to clinch the Democratic nomination after today's Super Tuesday primaries.