More Are Falling in Line Behind Kerry

MADISON, Wis. â€”  Signaling a growing effort to close ranks behind the Democratic front-runner, the nation’s biggest labor group will endorse Sen. John F. Kerry’s presidential bid, officials of the AFL-CIO said Friday.

The endorsement, set for next week, was revealed on a day Kerry sparred with the White House over special-interest donations and picked up the endorsement of retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark, who stood alongside his former rival in Madison.

“I want to say: ‘Sir, request permission to come aboard. The Army’s here,’ � Clark said at a morning rally in this snowy state capital. He promised to work with Kerry, a Navy veteran and Massachusetts senator, to help “get the White House back to its rightful owners.�

Kerry, in turn, vowed to fight back against President Bush and the Republican Party. He decried a new Bush campaign ad that mocked the senator’s stand against Washington lobbyists and special interests.

“I noticed the first advertisement they’re running is a negative one,� Kerry said. “No surprise.�

Word of the pending AFL-CIO endorsement provided a big boost as Kerry sought to tie down the Democratic nomination and turn his sights to the general election campaign against Bush.

Karen Ackerman, AFL-CIO political director, said Friday the federation would seek to mobilize roughly 13 million members and their families to vote for Kerry, assuming he wins the Democratic nomination.

“Starting earlier than ever before, we have more people talking about the issues that matter to working families and talking about where the candidates stand on the issues,� she said.

A spokesman for the Kerry campaign, Stephanie Cutter, said the senator “would be thrilled to have the endorsement of the AFL-CIO, the heart and soul of working Americans across the nation.�

Until now, the AFL-CIO has stayed neutral in the Democratic contest. An endorsement requires the support of unions representing two-thirds of the AFL-CIO’s roughly 13 million members, a benchmark no candidate could meet. Instead, individual unions chose different candidates.

Earlier in the campaign, 21 industrial unions representing a broad swath of workers in the nation’s manufacturing base signed on with Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, a longtime labor ally. But Gephardt finished fourth in the Iowa caucuses, the first test of the primary season, and quit the race the next day.

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who held the lead in polls for much of fall and early winter, won support of the nation’s largest union, the Service Employees International Union, and the second-largest, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. But as Kerry chalked up one victory after another -- and Dean was unable to translate early support into actual votes -- the government workers union withdrew its endorsement.

Little dissent is anticipated when the AFL-CIO’s general board meets Thursday to act on the recommendation of President John Sweeney. The board includes the leaders of 64 unions affiliated with the labor federation, as well as other top labor officials.

News of the AFL-CIO’s expected action overshadowed Kerry’s other big endorsement Friday, from Clark, who left the Democratic race after finishing third in the Virginia and Tennessee primaries Tuesday.

Clark used his joint appearance with Kerry to take a veiled swipe at Bush.

“Both John and I served in Vietnam, and we know what it is to be tested on the battlefield fighting for your country,� Clark said. Kerry will “stand up to the Republican attack dogs and send them home licking their wounds,� he said.

Bush served stateside in the National Guard during the Vietnam War and has faced questions about whether he fulfilled his duties.

On Thursday, the president launched the first advertising of his reelection campaign, a video posted on his campaign Web site that sought to undercut Kerry’s promise to fight the influence of Washington lobbyists.

A voice intones: “More special-interest money than any other senator. How much?�

On the screen flashes, “Money from lobbyists, $640,000.�

The ad refers to campaign donations that Kerry has accepted during his 19 years in the Senate.

Cutter, Kerry’s spokeswoman, issued a written statement Friday calling the spot a “misleading, negative attack.�

“We welcome a debate on special interests, because there’s nobody more vulnerable on this issue than George Bush,� Cutter said. “The fact is, George Bush has taken more special-interest money than any person in history.�

A more neutral observer suggested both sides were correct, and that neither was in a position to criticize the other.

“Kerry has taken more money from lobbyists than anyone else in the Senate,� said Bill Allison, a spokesman for the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan campaign finance reform group.

Bush, having raised $130 million for his reelection bid, “has taken more money than anyone has� in any presidential campaign, Allison said. “It’s at least a case of the pot calling the kettle black.�

La Ganga reported from Madison and Barabak from Milwaukee. Times staff writer James Gerstenzang contributed to this report.