A quartet of women turned things around after campaign manager Jim Jordan was ditched, and spinner-spokesman Chris Lehane defected to Wesley Clark.

Ex-New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen took over as national chairwoman. She is a cool, steely organizer who's been making top dogs out of underdogs in the Granite State since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

MaryBeth Cahill, senior aide to Sen. Edward Kennedy, took over as campaign manager and message sharpener. At a key point in the Iowa caucuses, Kerry was endorsed by Christie Vilsack -- wife of Gov. Tom Vilsack -- a champion of education with a statewide network of friends.

Of most interest, however, is Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of the candidate. Born in Mozambique, the daughter of a Portuguese doctor, she inherited a $600 million fortune with the death of her first husband, Pennsylvania's GOP Sen. John Heinz.

She has, however, proven more compelling than exotic. Heinz Kerry embraced the retail politics of Iowa, explaining what it was like growing up in a dictatorship -- "My father cast his first free vote when he was 71 years old" -- and being educated in South Africa under apartheid.

Her soft, purr of a voice compelled attention even at rowdy rallies. Heinz Kerry is uninhibited, talking about everything from energy-conserving building design to Botox to being taught as a girl in Africa to recognize poisonous snakes.

The last skill is of particular value. If nominated, Sen. Kerry will find himself pitted against Bush guru Karl Rove, the black mamba of American political consultants.

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., was with Kerry from day one. Ex-Govs. Booth Gardner (Washington) and Cecil Andrus (Idaho) delivered early, belief-driven backing to Dean.

Since Kerry won in Iowa and New Hampshire, however, Sen. Maria Cantwell, Gov. Gary Locke and Reps. Rick Larsen, Norm Dicks and Jay Inslee have become quick converts.

A similar pattern has prevailed across the country. It has created a curious problem for Kerry.

Once they signal a readiness to endorse, officeholders insist on a call from the candidate formally asking for their support. The lineup of Kerry endorsees has grown so long that the senator has been hard-put finding time on the phone to reel them in.

Dean has, however, been a nurturing leader. He stumbled elsewhere, but six spirited appearances in Washington have helped give Democrats back their mojo.

A second campaign sprang from similar roots. Backers of Gen. Wesley Clark connected by computer, discovered their numbers with meet-ups at Kell's and expanded into successful house parties.

Down at campaign HQ in Little Rock, Ark., however, Eli Siegal and other ex-Clintonites running things made sky-high fund-raising demands a condition of deploying the general. Clark has yet to make it to Washington. He is slated to be in Tennessee today and tomorrow.

Somebody should have grabbed these boobs and told them not to let wither a spirited campaign. We need you, Justin Timberlake.

"Dean's Calmer Side Surfaces" declared the front page of the Jan. 12-18 edition, with the subhead: "The front-runner is learning to take his rivals' jabs in stride."

Other cover headlines included: "Can Dean Cure the Democrats' Ills?" and "The One to Beat? Dean's Success Confounds His Rivals."

After Iowa, several leading U.S. pundits might think of taking the name of a Cambodian government spokesman of the 1970s: Major Am Rong.

On caucus night, coverage began with an explanation that organization counts most in Iowa -- giving an advantage to Dean and Dick Gephardt. Talking heads dismissed talk that Democrats would go to caucus with an eye to picking the most "electable" nominee.

The winners were Kerry and Sen. John Edwards. Thousands of Iowans determined that the Vietnam War hero stood the best chance against Bush, while Gephardt caucus captains found their troops defecting to the North Carolinian.

A pair of kudos: Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen picked up -- early -- signs that Kerry was coming on. Grumpy conservative pundit Robert Novak spotted cracks in the Dean façade.

Integral to American government, however, is another talent -- the ability to block bad stuff from happening.

Bush I and Bush II -- along with the oil industry and major industrial unions -- have relentlessly lobbied Congress to open pristine caribou calving grounds of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling.

Drilling has passed the House. It has been blocked in the Senate by a filibuster: The filibuster's leaders -- John Kerry and Joe Lieberman.

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