Senator John Kerry's early victory for the Democratic presidential nomination has left the often-fractious party remarkably united as it seeks to recapture the White House from George Bush, analysts said Wednesday.

Kerry's win, sealed by the withdrawal Tuesday of his sole rival John Edwards, capped a bloodless campaign that saw the Democrats smoothly whittle down a crowded field while grabbing headlines and keeping the heat on Bush, they said.

Charles Jones, a presidential scholar at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, said Kerry's march was unimpeded by the bitterness that has marred Democratic battles of years gone by.

"It was not typical," he said. "Usually there is more intense fighting between the couple of top candidates."

Democrats remember internecine battles that tore the party apart, such as the Jimmy Carter-Ted Kennedy squabbles that helped hand the presidency to Ronald Reagan in 1980.

But this year, analysts said, the party could not have scripted a better primary season, with various candidates playing key roles to galvanize the rank and file before they all rallied around Kerry.

Jones credits former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, who rose to the top of the pack and fell just as quickly, with teaching an initially timid pack of Democratic contenders to take off the gloves against Bush.

"He took the risk first that others then picked up on, of being highly critical of the president in regard to national security and foreign policy," said Jones.

The attacks were later broadened to jobs policy and the economy.

"He almost instructed the other candidates that what committed Democrats really wanted was drawing a sharp contrast between themselves and George Bush, and really being heavily critical of him," said Jones.

With Democrats still smarting over the 2000 election that they feel the Republicans stole from them, most party members were seeking the candidate they thought had the best chance to oust Bush.

By the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, they clearly saw Kerry, a 19-year veteran of the Senate and Vietnam war hero, as their man. As Jones said: "Kerry was clearly the most articulate on the broad range of issues." While varying dramatically in personal style, the Democratic contenders overlapped considerably in their emphasis on the need for jobs creation, better health care and other social programs.

And they call made it clear their common target was Bush.

As the Massachusetts lawmaker gained momentum, his only real rival was Edwards, the fresh-faced populist senator from North Carolina. But here again, the underdog played a valuable role as foil to the front-runner.

"Edwards being in the race helped Kerry," said Kerry Hayney, professor of political science at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

"It allowed Kerry to show that he could win," Hayney said. "Each time that he won (a primary or caucus) he looked like a winner.

That helped his image and helped the party." Several primary and caucus contests lie ahead before Kerry can definitively claim the 2,162 delegates needed to formally sew up the Democratic nomination at the party's July convention in Boston.

But they are now symbolic.

Democratic party officials had purposely "front-loaded" their primary election calendar in the hope of uniting early behind a nominee and were right on scheduled with Kerry's triumph Tuesday.

Now they have eight months to sharpen their arguments against Bush, who has been steadily dropping in the polls. Kerry set the tone with his "bring it on" speech Tuesday, gearing for an electoral brawl with Bush.

"The general election begins with this speech," said Brad Sherman, Democratic congressman of California. "It will be the longest campaign in modern history." Few Democrats have any illusions that Kerry's race against Bush and his 100 million dollar war chest will be as smooth as his ride to the nomination.

As Kerry told a small group of reporters Tuesday: "Now serious things will begin." - Sapa-AFP