US: One-time front-runner Howard Dean has shaken up his faltering camaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, bringing in a former Washington lobbyist to head his organisation, cancelling TV advertising in the seven states voting on Tuesday and asking staff to forgo salaries for two weeks.
As the former Vermont governor struggles to regain momentum after two defeats, Senator John Kerry, the victor in Iowa and New Hampshire, has been picking up important endorsements in key states voting next week.
In South Carolina, where half the Democratic voter base is black, Mr Kerry won the key support of the most influential African-American power-broker, Congressman James Clyburn.
Mr Clyburn said that the Massachusetts senator "has the right stuff to bring this nation together".
This is a major setback for Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, who was born in South Carolina and needs to win the southern state's primary to keep his hopes alive after a fourth place in New Hampshire.
The Democratic establishment, which never embraced Mr Dean's anti-war crusade with any enthusiasm, appears to be swinging behind Mr Kerry, who has wasted no time campaigning in Missouri as he aims for a clean sweep on Tuesday.
The upheaval in the Dean campaign came when the former Vermont governor, who rose to prominence as an outsider, hired the ultimate Washington insider, Mr Roy Neel, as chief executive officer.
His campaign manager, Mr Joe Trippi, refused to be sidelined and walked out of an emotion-charged staff meeting in Burlington, Vermont, on Wednesday.
This shocked his supporters who revered Mr Trippi for the way he galvanised support and money through the Internet for Mr Dean's anti-establishment campaign.
Mr Dean spent nearly $40 million in Iowa and New Hampshire only to face defeat, and has asked his 500 staff members to forgo pay for the next two weeks.
While determined to stay in the race with a "leaner, meaner organisation", Mr Dean was told bluntly in a conference call with Congress members who support him that he had to show he could win a primary.
He said later: "We had geared up for what we thought would be a front-runner's campaign. It's not going to be a front-runner's campaign. It's going to be a long, long war of attrition."
His campaign chairman, Mr Steve Grossman, acknowledged that his candidate must win a primary in the next two weeks to hold on to his loyal donor base of small contributors.
Mr Dean is unlikely to pick up any of the seven states voting next week on Super Tuesday and is instead relying on winning Michigan, which votes the following Saturday, and Wisconsin three days later.
Mr Neel's appointment is regarded as an attempt by the former vice-president, Mr Al Gore, to influence the struggle in the Democratic Party.
Mr Neel is a long-time friend of Mr Gore and was named to head the transition team if Mr Gore had won the White House in 2000.