<B>DEMOCRAT</B> John Kerry and Republican President George W. Bush kicked off what promised to be a bitter and close eight-month election battle on Wednesday in a flurry of attacks and flag-waving ads.

On his first day as the presumptive Democratic nominee, Kerry headed to the key battleground state of Florida and accused Bush of ?broken promises? on national security and the war in Iraq.

Bush unveiled his first ads of the election campaign, using images of the September 11, 2001, attacks to tout his ?strong leadership in times of change? and his optimistic view of America?s future.

?I know exactly where I want to lead this country, I know what we need to do to make the world more free and more peaceful,? Bush said in one of four advertisements to begin airing around the country on Thursday as he starts spending some of his $100 million war chest.

Kerry wrapped up the nomination on Tuesday by scoring wins in nine of the 10 Democratic presidential contests and driving his last remaining major rival, John Edwards, out of the race.

Edwards formally withdrew on Wednesday at the Raleigh, North Carolina, high school that was attended by two of his children, saying Kerry?s ?heart is good? and he would ?do everything in my power? to make him president. ?The truth of the matter is John Kerry has what it takes,? Edwards said.

Kerry, who promised he would be ?a fighter? in challenging Bush, toned down the rhetoric but said Bush should share responsibility in Iraq with the international community and win help in reconstruction.

?I don?t think there?s a person in this room who believes this president went to war as a last resort,? he told a town hall meeting in Orlando. ?Those are broken promises, those are broken promises.?

<B>?Personal process?</B>

Kerry launched the hunt for a vice presidential running mate by naming businessman Jim Johnson, a prominent Washington Democrat and former aide to Vice President Walter Mondale, to head the search team. Johnson will spend the next few weeks assembling a team to contact and evaluate potential candidates for Kerry, who aides said had not decided on a timetable for making a choice.

?It?s a very personal process so I wouldn?t begin just to throw names around,? Kerry said. ?I don?t have a list. I want it to be a private and respected process.?

Bush?s television ads, including one in Spanish, will air in at least 16 states and on four cable networks at a cost of $ 4.5 million. They made it clear that he will use the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and his leadership during that crisis as a centerpiece of his re-election campaign.

One ad shows a damaged building from the World Trade Center ruins behind an American flag. Another ad shows firefighters. Over images from the attacks and a stock ticker showing plunging market values, a narrator in one ad says ?America rose to the challenge? and concludes: ?President Bush, steady leadership in times of change.?

While the ads could leave Bush open to charges he was exploiting a national tragedy for political gain, campaign manager Ken Mehlman said it was a landmark moment in Bush?s presidency. ?It?s critical of who this president is and what our country has been through,? he told reporters.

The Kerry campaign quickly replied that Bush?s steady leadership had cost Americans nearly three million jobs and increased the federal deficit while cutting budgets for the firefighters featured in the ads. ?The only thing steady about this president is his steadily leading our country in the wrong direction,? Kerry campaign spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said.