"Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry warned Tuesday that retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, whose entry into the race for the Democratic presidential nomination has reshaped the campaign, will have to answer for his past support of Republicans Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.

Kerry, a Vietnam veteran who lost his claim as the only presidential candidate with real combat experience when Clark entered the field last week, drew a direct contrast between his own ''consistent'' record and that of the retired general who only recently decided he was a Democrat.

''I know that when he voted for Reagan and he voted for Nixon, I was fighting against both of them,'' Kerry said in an interview with The Herald amid a daylong fundraising trip to Miami.

''I think your life history is what you're offering people,'' added Kerry, who was placed on Nixon's infamous enemies list for his antiwar activism upon his return from Vietnam. ``My life history is I fought Reagan, fought Nixon, fought the war in Vietnam, fought their struggle against civil rights. I fought for civil rights, and I fought against their tax cuts for the wealthy.''"