Animals Are Most Dangerous When They're Wounded

Brace yourself, America. You ain't seen lyin' yet! The hounds are about to be released.

Bush's Campaign More Aggressive in Coming Weeks

President Bush's political advisers are completing plans for a more aggressive stage of his re-election campaign, seeking to discredit Senator John Kerry and promote Mr. Bush's record and character with television advertisements and a more visible role for the president himself, aides and Republican officials said.

With Mr. Kerry having emerged as the almost certain Democratic nominee, Mr. Bush has told associates he wants to get more assertive in drawing sharp distinctions with Democrats and defending his tenure as he travels the nation.

The planned shift in Republican strategy, to be executed in coming weeks, comes amid anxiety among Republicans about the president's declining poll numbers, uncharacteristic missteps by a usually assured White House and the torrent of criticism of Mr. Bush from an energized Democratic Party that appears to be unifying around Mr. Kerry.

" `Get going' is the operative term," said Thomas Rath, a New Hampshire Republican leader who is close to the White House. "You've had a couple of weeks where the free media has not been what it should be. There's a need for an antidote."