Concerned about withering Democratic attacks on President Bush, Republicans are putting out their first advertisement of the campaign for next year's presidential election, defending Bush and accusing his opponents of being soft on terrorism.

The 30-second ad offers a preview of Bush's likely re-election campaign, saying he offers "strong and principled leadership" in an indirect reference to his response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. There is no mention of the Iraq war, focus of many Democratic attacks.

"Our war against terror is a contest of will in which perseverance is power," the ad shows Bush saying in his State of the Union address last January.

Then the message "Some are now attacking the president for attacking the terrorists" pops up, followed by: "Some call on us to retreat, putting our national security in the hands of others."

Republican National Committee officials said the ad was to run Sunday through Tuesday as a response to Monday's debate in Iowa among Democrats vying for their party's nomination.

The strategy appeared to reflect concerns among Republicans that Bush is susceptible to Democratic attacks over his handling of post-war Iraq and the U.S. economy.

Jim Dyke, communications director for the Republican National Committee, said Republicans decided it was time to point out contrasts between Bush and his Democratic rivals.

"The point is, we feel like the Democrats have coalesced over the past 10 months around policies that are out of the American mainstream," Dyke said. "We think that now is a good time to start presenting Americans the choice that they will have next November."

Later on Friday, the Democratic National Committee announced plans to run a nationwide ad on Monday featuring Democratic consultant James Carville calling on Democrats to make campaign contributions.

"We're tapping into the Democratic enthusiasm during our Democratic presidential debate," DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe said.

Democratic candidates accused the president of politicizing the war on terrorism for partisan gain.

"Debating national security is fair game, but questioning other's patriotism is beneath this president," said one candidate, Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt.

Another, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, said: "If George Bush and his Republican cronies think that spending their millions on phony PR campaigns is going to distract Americans from the mounting death toll in Iraq, distract Americans from a failed foreign policy that has left our relationships with friends and allies in tatters, and distract Americans from our dangerously underfunded homeland security needs, they better think again."

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's campaign fired back.

"No 30-second ad is going to make up for 30 months of failed foreign policy," said Dean spokeswoman Tricia Enright.

A new Los Angeles Times poll found that 51 percent of Americans disapproved of Bush's handling of Iraq, and 50 percent disapproved of his stewardship over the economy and the nation's health care, despite recent positive economic news.

But there was good news in the poll for him. He received a 54 percent general job approval rating, as well as a 59 percent approval rating for his handling of the war on terrorism.

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