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Sharon, Hamas Exchange Harsh Rhetoric

JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon swore on Thursday to hunt Palestinian militants "to the bitter end" in response to violence that has killed 28 Israelis and Palestinians in less than a day. The Islamic militant group Hamas issued a new threat, saying it has ordered "all military cells" to take immediate action and carry out more attacks on Israelis.
Also on Thursday, four explosions were heard in Gaza City, and white smoke rose into the sky, witnesses said. The cause of the blasts was not immediately known. However, Israel has unleashed two rocket attacks on Hamas targets in the city in the past 24 hours.
Hamas, meanwhile, urged foreigners to leave Israel and the Palestinian areas for their own safety. More than 100 people have been hurt in the violence.
In a Cabinet meeting Thursday, Sharon dismissed Palestinian leaders as "crybabies" for saying they can't use force against the militias, according to a Cabinet official briefing reporters.
Israel said it will not stand by until Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas — described by Sharon as a "chick that hasn't grown its feathers yet" — persuades the armed groups to halt attacks.

Okay, so the economic news is looking up. Therefore, the Dems have to find a new tactic.

Dems Fight to Focus on Bush's Credibility

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites), elected after casting Al Gore (news - web sites) as a serial exaggerator and borderline liar, is now being accused of stretching the truth about Iraq (news - web sites)'s weapons of mass destruction.

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It is an irony that Democratic rivals would like to convert to a campaign issue — a broad attack on Bush's credibility.

But many party leaders fear the president may be immune to accusations that his rhetoric falls short of the facts, and not just on Iraq, but on education, tax cuts, trade, the environment, homeland security and other policies.

As a popular president with a Reaganesque reputation for delegating responsibility, Bush will get the benefit of the doubt from voters unless Democrats unite behind a sustained campaign to undermine his integrity, according to party strategists around the country and aides to Democratic presidential candidates.

Even if they make all the right political moves, Democrats concede that character attacks may not work as well on Bush as they did against Gore in 2000.