US: President Bush appears to have weathered the storm of negative publicity from charges that he was negligent about terrorism before September 11th.A month-long blitz of Republican campaign ads defining his Democratic challenger as someone who flip-flops on issues and increases taxes appears to have had a greater political effect, writes Conor O'Clery in New York
A Gallup poll this week shows that Senator John Kerry has lost a 52-44 lead he had three weeks ago, just after he secured the Democratic nomination, and now trails Mr Bush 51-47 among likely voters.
The Democratic camp has begun to counter-attack with ads criticising Mr Bush for seeking re-election on his record on terrorism.
National Security Adviser Dr Condoleezza Rice is to testify publicly before the 9/11 commission, probably next week, in what will amount to an election-year defence of the administration.
The White House originally refused to allow Dr Rice to appear under oath, citing presidential privilege, but reversed course under intense political pressure, after comments she made on television contradicted sworn testimony by former counter-terrorism aide Mr Richard Clark.
Dr Rice said no al-Qaeda plan was turned over to the new administration but Mr Clark testified that eight months before 9/11 he forwarded her a strategy paper and a political-military plan and warned her of the al-Qaeda threat. Dr Rice also claimed that the administration had a plan to take military action against al-Qaeda before 9/11 but this was contradicted under oath by Deputy Secretary of State Mr Richard Armitage.
Mr Bush's re-election campaign may be more seriously affected by record petrol prices in the US, which could depress the economic recovery and have become a focus in the battle with Mr Kerry.
The Bush-Cheney re-election campaign has launched a pre-emptive strike with a series of TV ads depicting Kerry as a "wacky" legislator who had supported a 50-cent-a-gallon tax increase and 11 gas tax raises.
Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, where Mr Kerry raised over $3 million this week, said the charge of Mr Kerry raising petrol taxes was a lie.
The Massachusetts senator has accused the administration of failing to control prices, which amounted to a "gas tax" of over $20 billion.