Washington Wrap

Dotty Lynch, Beth Lester, and Clothilde Ewing of the CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital.

Thursday's Headlines

* Cheney Goes on the Attack

* Bush and Kerry go West

* Radio Wars

* Arnold May Leave California for Bush

Cheney On the Attack: Vice President Cheney went on the attack on Thursday in Dayton, Ohio, accusing John Kerry of acting like the U.S. had "never been attacked on 9/11." He also ripped into Kerry for his statement last week at the Unity Conference that he would conduct a more "sensitive" war on terror.

"Senator Kerry has also said that if he were in charge he would fight a 'more sensitive' war on terror. America has been in too many wars for any of our wishes, but not a one of them was won by being sensitive. President Lincoln and General Grant didn't wage sensitive wars. Nor did President Roosevelt or Generals Eisenhower and MacArthur. A 'sensitive war' will not destroy the evil men who killed 3,000 Americans and who seek chemical, nuclear and biological weapons to kill hundreds of thousands more. The men who beheaded Daniel Pearl and Paul Johnson will not be impressed by our sensitivity. As our opponents see it, the problem isn't the thugs and murderers we face, but our attitude. Well, the American people know better. They know that we are in a fight to preserve our freedom and our way of life, and that we are on the side of right and justice in this battle. Those who threaten us and kill innocents around the world do not need to be treated more sensitively. They need to be destroyed."

Kerry's buddies at ACT ripped back, accusing "Five Deferrment Dick" of not being a good arbiter of "morality, probity and honor?" "A man who took five deferments to avoid military service – including leaving the Ivy League to hide out at community college – while John Kerry was under fire in Vietnam? A man convicted of TWO DUI's? A man whose tenure as CEO of America's sleaziest corporation, Halliburton, is currently under eight investigations for dealings with terrorist states, bribing of foreign officials, and overcharging of the American taxpayers?"

Pretty harsh words but as CBS News' Josh Gross reports there is a milder and gentler side to Cheney on the stump as well:

Trail Byte: Vice President Cheney likes the "town hall" style campaign stops and enjoys the Q&A sessions. He's had three in the last four days, sitting by himself in the center of several hundred people. On Wednesday, though, he made it a family affair.

He was introduced by his daughter Liz Cheney Perry to an audience in Joplin, Missouri, the fourth largest metropolitan area in this hotly contested state.

"On the way here on the plane, I asked my mom and dad: 'You know, I'm going to be introducing you, do you have any words of wisdom?" she opened. "They came up with this very loving parental advice, 'Liz, Missouri is so important, please don't screw this up."

The crowd laughed but soon erupted in cheers as the Vice President and his wife took the stage, grabbed the two mics and sat down. They let everyone know that they were both there to answer questions.

"This really is fun for us because, you know, it's kind of unpredictable, unexpected," said Mrs. Cheney.

Both of Cheney's daughters and his wife have taken active rolls in the campaign this time. Lynne Cheney often introduces her husband, treating rally audiences to cute stories about how they met or their early dating life back in Wyoming 40 years ago.

Cheney's daughter, Mary, is on his staff and at times can be seen pacing off stage as her father addresses supporters.

But it's his eldest daughter, Liz, who literally brings a little special something to this week's campaigning. Philip Richard Perry, the Vice President's five-week-old grandson is participating in his first election. Liz carries him on and off Air Force 2 in his infant car seat and he was spotted off stage Wednesday, enjoying a bottle during grandpa's speech.

It didn't matter that it was the Vice President of the United States speaking, it was time for Philip's fill-up.

Bush Goes West, Too: President Bush has gotten a lot of mileage from his attacks on John Kerry on Iraq and terrorism this week and much of the national news surrounded his nomination of Porter Goss to head the CIA. But as CBS News' Mark Knoller reports he has also been talking about forests, trees and other Western issues.

Knoller Nugget: As he heads further west Thursday to Nevada and California, President Bush is leveling a new attack on John Kerry. He accuses the Massachusetts Democrat of a politically-motivated flip-flop on forest legislation important to the west.

Mr. Bush said that when he signed the Healthy Forests Restoration Act last year, Kerry "said we're taking a chainsaw to public forests."

But in remarks Wednesday evening to a campaign rally in Phoenix, Mr. Bush portrayed Kerry as changing his position when he came out west to campaign. "I guess it's not only the wildfires that shift with the wind," said Mr. Bush to wildly enthusiastic cheers from his supporters.

He also ratcheted up the voltage of his attacks on Kerry's understanding of the war on terror - portraying him as one who doesn't have what it takes. "His logic is upside-down and it shows a dangerous misunderstanding of the enemy we face," said Mr. Bush.

Introduced at the rally by both of Arizona's Republican senators John Kyl and John McCain, Mr. Bush told the crowd he understands the west and the issues important to it. It's a claim that carries him Thursday to two events… he'll roll the dice at a campaign rally in Las Vegas and later collect big money at a Republican fund-raiser in Los Angeles.

No one needs to remind candidate Bush that he lost California last time by over a million votes. And though Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger now serves as the state's Governor, there's no sign the Bush campaign thinks it can win California's precious prize of 55 electoral votes.

In fact, there's no campaign rally scheduled in the state for Mr. Bush -- only an interview with Larry King and the fundraiser for the Republican National Committee.

Campaigning this week in the sunbelt, the president wants it known that he feels very much at home. At a rally in Albuquerque on Wednesday, he told the crowd it was good to be back in the part of the country "where people are wearing cowboy hats."

But something different caught his eye a day earlier in Pensacola.

"You know you're in good country," he told another rally, "when you got a guy holding a sign up that says 'Bubbas for Bush.'"

Kerry Almost Hits the Other Shining Sea: John Kerry's cross-country post-convention trip has finally hit the left coast. He is at Cal State University in Dominguez on Thursday afternoon and then goes to Oregon for Veterans events in Medford and Eugene. Only one more day before he gets a little R&R at his Ketchum, Idaho home over the weekend.

He's been absorbing a lot of local color on the way as CBS News' Steve Chaggaris reports:

Trail Byte: Kerry's caravan made a stop in Baker, California - the self-proclaimed "Gateway to Death Valley" - on the way from southern Nevada to Los Angeles on Wednesday. He greeted a crowd outside the Bun Boy Restaurant, in the shadow of the world's tallest thermometer.

Two National Park rangers gave the senator a brief tour of the Mojave National Preserve's info center, home of the thermometer.

The 134-foot-tall temperature gauge located just off Interstate 15 read 114 degrees as Kerry's eight-bus caravan pulled up shortly before 3:00 PM Pacific Time. Within minutes, the temperature rose to 115 degrees causing reporters to muse whether the uptick was a result of heat generated by bus convoy or by the candidate.

Approximately 100 people turned out to see Kerry, not all of them were supporters. Several Bush-Cheney '04 signs were spotted, including one in the registration office window of the adjacent Bun Boy Motel. "Go back to Massachusetts," shouted one of his detractors to whom Kerry just waved and continued talking with his fans.

After a few minutes, Kerry stepped into the restaurant to order a milkshake to go, shaking a few more hands and posing for pictures on his way to the counter.

"You're very photogenic," a waitress told the candidate as a photo was being snapped.

He thanked her but tried to temper her enthusiasm saying, "You haven't seen the results yet."

Radio Wars: While the television ad wars have been going on for months, the radio wars are now really starting to heat up. "A group financed by a major Republican contributor has begun running radio ads in about a dozen cities, many in battleground states, attacking Sen. John F. Kerry as 'rich, white and wishy-washy,' and mocking his wife for boasting of her African roots," reports the Washington Post.

The group, called People of Color United, is mostly financed by J. Patrick Rooney, "the former chairman of Golden Rule Insurance Co. and the founder of a new firm, Medical Savings Insurance Co. Both firms specialize in medical savings accounts, created by Republican/Gingrich-backed 1996 legislation, and health savings accounts, which were created by President Bush's 2003 Medicare prescription drug legislation," according to the Post.

Not to be left out of the radio derby, the Democratic National Committee is hitting back with its own radio ad called "Beneath." The ad, which a Democratic official tells CBS News will run in 17 battleground states, charges that it is "beneath" the Bush-Cheney campaign to attack John Kerry's record on terrorism. The radio ad is an expansion of the DNC's independent expenditure ad campaign, which has run $12 million in television spots over the past two weeks. The radio buy is for $680,000, which is a "pretty aggressive buy" and close to the $800,000 that Bush-Cheney spends on radio per week, according to the Democratic official.

One organization is sticking to TV. The Democratic Media Fund is also releasing a new television ad on Thursday, which will run only in Ohio, featuring two OH workers. Louis Russo, of Cleveland, says in the spot, "When President Bush says that he's going to help companies outsource jobs, it's infuriating." Edward Lucas, of Mayfield Heights, then says, "You can't give companies tax breaks to take American jobs away." The ad will run to the tune of 800 gross rating points per week, the level of advertising that the Media Fund has maintained in every Ohio market since August 3rd.

Arnold Changing Course? Arnold Schwarzenegger looks to be changing course, saying he may be prepared to leave California to campaign for President Bush, reports the Los Angeles Times. In previous months, Schwarzenegger indicated he wouldn't leave the state because of governing demands, but with 17 days until the Republican convention he seems more open to the idea. "If there's a place, one place where they want to pop me in, this makes sense for me," he said.

The Times reports that the powers that be are already in talks to get the ball rolling. "Patricia Clarey, the governor's chief of staff, has been talking with Bush's top political aide, Karl Rove, and Bush-Cheney campaign manager Ken Mehlman about a time and place where Schwarzenegger would campaign on the president's behalf."

Schwarzenegger's value as a campaigner is twofold: he's a superstar and he's a moderate, both of which can help broaden Bush's appeal.

The president's reelection team is "looking for someone to be a surrogate who can reach out to the more moderate Republican and independent voters that Bush has lost," said Bill Carrick, a national Democratic campaign strategist.

The campaign seems to recognize Schwarzenegger's value, awarding the moderate Republican one of the prizes of the convention: a prime time speech on Tuesday, Aug. 31. On Thursday they warmed some conservative hearts by announcing that another Californian, Ronald Reagan's son Michael would address the convention on Monday night, August 30.

Quote of the Day: "Somewhere Over The Rainbow." --Newly minted Illinois Senate candidate Alan Keyes sings in full voice for CBS's WBBM in Chicago.