"On the campaign trail this week, Bush has portrayed his tax plan as a boon for the working poor and middle class... During campaign stops today here and in New Hampshire, Bush appeared with families he said would benefit from his plan if he's elected president.

"Referring to his tax plan, Bush said: ‘I'm going to defend it. And I'm going to campaign on it. It's a winning issue for me.’

"Bush's aggressive demeanor and sharp message on the stump in recent days have been a marked departure in style...

"Bush has prided himself on running a positive campaign and has tried so hard to stick to that promise that he has mostly refused to be critical of the policies of his rivals, particularly McCain, whom he has gone out of his way to compliment. ...Bush has...shown an eagerness to engage him on their differences over campaign finance and taxes.

"Some of the people at Bush's campaign event here this morning said they appreciated his focus on taxes...

"But at the same campaign stop...the senator's aides distributed a ‘backgrounder’ on the issues that seemed jarringly at odds with his call for a different kind of politics.

"It was titled ‘McCain's Mature Vision for America's Future v. Bush's Political Plan for the 2000 Election.’ Mr. McCain said later that the flier should not have used that title. ‘I just think it's a cheap shot,’ he said.

"‘It's the same type of attack politics that the Democrats are engaging in,’ said Ari Fleischer, a spokesman for Mr. Bush, pointing to the flier's contention that Mr. Bush's tax cut plan would use the entire federal surplus and leave ‘Social Security in danger.’

"...Leary, a retired teacher who said she never would have stood up in a crowd to press her education views on Bush but got to give them to him in the quiet moment she spent with the candidate.

"‘He's so sincere. I'm quite impressed,’ Leary said.

"‘The idea of going to the rope and pressing the flesh is very connective,’ said Bill Henderson, a professor of communications studies at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Practitioners, he said, are ‘doing one-on-one as opposed to one-to-many.’

"[Bill] Henderson, [a communications professor], has noted ‘a significant shift to one-on-one’ campaigning by politicians, and ‘I think it's far more effective.’

"...Henderson said...the one-on-one approach is ‘not very satisfying to the media,’ which rarely can hear what is being said as a candidate meets with voters. Media disenchantment with the practice almost certainly has contributed to the buzz among the political class that Bush...is seeking to avoid public exchanges...

"‘I don't hear many voters saying that. Most voters know they'd have ample opportunity to question the governor.’