Both Parties Claim Edge as Terror Is Reinforced as a Campaign Topic

Unlike in the 2004 election, when Republicans clearly benefited from the terrorism issue and a general sense of insecurity among many voters, the politics are muddled this year. The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, conducted last week, found Democrats with an eight-point edge when people were asked which party they trusted more to handle terrorism issues.

"I can't help but admit that I had a small knot in my stomach this morning," said Democratic pollster Mark Mellman. "It was eerily familiar. But upon reflection, we are in a fundamentally different place in 2006 than we were in 2002 and 2004. For two or three generations, Republicans have, in the main, had a very substantial advantage on national security. The reality is, they have squandered that advantage in the sands of Iraq."

In the Post poll, 47 percent approved of Bush's handling of the terrorism issue, a 10-point drop from a similar stage two years ago. But Republican strategists say the polling misses the political significance of the new focus on terrorism and war. Conservatives are generally unhappy with the party over issues such as immigration and federal spending, but they care more about security matters than any other group, and their motivation to vote Republican may now resurface.

The arrests came as Bush was on a working vacation at his ranch in Crawford, Tex. Aides said he had been kept informed about the developments in recent days and was briefed at the ranch last weekend.

He spoke with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in a secure videoconference on Sunday, a conversation that the White House at the time described as being about the Middle East, and again Wednesday. Bush was not aware that the British were about to seize the suspects until Wednesday, White House officials said. That same day, when Vice President Cheney attacked Democrats after Lamont's victory for being weak on national security, he knew about the British investigation but not that arrests were imminent, the officials said.

Peter H. Wehner, the White House director of strategic initiatives, distributed an e-mail to allies and reporters calling the alleged London plot a "clarifying moment" that should be, as he put it in the subject line, "a reminder of the stakes in this struggle." He argued that it underscores the fallacy of Democratic attacks on Bush's leadership in the fight against terrorism.

A few hours earlier, the Republican National Committee e-mailed a fundraising letter -- signed by former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani -- that read: "Only with the financial commitment of patriotic Americans like you can the RNC provide the candidate assistance, campaign programs, registration drives and voter outreach that are absolutely essential for electing Republicans across the nation."

RNC spokesman Brian Jones said that it was mistakenly sent by a low-level staffer and that the RNC regrets the timing.

Baker reported from Green Bay. Staff writer Dan Balz and assistant polling director Claudia Deane contributed to this report.