•Bush, Kerry honor Vets. [WP and NYT and NYT and LAT]
•Bush camp to "play up" ideological differences. Mehlman: "This election will represent a clear choice, an ideological choice on the issues. And this campaign is totally committed to grass roots." [WT]
• With support slipping, Bush may need more than grass-roots. [BG]
•Kerry to speak of need to secure weapons material from terrorists, increase support for first responders. [LAT]
•Kerry's lead in New Jersey is surprisingly small. [WP]
• Swing states include few Senate battlegrounds. [WP]
•Kerry embraces "Let America be America again." Explains official, "It's a statement about what's broken, and that something's broken. . . And the best part about it is that it traces the source of the hope to what's already deepest inside of us." [NYT]
•Kerry sees potential in red Virginia: "I don't care what's usual or not usual." [BG]
• Unemployment in Stark County, Ohio tests Bush: "They call us the bellwether county in the bellwether state." [WP]
• Some Democrats weary of Kerry's war stance and white staff. [WT]
•Bush paints Kerry as a straw man. [WP]
•Bush, Kerry have different approaches to Middle East. [BG]
•Bush uses Air Force One for campaigning more than any predecessor. [USAT]
•Soros: "Frankly, I don't think I'll need to do a lot more. . . I now take the defeat of Bush more or less for granted." [USAT]
• Telephone rates could become a campaign issue. [LAT]
