In the fifties the accusation which could terrorize American liberals, especially if they held or were hoping to hold office, was that of being soft on communism.

Today, the same nasty little minds are at it again, but there's a new scary noun. The current campaign of intimidation is being waged over whether one is sufficiently hard on terrorism, whatever that means.

After months of sustained attacks against President Bush in Democratic primary debates and commercials, the Republican Party is responding this week with its first advertisement of the presidential race, portraying Mr. Bush as fighting terrorism while his potential challengers try to undermine him with their sniping.

The new commercial gives the first hint of the themes Mr. Bush's campaign is likely to press in its early days. It shows Mr. Bush, during the last State of the Union address, warning of continued threats to the nation: "Our war against terror is a contest of will, in which perseverance is power," he says after the screen flashes the words, "Some are now attacking the president for attacking the terrorists."