ANCHESTER, N.H. - Senator John McCain yesterday launched a media campaign accusing Texas Governor George W. Bush of dirty campaigning as presidential candidates began their push to the New Hampshire primary finish line.
Most campaigns said they had no plans to increase their paid time on-air beyond this week's levels because the airwaves already are saturated, but all are preparing new commercials.
In both parties, spin artists are saying their candidates are taking the high road while their opponents are engaging in attacks and negative campaigning.
Greg Stevens, who creates McCain's ads, said that for the final 10 days of the primary race ''our campaign is running a heavy weight of television, as is Bush,'' but the amount would be about the same as it has been in recent days.
''There comes a time when you could buy more, but it would be foolish of us to do that,'' Stevens said.
One reason is that McCain has only a fraction of the funding Bush has amassed, and ''we have to husband our resources,'' Stevens said. But in addition, he said, ''to be effective you don't need more than we're doing right now. There is so much, at some point it kind of drowns itself out.''
McCain television and radio ads that started running yesterday accuse Bush of knowingly speaking untruthfully about McCain's tax proposal to manipulate the debate between the Republican contenders.
McCain said in a telephone interview that the spots were made in response to charges Bush began airing Tuesday accusing McCain of planning to tax employee benefits.
''It is not true and I had to say it is not true,'' McCain said. ''I said it as politely as I can. ... I have learned over the years that you have to respond if [an opponent's claim] is not factual. You can't just allow it to sit out there.''
Peter Spaulding, McCain's New Hampshire chairman, and Michael Dennehy, his Northeast political director, said in interviews that Bush is lying about McCain's proposals.
They said the damage perceived to have been done to Bill Bradley's Democratic campaign because the former New Jersey senator has not responded to attacks from Vice President Al Gore also was taken into account in the decision to respond.
Bush, in a statement released in Austin, Texas, said McCain was using ''one of the oldest tricks in the book,'' portraying ''an honest debate about how to cut taxes'' as an attack that violates the two men's agreement not to campaign negatively.
In the new ad, McCain, perched on a desktop and smiling ruefully, says: ''I guess it was bound to happen. Now my opponent has started the political attacks after promising he wouldn't. Mr. Bush's attacks are wrong.''
He then talks about his plans for use of the national surplus to cut taxes, shore up Social Security, and reduce the national debt - the plans he says Bush is knowingly speaking untruthfully about. ''When I began this campaign, I promised you something better - that I wouldn't engage in attack politics,'' McCain says. ''I'm keeping my pledge.''
Bush also released a new ad yesterday, featuring Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire endorsing the governor and implicitly criticizing McCain by saying, ''Some say Bush's plan to cut taxes is too much. They believe if you leave money in Washington it will not get spent. We know better.''
Mark McKinnon of Maverick Media in Austin, who makes Bush's commercials, said the campaign had ''a couple'' of new ads in the works.
''We will be closing out the last week with positive-focused messages summarizing our message and campaign,'' McKinnon said.
Gore's press secretary, Chris Lehane, was slightly more forthcoming about a new ad scheduled for release by the Gore campaign last night.
He said more than one new ad was in the works, and ''these are extremely extremely positive in tone and content.'' He left open the door for further criticisms of Bradley, however, saying ''we have never been reticent about comparing Al Gore's approach to Senator Bradley's approach of health care and the economy.''
He said the Gore campaign would buy advertising over the next 10 days at about the same pace as over the last 10; McKinnon said the same regarding Bush ad buys.
Bill Dal Col, the head of publisher Steve Forbes's campaign, would not say how many commercials were in the works or on what subjects. ''We'll let Bush find out when they appear,'' he said.
Dal Col hinted that his campaign might significantly increase its buys of air time, saying, ''There's always the possibility of more.''
Forbes's ads, some of which have been the most sharply negative of the campaign so far, ''will obviously be issue-oriented and mixed with what we have now,'' he said.
The Bradley campaign did not respond to repeated calls to its New Hampshire and New Jersey offices requesting information about its final New Hampshire push.
A preview of what to expect might be afforded by two commercials Bradley released just before the Iowa caucuses. One shows an animated, gesticulating Bradley promising to say what's on his mind without regard to the polls. The other features Boston Celtics great Bill Russell endorsing Bradley and good-naturedly urging citizens to vote.
