The Wall Street Journal says today that with polls "showing the president's support softening for the first time since the Republicans' late-summer convention, campaign aides are tearing up Mr. Bush's script for the week. He is scrapping a speech on medical liability planned for today and instead using the visit to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to deliver a speech on terrorism and the economy that aides hope will shift the public debate to more favorable ground." The White House "sees the two issues as fundamental challenges that are closely intertwined since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist strikes exposed security weaknesses and battered the economy. While continuing to defend the ouster of Saddam Hussein, Mr. Bush is preparing to offer a more definitive explanation of how he has responded to those challenges."

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