Bush Fight Begins On the Internet

George W. Bush began advertising for his re-election last week with this initial strategy: Hit John Kerry, and do it in a viral way.

On Thursday, the Bush team sent a brief note to the 6 million people on its e-mail list. With a link, it directed them to a Web video, titled “Unprincipled, Chapter I,” that attacks Kerry, the Democratic front-runner, for accepting “millions from executives at HMOs, telecoms [and] drug companies.”

Mark McKinnon, Bush’s media and advertising director, said the idea is to begin energizing Bush’s core supporters following months of attacks on the president.