We're Not Gonna Take It

By DAVID ELLIS

Is the race for the Democratic presidential nomination finally showing signs of life? There seems to be a general increase in testosterone levels among potential candidates, who promise they won't "do a Dukakis" by allowing Republicans to get the rhetorical advantage. Senator TOM HARKIN of Iowa has a get-tough campaign strategy: "Always attack, never defend and never fight on their territory." Once Bush launches an unfair offensive, "I'm going to hit him right back between the eyes," snarls Harkin. Tennessee Senator AL GORE mixes lofty rhetoric with a downright bloodthirsty warning to George Bush. "You run with your heart and soul," he notes. But you also have to be willing to "rip the lungs out" of a hardball-playing adversary.

With reporting by Sidney Urquhart