It is an election year and Democrats would gleefully pounce and accuse the Republicans of being agents of big tobacco.

Democrats pounced on the issue, saying that the advertisement underscored their contention that the Bush administration had repeatedly deceived the American people.

Jeb Bush, meanwhile, was handcuffed by concerns that the Democrats would pounce if he used the governor's office to manage his brother's campaign.

Democrats pounced on that theme yesterday.

This week, the Democrats pounced.

Democrats pounced on those remarks.

Democrats pounced on the gap in forecasting, accusing the Whitman administration today of cooking its revenue outlook.

Democrats immediately pounced on the issue and vowed to use it against the Republican ticket in the fall campaign.

But Democrats quickly pounced on the Utah Republican's remarks as unbelievable and insulting.

As Mr. Young predicted, Democrats pounced on the proposal.