Mr. Vallone, the City Council speaker, hit on similar themes at a campaign stop at New York University Medical Center, where he proposed that the city pay the premiums currently paid by parents whose children do not qualify for Medicaid but are eligible for a low-cost insurance program.
Women supporting Clinton immediately reclaimed the phrase and turned it into a rallying cry, and it became a recurring theme at campaign events to see women with "Nasty Women" shirts.
At a campaign stop in Wisconsin, the Republican candidate warmed to that theme, telling supporters that the President's policies were "crushing" the middle class.
At a campaign stop Saturday, Atty.
Picking up the theme at a news conference after her television appearance, Mrs. Clinton said: "Part of my campaign is to draw contrasts between me and my opponent.
PAGE A18 W FOR WEARY -- Fighting a sore throat and fatigue, Gov. George W. Bush tried to lock up a primary victory in California, hopping around the state and sounding mostly two themes at campaign stops: cutting federal taxes and improving education in the nation.
National security has not been a major theme in a 2012 campaign dominated by economic worries, but that could change - at least temporarily - in the days ahead.
The flier amplifies themes struck at Gingrich campaign appearances, like a rally on Friday called "Don't 'Mass Up' New Hampshire," in which Mr. Gingrich criticzed Mr. Romney's "moderate" record as Massachusetts governor.
President Barack Obama used a new report from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center to hammer away at a consistent campaign theme: that Mitt Romney favors the rich, while Obama will help the struggling middle class.
And the religious overtones in the question hinted at a continued theme in the campaign, not only for Mrs. Bachmann but also for Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, whose public embrace of religion has already become an issue as he joins the race.
