There, his barrage of television commercials framed the contest around his flat-tax proposal.

But on the stump in the Badger State, he achieved a comparable feat by turning the strong wine of his flat-tax proposal into skim milk.

Mr. Forbes's rivals have warned that his flat-tax proposal would hurt the middle class because it would eliminate the deduction for home mortgages.

They said Mr. Forbes had staked out a clear political niche with his flat-tax proposal.

So most flat-tax proposals include a large exemption that would push many households off the tax rolls entirely.

In one, Mr. Forbes discusses on camera the economic benefits he believes the country will gain from his flat-tax proposal.

He launches into his stump speech, built around his flat-tax proposal.

"One was his flat-tax proposal, and one was Jesse."

Mr. Forbes floated his flat-tax proposal in a speech in Anchorage.

If Schwarzenegger would just agree to back a flat-tax proposal and to rule out any new taxes, Moore said, the club would get behind him anyway.