Liz Sidoti of the AP reports that so far none of the Republican candidates for President have begun to run negative ads yet, but the criticism rhetoric has definitely gotten sharper.

Giuliani, McCain, Thompson and Romney are all bunched up towards the top of the field. How to take on rival candidates and while not alienating the voter is the question. The primaries start in a few short months. Who will be the first to throw stones? And words can hurt you.

Meanwhile, The Trail, washingtonpost.com’s Daily Campaign Diary blog, reports the answer of a question on the inquiring minds of many Republican voters. Posed to Mitt Romney in Nevada: if he were the Republican nominee running against Hillary, how would he attack her, she being a woman and all?

He would run against her “as a person, not as a woman” claims Romney, just the way he did in his 2002 gubernatorial race against Shannon O’Brien.

That’s the reason he described her criticisms of him as “unbecoming?” Perfectly unisex word, right? Try this on for size: “Now. Mr. Giulani, it was unbecoming of you to challenge the law that gave President Clinton line-item-veto power.”

Didn’t think so.