WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush's campaign -- expected to dwarf Democratic hopefuls by raising $200 million or more for the primaries, with no GOP rival -- is appealing for donations by portraying Bush as a fund-raising underdog who won't have enough cash to defend himself against Democratic attacks.

"Democrats and their allies will have more money to spend attacking the president during the nomination battle than we will have to defend him," campaign chairman Marc Racicot wrote in the fund-raising e-mail sent Wednesday night. "If you need more convincing the president needs your help, consider what the Democrats are saying. The race is just starting, but their rhetoric is already red-hot."

Bush has set several fund-raising records, including the most collected for a presidential primary and the most raised at a single event.

Racicot's e-mail attributes quotes to several Democratic presidential hopefuls criticizing Bush.

Among them, Racicot says former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean stated that Bush might suspend the 2004 election, called Bush "reckless" and "despicable," compared him to the Taliban and said Bush was trying to destroy Social Security, Medicare, public schools and public services.

"This ugly, overheated rhetoric shows Democrats will say anything and stop at nothing to defeat this president," Racicot wrote.

Asked if the comments attributed to Dean were accurate, Dean spokeswoman Tricia Enright was incredulous.

"Compared him to the Taliban? Absolutely not. Suspend the 2004 election?

What is that about?" Enright asked. "He said his (Bush's) tax policies were reckless. Obviously all this was taken out of context."

Enright said it was surprising that "a guy who has portrayed himself as the fund-raising Superman" was now describing himself as an underdog.

Bush campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel defended the letter, saying it expects a close race and "we're raising the resources to pay for grass-roots activities and to get the president's message out."

Bush's fund raising has broken records. In 2000, he bypassed public financing and its spending limits during the primaries and raised more than $100 million with help from more than 200 Bush campaign "pioneers," volunteers who collected at least $100,000 each for him.

The 2000 Democratic hopefuls, including eventual nominee Al Gore, took public financing and were limited to about $40.5 million in primary spending.

Last year, Bush set a single-event record by raising more than $30 million at each of two galas for the GOP, surpassing the previous mark of $26.5 million set in 2000 by then-President Clinton and Vice President Gore at a Democratic Party fund-raiser.

Bush also is skipping public financing for next year's primaries. With the individual contribution limit doubled to $2,000 under the new campaign finance law, he is widely expected to raise more than $200 million. He has no challenger for the GOP nomination.

Bush began fund raising for his re-election effort in mid-May and had taken in $35 million by the end of June, the most recent figures available.

The biggest fund-raiser among the nine Democratic hopefuls from January through June was Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, whose campaign collected $16 million.

"George Bush's campaign coffers need more money like his wealthy contributors need more tax cuts at the expense of Social Security, health care and a balanced budget," Kerry campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

Racicot's e-mail says Democrats "will have the all-out help of some leaders in the AFL-CIO, many wealthy personal injury trial lawyers, and well-funded liberal special interests. The hundreds of millions of dollars they will spend could make the race close."

He noted the $10 million that multibillionaire George Soros pledged to a new Democratic-leaning get-out-the-vote group. The organization, America Coming

Together, plans to raise $75 million from labor groups and others to try to defeat Bush.

ACT is among several groups Democrats' supporters have formed to help the party compensate for the loss of "soft money," corporate, union and unlimited donations the nation's new campaign finance law bars the national parties from collecting.

The GOP raised soft money too, but Democrats were more reliant on it. In the first half of this year, allowed to raise only limited donations from individuals and political action committees, the GOP's three national committees raised $115.7 million, compared to $44.2 million by their Democratic counterparts.