Washington ? A Bush political appointee in the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection bureau drafted and distributed a public relations strategy designed to “change perception” about the nation’s security by repeating the message, in the weeks leading up to the presidential election, that America is safer, according to internal government documents.

The “90-day Strategy” lays out a media plan to “push information out,” “maximize” the media and “brand” the border protection agency as a model of counterterrorism operations.

This week, the chief public affairs officer for the border protection agency disavowed the 90-day strategy document and said it was never approved or implemented by senior officials. Dennis Murphy said it should never have been distributed and did not represent the department’s approach to public affairs.

James Loy, deputy secretary of homeland security, dismissed the document as an unfinished draft and a “piece likely produced by well-meaning, enterprising public affairs folks.” A copy of the three-page strategy obtained by The Washington Post is not labeled as a draft.