August 31, 2004

Republican Convention

Churchill evoked in homage to President

From Roland Watson in New York

PRESIDENT BUSH was fêted with comparisons to Winston Churchill last night as Republicans kicked off their convention by paying homage to his steadfast wartime leadership.

Rudolph Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York, led the plaudits as the Bush campaign placed the President’s response to the September 11 attacks at the heart of his re-election drive.

 “Winston Churchill saw the dangers of Hitler when his opponents and much of the press characterised him as a warmongering gadfly,” said Mr Giuliani, whose own leadership in the immediate aftermath of September 11 earned him cult status.

 “George W. Bush sees world terrorism for the evil that it is, and he will remain consistent to the purpose of defeating it while working to make us ever safer at home.”

Even before the convention got under way yesterday the choreography of the Bush campaign made clear what they wanted the week to be about.

Dick Cheney, the Vice-President, gave an arrival speech on Ellis Island in New York harbour with the city’s skyline, minus the once familiar twin towers of the World Trade Centre, as a backdrop.

John McCain, the independent-minded Arizona senator whose relationship with Mr Bush has been frequently strained during the past four years and who was courted by John Kerry as a potential running-mate, said of Mr Bush: “He has has been tested and has risen to the most important challenge of our time.”

Republican chiefs chose New York as their convention venue, the first time they have ever held their quadrennial gathering in the city, because of the symbolism the city would provide so close to the third anniversary of 9/11.

The decision has irked some New Yorkers, many of who have left town for the week, accusing the Republicans of using New York’s tragedy for political gain.

But Mr Giuliani, whose confident leadership after 9/11 won him cross-party respect, said the use of the Twin Towers as a reference point for Mr Bush’s presidency was inevitable.

“It is impossible to conduct this presidential election without talking about September 11,” he said. “It would be like conducting the re-election of Abraham Lincoln and not talking about the Civil War. We’re going to deal with it in a very tasteful way, but, you know, excuse us if we believe that our President has done a very good job.”

Mr Bush, who will deliver his speech accepting the party’s presidential nomination on Thursday, presented himself as “a man with a plan” yesterday as he began to address his second-term agenda.

The campaign in recent months has been so dominated by Iraq and the war on terrorism, and more recently by Mr Kerry’s combat record in Vietnam, that there has been very little focus on what Mr Bush would do with another four years in the White House.

Republican strategists have promised to flesh out his agenda during the course of the week. Mr Bush is expected to use his acceptance speech to appeal to the middle ground with a series of initiatives based on an “ownership society”.

But even without the details, Mr Bush sought to persuade voters that he was a man who knew where he was going.

“What the people want to know is, have you got a plan?” he said in an interview on NBC’s This Morning, before asserting that he had new ideas on how to meet America’s energy needs, reform its healthcare system and curbing junk law suits while keeping taxes low and cutting America’s $450 billion (£250 billion) deficit by half in four years.

Mr Giuliani and Mr McCain are part of a socially-liberal line-up of prime-time speakers who are significantly out of step with the conservative delegates they are addressing. Convention planners are determined that the party should present a moderate face to the millions of voters watching televised proceedings.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the California Governor and the most popular star of the Republican Party by far, will deliver the biggest speech of the night tonight. However, Bush campaign aides have had to ensure that the former bodybuilder and Hollywood action man does not eclipse the President.

During three days in New York Mr Schwarzenegger will make only two public appearances while avoiding late-night TV shows and turning down interview requests from the main networks and cable stations.

The speakers who do have prime-time slots displayed a subtle manoeuvering, as many are anxious to keep open their options of running for the presidency in 2008.

Mr Giuliani, Mr McCain and George Pataki, the Governor of New York, all of whom have significant disagreements with the Republican base on issues such as gay marriage, abortion and stem cell research, nonetheless appeared to be auditioning for the party’s possible support in four years.

The quickest way to the hearts of Republicans this year is with unstinting praise for Mr Bush.

Mr Giuliani said: “There are many qualities that make a great leader, but having strong beliefs, being able to stick with them through popular and unpopular times, is the most important characteristic of a great leader.”