Sept. 2, 2004, 12:15AM
Republican convention speakers rip Kerry's abilities
Softness fades as Cheney, Miller proclaim Kerry indecisive and unfit to lead
By JULIE MASON
NEW YORK - Led by a defiant Vice President Dick Cheney, Republicans at their national convention struck a hard partisan tone Wednesday, defining the presidential election in the starkest terms and denouncing the Democratic ticket as unfit to lead.
Cheney's muscular prelude to President Bush's speech tonight carried the sharpest attacks yet against Democrat John Kerry at this convention, where Wednesday night, Bush was formally nominated for a second term in the White House.
"On the question of America's role in the world, the differences between Senator Kerry and President Bush are the sharpest, and the stakes for the country are the highest," Cheney said. "History has shown that a strong and purposeful America is vital to preserving freedom and keeping us safe, yet time and again Senator Kerry has made the wrong call on national security."
The evening's lineup of speakers was a distinct pivot from the moderate political stances and soft tones of the convention's first two nights.
One late addition to the schedule was Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, a star of sorts among the delegates and an outspoken social conservative, who in an interview last year, compared homosexuality to incest and bigamy.
Speaking on welfare reform and families, Santorum said Kerry helped block Bush's faith-based initiatives in the Senate, and he added that Kerry "says he's 'concerned' about the separation of church and state."
Santorum said Kerry "should worry more about the separation of children from their fathers."
Bush made his second appearance by video before the delegates, this time from a Queens community hall.
Throughout the evening, speakers from the convention podium returned to the terrorist attacks of 2001 and the succession of events that followed.
Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia, a Democrat and ardent Bush supporter who served as the convention's keynote speaker, enumerated a lengthy list of weapons programs that Kerry voted against, asking whether the Massachusetts senator would arm troops with "spitballs."
"Senator Kerry has made it clear that he would use military force only if approved by the United Nations," Miller said. "Kerry would let Paris decide when America needs defending. I want Bush to decide."
Miller, who gave the keynote at his party's convention in 1992, took up a decided cudgel against Kerry, saying "For more than 20 years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure."
Democrats were quick to respond, saying the evenings' speeches were a throw-back to the 1992 Republican convention in Houston. "Zell Miller played the role of Pat Buchanan, nearly frightening television viewers with his growling, slashing attack speech," said Democratic National Chairman Terry McAuliffe. "Dick Cheney did his part, rounding out a night of angry old men who have no record to run on and can hope for success only by lashing out at their opponents."
For all the broadsides, however, Cheney also used his speech to accomplish a more personal objective: reacquaint voters with his other role as the plain-spoken, Wyoming grandfather who once proved a campaign asset.
Cheney has lost favor in some key voting blocs, notably among the moderates considered essential to victory this year.
Cheney's staunch advocacy for the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq and his ties to Houston-based Halliburton have tarnished his image and raised questions about his value to the ticket.
Cheney described modest family roots; his grandparents living in a railcar, and the recent addition of a new grandson to his family. His sterner moments, however, were reserved for Kerry, whom Cheney characterized as a flip-flopper lacking a sound ideological core.
"On Iraq, Senator Kerry has disagreed with many of his fellow Democrats. But Senator Kerry's liveliest disagreement is with himself. His back-and-forth reflects a habit of indecision, and sends a message of confusion," Cheney said. "Senator Kerry says he sees two Americas. It makes the whole thing mutual, America sees two John Kerrys."
Recalling the politically popular invasion of Afghanistan that preceded the less-popular war in Iraq, Cheney said the Bush administration's work is vital, but unfinished. Noting a key accomplishment of the past year, Cheney said of Saddam Hussein, "tonight he sits in jail."
In New York City, others were sitting in jail, as well. Close to 2,000 protesters have been arrested in a series of demonstrations that Wednesday breached the intensive security of the convention and arrived inside Madison Square Garden.
In an afternoon session of Young Republicans, a small melee broke out on the floor when 10 AIDS activists from the group ACT UP interrupted remarks by Bush daughters Jenna and Barbara. One young Republican was injured. It was not clear how the protesters had gotten into the hall.
Cheney paused briefly during his speech as police handcuffed and removed a protester from the convention arena.
Michael Reagan, son of former President Reagan and a conservative talk show host, introduced a video tribute to his late father, offered thanks on behalf of his family for the public outpouring that followed his father's death in June.
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