9/11 theme of Republicans' rally

By Rob Watson BBC correspondent in New York

The Republican Party convention is not subtle stuff.

Moderate Republican Rudolph Giuliani backed Bush's leadership

It is very clear there are two themes here.

For one, President Bush is going to run on his handling of 11 September.

There were repeated references to the attacks and his response in the days, months and years since, as well as the steadfast leadership he has shown.

The other theme is that moderate Republicans like Rudolph Giuliani and John McCain were lined up to endorse President Bush.

These are the not the people in the party that stand for God, guns and guts but rather the moderates.

And those moderates endorsed not only President Bush but also the war on terror and, for Senator John McCain, also the war in Iraq.

Rivals

You can tell that John McCain and George W Bush have been political and personal rivals.

That was obvious. There were not that many mentions of George Bush personally in Senator McCain's speech.

9/11 is seen as the defining moment of Bush's presidency

But what John McCain has done, when faced with a choice, is stick with his party.

His delivery was muted. It was only at the very end of his speech that his voice rose with emotion.

It was only when the war veteran said: "We're Americans. We'll never surrender and they will," that he gave a rousing delivery.

But whatever the tone of his speech, John McCain has decided that he is a Republican and that he is supporting the Republican candidate.

In the end, his endorsement is important because he does draw support from not only Republicans but also Democrats and independents.

We saw that when he ran against George W Bush for the Republican Party presidential nomination in 2000.

Will it make a difference to independent voters that moderates like John McCain support a president who is a conservative?

I think that is more doubtful.

On election day, these speakers will mean little to voters. On 2 November, they will be making a straight choice between George Bush and John Kerry.

Kerry-bashing

What we saw on this first night of the Republican Party convention is a law of American politics at work.

You cannot have a political convention without knocking your opponent.

Senator John McCain is a former rival to Mr Bush

The Republican Party faithful did not come to New York to hear nice things about John Kerry.

They came here to see the other side get bashed, and tonight John Kerry got a good bashing.

And he got that bashing from a man seen as a moderate Republican, former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

"President Bush sees world terrorism for the evil that it is," Mr Giuliani said. "John Kerry has no such clear, precise and consistent vision."

The importance was not just the message but the messenger.

On balance, there is little doubt that President Bush is staking his re-election on his reputation as a war-time leader and his handling of the war on terrorism.

The Republican Party think that 11 September is the defining moment of George Bush's presidency, and voters' perception of his reaction to that moment that will determine his re-election.