GOP Looks To Lure The Undecided

President Bush hopes to reach beyond his conservative base and appeal to undecided voters with a nominating convention designed to make Americans feel better about the direction of their country and the politics of their president.

As they put final touches on the four-day convention script, Bush advisers said Tuesday that the gathering in New York also will feature sharp criticism of Democratic rival John Kerry and the unveiling of the president's second-term agenda.

The goal: to energize Republican voters while converting some in the middle. It could be a tough task for an incumbent facing a polarized electorate after leading the nation through the worst attacks on U.S. soil, followed by two foreign wars — one of which is increasingly unpopular.

The Democrats, wishing Mr. Bush no good luck, contend he has a long way to go.

"To be counted a success, the Republican convention must fundamentally alter public attitudes on President Bush's stewardship of the country," Kerry pollster Mark Mellman wrote in a memo to campaign backers.

He said Mr. Bush's average job approval rating has been 48 percent, below the norm for presidents en route to re-election, while less than 40 percent of voters believe the nation is headed in the right direction.

"Thus, President Bush must convince the electorate that the nation is in much better shape than voters now believe to be the case," Mellman wrote.

That's exactly what Mr. Bush's team has in mind.

The push begins Thursday, when the president emerges from his Crawford, Texas, ranch to begin an eight-state campaign swing on the road to New York.

He will travel with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Arizona Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Zell Miller — three moderates and a maverick who is popular with independent voters.

On the opening night of the convention, Giuliani will reflect on Sept. 11, 2001, by praising firemen, policemen and average New Yorkers who distinguished themselves after the terrorist strikes. Giuliani, a Republican, is helping put together a tribute to the families of the victims.

Aides said any mention of Sept. 11 would serve to remind voters of Mr. Bush's performance, which was highly praised at the time and led to the highest approval ratings of his presidency.

McCain, a Republican and former prisoner of war in Vietnam, will praise veterans as well as U.S. troops fighting terrorism. He also will defend the president's position on Iraq.

"So, on Monday, we will seek to recapture and honor the courage of the nation," said Bush campaign spokeswoman Nicholle Devenish, suggesting that some voters have lost touch with that sense of pride.

"People have a lot of things going on in their lives. We hope that a person watching the Olympics or getting ready to go back to school might catch a Rudy interview or the president's speech and will be reminded of the courage of this nation," she said.

That is important to Mr. Bush if he wants undecided voters to break his way. AP-Ipsos polling shows that undecided voters are more likely than others to believe the United States is headed in the wrong direction and disapprove of Mr. Bush's performance — overall and on almost every issue, including fighting terrorism and the war in Iraq.