NEW YORK – President Bush made the most of his night in the spotlight Thursday, walking down a specially constructed walk-way to a round stage in the middle of Madison Square Garden where he accepted the Republican presidential nomination.
Bush, seeking a second term in the White House, told delegates that he was still a "compassionate conservative" but one who now was tested by war and ready to keep fighting. Read a transcript of Bush's speech.
The speech closed the four-day party Republicans held in New York City, a traditionally Democratic city that had never before hosted a GOP convention. Some of the big stuff on the final day:
— Besides Bush, the other big speakers were New York Gov. George Pataki and retired Army Gen. Tommy Franks, who led the military effort against Saddam Hussein.
— The protest scene continued its twists and turns. Two protesters briefly made it onto the floor of Madison Square Garden during Bush's speech (police said other protesters had legitimate credentials). On Thursday, a judge ordered the release of nearly 500 protesters. Protesters didn't have very nice things to say about their time in captivity.
— Besides Bush, the convention proved a showcase for some rising stars within the GOP. And one of those bright lights was California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
— Bush's twin daughters didn't get high marks with their convention speech from the pundits but they got high marks from their grandmother, Barbara Bush.
— And filmmaker Michael Moore didn't get high marks from convention delegates just because .. well, just because.
The end of the Republican convention led to the natural comparisons with the Democratic convention held at the end of July in Boston. Which party did better?
The man who wants to beat Bush — John Kerry — took what many thought to be the unprecedented step of holding a campaign rally to counter the perception that he's "unfit for duty."
Other Democrats think the attacks on Kerry will backfire. And the Democrats are set to launch a $50 million ad campaign.
If you want a recap of the entire convention, check out our highlight pages from the first three nights and click on the bolded words for the full stories — Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Also, check out some of the key speeches throughout the week by clicking on the video box above.
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