US Republicans have formally nominated the incumbent Mr George W Bush to contest the Presidential elections.
US President George W Bush, addresses delegates via video feed the Republican National Convention
His wife, Laura, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger led calls for Mr Bush to seek a a second four-year term in the White House at the Republican National Convention (RNC) last night, saying greater world freedom had been achieved and the US was safer under his leadership.
The nomination of Mr Bush to face Democratic challenger Mr John Kerry puts the marathon election on track for two months of intensive campaigning ahead of the vote on November 2nd.
With polls showing the two leading candidates running neck-and-neck, an already dirty campaign, which has been labelled the most important presidential race for 40 years, Mr Kerry last night announced a shake-up of his campaign staff in response to poll gains by Mr Bush in recent weeks.
On a night when Republicans tried to put a softer, more moderate face on the party, the first lady said her husband agonised over what ahs become the central election issue: the decision to go to war in Iraq.
"My husband didn't want to go to war, but he knew the safety and security of America and the world depended on it," Mrs Bush said, focusing on the more personal side of the president at the Republican National Convention.
"I knew he was wrestling with these agonising decisions that would have profound consequences for so many lives and for the future of the world," she said, describing him as "a loving man with a big heart."
Mr Schwarzenegger, the Austrian immigrant and movie star who was elected California governor last year, said the US remained "the lamp lighting the world".
"He knows you don't reason with terrorists - you defeat them," said Mr Schwarzenegger.
Mr Bush was formally nominated when the delegation from Pennsylvania, a key battleground in November, put him over the 1,255 needed to lead the fight against Democrats. He will accept the nomination in a prime-time televised speech on Thursday.
He made his first appearance at the convention by satellite, however, introducing his wife while he attended a softball game in Pennsylvania. The couple's twin daughters also spoke to the convention.
Democrats ridiculed the night's theme and said Mr Bush had abandoned the "compassionate conservative" principles he voiced during the 2000 campaign by pushing for huge tax cuts and watching as 1.8 million jobs disappeared.