Hundreds of thousands of anti-Bush protesters flood New York

12.15pm UPDATE

NEW YORK - Hundreds of thousands of protesters flooded the streets of New York to condemn President Bush on the eve of the Republican convention on Sunday.

Beating drums and shouting "no more Bush," a largely peaceful mile-long column of about 200,000 protesters marched past a heavily fortified Madison Square Garden to raise their voices against the war in Iraq and other Bush policies.

Republicans, buoyed by new polls showing Bush gaining ground or slightly leading Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts in their race for the White House, open their four-day convention on Monday.

On the campaign trail Vice President Dick Cheney praised Bush's "calm" leadership after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

"All of us are gathering here this week for one reason and one reason only, and that is to make certain that George W. Bush is president for the next four years," Cheney told an Ellis Island rally on his arrival in New York.

Cheney moved quickly to invoke Bush's leadership after September 11 -- certain to be a recurring theme at the convention, which will be held less than four miles from the gaping hole where the World Trade Center once stood.

"In the weeks following the terrorist attacks on America, people in every part of the country, regardless of party, took great comfort and pride in the conduct and the character of our president," Cheney said.

In the key swing state of West Virginia, Bush portrayed himself as a friend of the US steel and mining industries, chastising Kerry as a flip-flopper who once described coal as a dirty source of energy.

"He's out there mining for votes. Be careful of somebody whose position shifts in the wind," Bush said during the latest stop in his week-long tour of key states ahead of his arrival in New York on Wednesday.

A wide range of anti-Bush protest groups, many opposing the war in Iraq, participated in the march through central Manhattan, which police said led to more than 100 arrests. More than 400 people have been arrested in protests since Thursday.

The demonstrators, carrying banners and signs in a carnival atmosphere, stretched for more than a mile down New York streets and avenues and were watched closely by police in riot gear and on horseback.

One group carried 1,000 coffins as a tribute to American soldiers dead in Iraq. A small group of masked anarchists set fire to a float one block from the convention site and hurled bottles at police in riot gear. Police rushed them and made 11 arrests.

PRAISE FOR BUSH

Cheney received a much warmer reception on his arrival at Ellis Island. He and Republican New York Gov. George Pataki both praised Bush's leadership after the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington.

Republicans hope the convention will revive images of Bush's visit to the rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center to cheer on firefighters, and will remind voters of what Americans saw in Bush immediately after the attacks.

"They saw a man calm in a crisis, comfortable with responsibility and determined to do everything necessary to protect our people," Cheney told the Ellis Island crowd.

Bush's turn in the campaign spotlight this week gives him a stage to tout his first-term record and lay out ideas for another four years while drawing sharp differences with Kerry.

Bush and Republicans also will highlight the party's more moderate face during the convention, featuring a series of middle-of-the-road speakers to help appeal to swing voters.

Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Arizona Sen. John McCain and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will have prime-time speaking roles, while most of the party's more conservative figures will be shunted off centre stage.

New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton blasted the Republican plans, calling it a "bait and switch" convention.

"They are going to talk about things that they are not really committed to. They are going to have leaders who don't have any influence in Washington," she said on CNN's "Late Edition."

McCain dismissed the notion that the speaking line-up was designed to hide the party's conservative nature, saying media stars like Schwarzenegger and Giuliani would help keep viewers tuned in.

"I think it's also a strong effort to keep people from punching the channel changer," McCain said on CBS's "Face the Nation" television program. "I hope we are trying to send a message of inclusion and tolerance in our party."

- REUTERS