Republican Party to push tolerance and light

By RUPERT CORNWELL

WASHINGTON - There may be mayhem out on the New York streets, but the Republican Convention inside the fortress of Madison Square Garden this week will exude tolerance and reason, as the party makes its pitch for the moderate voters who may decide November's presidential election.

For Bush the convention will be the platform to set out his plans for a second term during his prime-time speech on Friday, when he formally accepts renomination.

As in 2000, he will position himself as leader of a party appealing to centrists as well as his conservative base.

The final convention policy platform ignores conservative demands on issues such as stem-cell research and immigration.

Barely a word will be heard from the party's hard men on Capitol Hill, such as the arch-conservative Texan Tom De Lay, majority leader in the House, or Senator Rick Santorum, a relentless foe of abortion and sexual "deviancy".

Instead, delegates will be treated to a procession of moderates.

Opening day will feature Senator John McCain of Arizona, arguably the most popular politician in the land.

Other speakers include Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani - both opposed to a ban on abortion and supporters of gay rights.

The goal, as in 2000, is to present the party as a "big tent" in which moderates can find a home. The problem now, of course, is that the President is a known quantity, and moderation may be a harder sell.

A string of polls last week gave the President a two or three-point lead over his Democratic opponent.

Although the margin is a dead-heat in statistical terms, Bush seems to have erased the slight advantage gained by Senator John Kerry after his own convention in Boston.

- INDEPENDENT