launched in the wake of the September 11, 2001 suicide strikes against New York and Washington - was a winnable conflict. Some of the speech excerpts seemed intended to clarify the issue. "We are staying on the offensive, striking terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home," the text stated. "And we will prevail." Bush arrived Thursday afternoon by motorcade at New York's Madison Square Garden to familiarize himself with the meeting hall before delegates return in the evening. Police inside the security cordon surrounding the arena were visibly on heightened alert after the president's arrival. Three officers perched on the awning over the Madison Square Garden entrance and used binoculars to scan the vast windows of the many surrounding skyscrapers for snipers or other threats. Aloft, police helicopters circled over Midtown Manhattan. Vice President Dick Cheney and U.S. Senator Zell Miller of Georgia Wednesday night delivered scathing portrayals of Kerry as a weak and indecisive leader. --More 0131 Local Time 2231 GMT
