Reciting a litany of what he called misguided statements by Kerry, Cheney, in remarks prepared for delivery, started with a comment that the Democrat made while in his 20s, saying that he wanted U.S. troops deployed "only at the directive of the United Nations."

With obvious contempt, Cheney then cited the Massachusetts senator's defense votes from the 1980s, a vote against the Gulf War in 1991, against a funding request last year to pay for the Iraq occupation, concluding with his recent call for a "more sensitive" approach that would bring more allies to the fight against terrorism.

"He talks about leading a more sensitive war on terror, as though al-Qaida will be impressed with our softer side," Cheney said. Continuing his assault at Madison Square Garden, the vice president added: "Senator Kerry denounces American action when other countries don't approve — as if the whole object of our foreign policy were to please a few persistent critics."

Vice President Dick Cheney praised President Bush yesterday as a "man of wisdom and humility" and "loyalty and kindness." Associated Press

But the theme of fear — of the prospect of terrorism, and of the Kerry's alleged inability to fight it — remained by far the dominant note from the podium.

Keynote speaker Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia, a disaffected Democrat who has taken flight from his party to endorse Bush, struck many of the same arguments of Cheney, in language that was even more mocking of Kerry — a colleague he has previously campaigned for and hailed as a war hero.

Noting several Kerry votes against weapons systems, Miller crowed: "This is the man who wants to be commander in chief of our U.S. armed forces? U.S. forces armed with what? Spitballs?"

Twelve years ago, Miller, then the governor of Georgia, gave the keynote at the Democratic convention that nominated Bill Clinton, at the same Madison Square Garden hall where Republicans meet now. Democrats have said Miller's move proves the opportunism and inconsistency that Republicans accuse Kerry of.

But Miller cast his appearance as one of principle: "I ask which leader it is today that has the vision, the willpower and, yes, the backbone to best protect my family," he said, in speech excerpts released before delivery. "The clear answer to that question has placed me in this hall with you tonight. For my family is more important than my party."

Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia, who portrays himself as a disenchanted Democrat, gave yesterday's keynote address to the Republicans. Associated Press

In an interview with The Associated Press, Rove said Kerry's 1971 speech asserting that delinquent leadership had resulted in widespread atrocities by U.S. servicemen in Vietnam was "painting with far too broad a brush to tarnish the records and service of people (who were) defending our country and fighting communism and doing what they thought was right."

Two Kerry surrogates, former Democratic senators and Vietnam veterans Max Cleland and Bob Kerrey, said Rove's comments indicated he was acting in league with the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth organization and should resign from the White House. Bush has said he admires Kerry's war service and opposes the campaign spending of all of the so-called 527 independent groups, but he has refused to condemn their specific charges.

The harshest of these allegations, such as that Kerry won combat decorations for occasions when he was not under fire, have been contradicted by official records and undermined by inconsistent statements from some of those making the charges.

But the apparent message from the Bush campaign yesterday was that some of the allegation by the swift boat veterans are legitimate questions and require no apology.

In addition to Rove's comments, former representative Vin Weber, R-Minn., an influential and outside adviser to the White House, said the controversy is reshaping the race, to Bush's clear advantage.

"This is central," Weber emphasized during a breakfast meeting with Washington Post reporters and editors. "This is who John Kerry is and his fundamental fitness to lead the country. That's why it is having such a devastating impact and that's why it's such a radioactive topic."

Weber concluded: "We may look back and say this is the most significant phenomenon of this election."

Cheney's appearance here, after a long season of speculation of whether he was a drag on the ticket and even whether he might choose not to seek re-election, was infused with considerably more significance than a typical convention address by a vice president. Cheney was a principal sponsor of the administration's confrontation with Iraq and one of the most vigorous proponents of the assertion that Saddam Hussein's regime presented an imminent threat from weapons of mass destruction and that he had important links with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network. Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq, no strong evidence has emerged for either assertion.

This meant that in defending his boss, Cheney was — more than any vice president in recent decades — also defending himself.

The vice president did not delve into details of Iraq policy or make a sustained argument about the administration's reasoning behind its assumptions on the path to war, which continues to have 140,000 U.S. troops in that country supporting a new government.

Instead, he said the new status quo is a clear improvement and sends a broader and hopeful message across a dangerous region: "In Iraq, we dealt with a gathering threat and removed ... Saddam Hussein. Seventeen months ago, he controlled the lives and fortunes of 25 million people. Tonight, he sits in jail."

The speech underscored the way the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the Iraq invasion have transformed the Republican ticket's profile. When Cheney spoke four years ago at the GOP convention in Philadelphia, he was widely perceived as a bland-but-reassuring figure, bringing experience to the ticket led by a younger nominee with a much shorter resumé.

Yesterday, as the wild cheers greeting him made clear, he is viewed quite differently — a hugely popular figure among the Republican's conservative base, even while polls show his popularity is low with the larger electorate.

A usually laconic speaker, Cheney spoke in highly personal and occasionally even rhapsodic terms about the man who put him on the ticket. He called Bush a "man of wisdom and humility" and "loyalty and kindness." Most of all though, Cheney called him a man who acts without doubt in the face of challenge.

"The fanatics" who attacked on Sept. 11, Cheney said, "may have thought they could attack us with impunity — because terrorists had done so previously. ...They did not know America ... and they did not know George W. Bush."