The Orbis

Just as their democratic counterparts did in Boston close to a month ago, the Republican Party has convened in New York.

The most important aspect of the convention should be pretty obvious — it is being held in New York City: the city where George W. Bush once reigned supreme over a nation that believed in him, trusted him and in some ways wanted his leadership in a time of national struggle and confusion.

Bush’s return to the city of his greatest triumphs and popularity is an attempt to launch himself back up to his previous (and term-high) popularity, as well as to a time when his administration had full support of Congress to take the unilateral actions deemed necessary to combat terrorism.

Here we are, nearly three years after Bush began the war on terror, and where do we stand?

The death toll in Iraq rises every day while we remain at odds with many of the great allies of our past, trying to navigate ourselves through in the fog of an economy that retreats further and further into the bear’s cave.

The president has even admitted on national television when asked if we can win the war on terror that, “I don’t think you can win it.”

So it makes plenty of sense that Bush would bring his party’s convention to New York City for the first time in history, despite the city and state’s historically Democratic leanings.

In fact, modern polls show that only 18 percent of the entire New York City population votes Republican, and by that statistic, the Republicans have found themselves in a city where over three fourths of the population will probably vote against them.

The GOP, however, wants the American people to be both reminded of how safe and strong the president made them feel at the time of the initial attacks and hopefully to adopt the state of mind that it would not be wise to change horses in the middle of a race.

They have made the first goal clear by not only holding the convention in Manhattan, but also by having Dick Cheney kick off the week with a speech from Ellis Island, not to mention having former mayor Rudolph Giuliani put all his faith in Bush via a powerful (if hammy) speech during the second night.

The latter goal is perhaps more dangerous, simply because the war on terror is a war that really cannot be won no matter how Bush or his administration chooses to define victory on any given day. Just like the war on drugs, our government has created an intangible enemy that could never be thoroughly and definitely defeated.

If the Republican Party is successful in convincing undecided voters that we cannot change leadership or ideas in a war that could potentially never end, our country will be further a darkened path on which we have already encountered alienation, hatred and perpetual violence.

The next week will be interesting indeed, especially when the chips are counted and polling completed. Hopefully, the Republican party’s double-edged sword of fear and conviction based upon our own insecurities won’t succeed in giving George Bush the push he needs as we head toward the fall.

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