NEW YORK, Aug 29 (AFP) - Democrats plan to take a swing at every Republican attack leveled against presidential nominee John Kerry this week, as the Republican National Convention meets here to formally nominate President George W. Bush for a second term in office.
Parties have traditionally kept a low profile during a rival's nominating convention, but this year's election is expected to be so tight that this courtesy has only partially been observed.
Kerry will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday -- on the eve of Bush's acceptance speech -- to address military veterans during the 86th national convention of the American Legion, the largest veterans group in the United States.
The White House Democratic hopeful predicted last week that the Republicans' four-day bash will be about "slogans" and "personal attacks."
"The world will listen to what the Republicans say when they come here," Kerry said at a New York engineering college, The Cooper Union. "But words, slogans and personal attacks cannot disguise what they have done -- and left undone."
"The Bush campaign and its allies have turned to the tactics of fear and smear because they can't talk about jobs, health care, energy independence and rebuilding our alliances -- the real issues that matter to the American people," the Massachusetts senator said.
Kerry's party is ready to counter Republican salvos.
The Democrats set up a team in New York that will quickly strike back at statements made by Republicans during the convention, a tactic used by Bush's party during the Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, last month.
Democratic heavyweights will be mobilized to speak during the convention, including New York Senator Hillary Clinton, who as the former first lady has national appeal, and Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, who will speak for the US heartland.
Democrats say their goal is to demonstrate that Bush has failed to accomplish his mission -- a reference to the "Mission Accomplished" banner that hung on the aircraft carrier on which Bush declared on May 1, 2003, that major combat operations had ended in Iraq.
Polls show that the November 2 election will be a tight vote. Four surveys released Friday and Saturday give Bush a slight edge, but the results were so close they were all within the margin of error.
With the election so close Bush chose to remain on the campaign trail during the national convention's first three days. He will visit three states that are considered still up for grabs: Michigan, Ohio and New Hampshire.