Republicans kicked off their 2004 national convention at Madison Square Garden on 30 August with a heavily religious character, pairing political speeches with Christian and gospel music under a program called "preachers and patriots."
The faith references ran through the opening session. Florida's state GOP chair called President Bush "a man sent by God." The Pledge of Allegiance was recited twice on the convention floor, with speakers noting that a legal challenge seeking to strip a reference to God from the pledge had recently been rejected. Mormon church leader Sheri Dew delivered a formal invocation. Earlier in the year, she had compared the defense of traditional family values to resisting Hitler in the early 1930s.
The entertainment lineup, curated by Frank Breeden, a former Gospel Music Association president, included Christian singer Gracie Rosenburger, rock band Third Day, gospel artist Donnie McClurkin, and pop musician Michael Smith.
Party strategists believed roughly four million religious conservatives had skipped the 2000 election and wanted them turning out in November. To reach swing voters at the same time, prime-time slots went to moderates: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Senator John McCain, and former New York mayors Rudy Giuliani and Ed Koch.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in August 2004, in its own words.