NEW YORK, Aug 31 (AFP) - President George W. Bush on Tuesday changed his message on the "war on terror", insisting it can be won, as his Republican party formally nominated him for the November 2 presidential election.
Bush vowed "we will win" the global campaign against terrorists in a speech to the largest US veterans group in Nashville, Tennessee one day after a broadcast in which he said "I don`t think you can win it".
Backers of Democratic candidate John Kerry have seized on Bush`s comments as a sign of defeatism by the Republican figurehead. Bush has long held an advantage over Kerry in opinion poll rankings on who is better able to handle national security.
"We meet today at a time of war for our country -- a war we did not start, yet one that we will win," Bush told members of the American Legion. "We may never sit down at a peace table, but make no mistake about it: We are winning and we will win."
The president spent most of the day on the defensive on his earlier reply to the question whether the United States could win the war on terrorism: "I don`t think you can win it."
"But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world," Bush told NBC television.
White House aides scrambled to explain that Bush was restating his belief that the unconventional "war on terror" will not end with a peace treaty.
But even after Bush`s latest remarks, Kerry spokesman Phil Singer said in a statement that "this president has gone from mission accomplished to mission miscalculated to mission impossible on the war on terror."
"As we saw yesterday, he`s clearly got real doubts about his ability to do so -- and with good reason."
In a later radio interview with conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, Bush blamed poor phrasing for the controversy, saying: "I probably needed to be a little more articulate."
"In a conventional war, there would be a peace treaty or there would be a moment where somebody would sit on the side and say we quit. That`s not the kind of war we`re in, and that`s what I was saying," said Bush.
The comments had little impact on the Republican national convention decision who to nominate for the election battle against Kerry.
The president became the party`s official candidate when Pennsylvania cast 75 votes for him, putting him over the threshhold of 1,255 votes needed.
While a formality, the move pushed the convention towards its climax -- Bush`s acceptance speech on Thursday -- and set the tone for the latest night of speeches hailing the US president and his campaign for four more years.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger added Hollywood magic to the mix on the second day of the convention.
Schwarzenegger became the latest key Republican to praise the president`s leadership after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Adapting one of his famous movie lines, the former Hollywood star proclaimed: "America is back! Back from the attack on our homeland, back from the attack on our economy, back from the attack on our way of life," according to advance excerpts of his speech.
"We`re back because of the perseverance, character and leadership of the 43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush."
Schwarzenegger has key differences with Bush and other Republican conservatives over such issues as abortion. But with polls showing Bush and Kerry in a neck-and-neck race, Republicans have been keen to appeal to the political centre just nine weeks before the election.
First Lady Laura Bush was also to address the party gala, saying that only her husband has the backbone to defend America after September 11.
"We are living in the midst of the most historic struggle my generation has ever known. The stakes are so high," she said, according to excerpts of her speech released in advance.