by Peter Mackler
NEW YORK, Aug 31 (AFP) - Action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger brought down the house at the Republican national convention Tuesday, boosting President George W. Bush`s bid for re-election as the best bet to "terminate terrorism."
The California governor was greeted with thunderous applause as he made his bow on the national political stage to lend his Hollywood star power to Bush`s campaign against Democrat John Kerry.
"What a greeting! This is like winning an Oscar! ... As if I would know!" gushed the muscle-bound star of such action classics as "The Terminator" and "Conan the Barbarian," whose speech received a standing ovation.
He peppered his address with references to his film career and called Democratic critics of Bush`s domestic performance "economic girlie men," using a term that got him into trouble with the California state legislature.
"Speaking of acting, one of my movies was called `True Lies.` It`s what the Democrats should have called their convention," quipped the actor, who took the podium on the convention`s second night in a dapper black suit and gold tie.
Schwarzenegger praised Bush`s response to the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and evoked his signature movie line "I`ll be back" to declare the country healed from its ordeal.
"Ladies and gentlemen, America is back," the Austrian-born former Mr. Universe said. "Back from the attack on our homeland, back from the attack on our economy, back from the attack on our way of life.
"We`re back because of the perseverance, character and leadership of the 43rd president of the United States -- George W. Bush," Schwarzenegger told the wildly cheering delegates in New York`s Madison Square Garden.
He urged Americans to vote for his party to combat terror: "If you believe we must be fierce and relentless and terminate terrorism, then you are a Republican," he said.
Schwarzenegger, a Republican moderate, has largely kept his distance from Bush since being elected California governor last October. But he had high praise for the president Tuesday.
"Hes a man of inner strength. He is a leader who doesnt flinch, doesnt waiver, does not back down," Schwarzenegger said of Bush. "He knows you dont reason with terrorists. You defeat them."
Extolling the American dream, Schwarzenegger spoke of his background as a self-made man, rising from poverty in Austria to become a bodybuilding champion, international movie star and successful US politician.
"In this country, it doesn`t make any difference where you were born," he said. "It doesn`t make any difference if, like me, you couldn`t even speak English until you were in your 20s."
"America gave me opportunities, and my immigrant dreams came true. That`s why I believe in this country, that`s why I believe in this party -- and that`s why I believe in this president."
Schwarzenegger avoided direct criticism of Kerry but chided the Democrats for their familiar cry against the "two Americas" that pit the rich against the struggling classes.
Recalling the visits he had made to US troops all over the world, he said: "Our young men and women in uniform do not believe there are two Americas. They believe we are one America and they are fighting for it."
Schwarzenegger not only added show business luster to Bush`s drive for four more years in the White House, but provided a counterweight to the party`s conservative wing which some feared could scare off independents.
He also brought along an unusual guest at the Republican extravaganza -- his wife Maria Shriver, a member of the Democratic Kennedy clan.
The highly popular governor of the most populous US state was to slip back into movie star mode later Tuesday to attend a salute to the cinema and music industries.
Schwarzenegger said he always dreamed of coming to the United State and decided to become a Republican after watching Richard Nixon in a presidential debate in 1968 -- translated into German by a friend.
When he found out that Nixon was a Republican, he said, "Then I am a Republican!. And Ive been a Republican ever since.
"And trust me, in my wifes family, thats no small achievement."