NEW YORK — The Republican message this week was unmistakable: The United States is at war, and President Bush is a proven war-time leader.

"The defining event of this convention and the election ahead is 9/11," said Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah. "I agree the war on terror did not begin on Sept. 11, but that is the moment we discovered we were at war. And we are at war."

The sound of Republican war drums played over and over, whether it was a warning to terrorists that America will take the fight to them or to Democrats who question whether the United States is too aggressive or far-reaching.

"Do we fight them over there or over here? I choose to fight them over there," said Gen. Tommy Franks, the commander of U.S. troops in Iraq who gave a fiery speech Thursday night defending the president's use of military might.

"Terrorism will not stand," he said.

That message resonated with the Utah delegation, which has been staying at the Millennium Hilton in lower Manhattan across the street from where terrorists brought down the World Trade Center's twin towers.

"The world changed on Sept. 11," said Tim Bridgewater, a Utah delegate. "And it is going to be with us the rest of our lives. Our approach to government, to life, is now different than any time in our history."

Bridgewater and his wife and four children spent the week taking in the typical sites of New York City: Central Park, the zoo, the Statue of Liberty. "Today's reality is you can't go anywhere, to a Super Bowl or a World Series, without thinking it could be a target for terrorism."

It is no secret that Republicans chose staunchly Democratic New York City for the site of their convention because of the 9/11 tragedy was also the backdrop of Bush's most defining speech — some Republicans even call it his true inauguration address — where he promised swift retribution in defense of the American homeland.

And speaker after speaker, from opening day Monday to closing ceremonies Thursday night, intoned the spirit and image of that day. Even the attacks on Democratic nominee John Kerry were couched within the context that Kerry could not, or would not, take the fight to America's enemies.

New York Gov. George Pataki pointed to Sept. 11 when he introduced Bush on Thursday night.

"I thank God that on September 11th we had a president who didn't wring his hands and wonder what America had done wrong to deserve this attack," he said. "America did not choose this war. But we have a president who chooses to win it."

Republicans have been soundly criticized for what some said was the politicization of the 9/11 tragedy, particularly the parade of the tragedy's survivors and victims' families before convention delegates.

But the Utah delegation says the tragedy is a defining moment in American history and that incorporating it into presidential politics is not only inevitable but appropriate.

"This is a convention about leadership," said Utah Gov. Olene Walker. "Who will make the better war-time leader and what is our global role to be? Who can you trust to stay the course and protect the American way of life?"

The Republican answer is George W. Bush.

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