"You have a president that stood up for you and now we have 64 days to stand up for him," he said. He also criticized Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry as having a lackluster and inconsistent voting record in the Senate.

The Rev. David Forbes, an alternate delegate from Columbus, said, "Karl Rove really kind of brought it right on the line." He also noted that at his church new voters are registered weekly. Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett said that by the end of this week, he expects that 91,000 new voters will have been registered and about 61,000 volunteers will have signed up in Ohio.

Daniella Gibbs Leger, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, said, "The citizens of Ohio deserve more than negative, personal attacks from Karl Rove and the Bush-Cheney team. Ohio has suffered as much as any other state under the Bush administration and is ready for John Kerry's vision for an America that is stronger at home and more respected in the world."

Some delegates complained of being verbally harassed by demonstrators. A Tennessee delegate said a protester jumped in his face and he physically had to push him away. This weekend, protesters lined the streets near the Marriott chanting, singing and screaming. State Rep. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, said he was heckled while on his way to Mass on Sunday at St. Patrick's Cathedral. When he walks through Manhattan with his delegate credentials visible, he said he gets called names, including "scum bag," "idiot" and "capitalist pig."

Today, Georgia's Democratic Sen. Zell Miller, a Bush supporter and the convention's keynote speaker, will address Ohio's delegates.