Top Bush-Cheney strategists and advisors today said that Sen. John Kerry's nomination acceptance speech suggests that the Democrat will use the upcoming debates to attack Bush policies instead of offering new ideas and plans, making the presidential debates critical. But, they said, that should turn the focus of the debates onto the Bush policies, and give the president a chance to explain for the nation why he thinks his decisions have been good for the country. "If it's all about us, then we can use that to make our case," said a campaign official. That, he added, gives President Bush a chance to use the Republican National Convention to provide more of a broad thematic message instead of a point-by-point defense of his administration. Others said that Bush would use his address to lay out his agenda in the kind of detail they don't think Kerry offered for his agenda in Boston last night. –Paul Bedard, U.S.News

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