New York ? Republican National Convention co-stars Laura Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger commended President Bush to the country for four more years Tuesday night, hailing him as a man of strength leavened by compassion. “You can count on him, especially in a crisis,” said the first lady.

“He’s a man of perseverance. He’s a man of inner strength. He is a leader who doesn’t flinch, doesn’t waver, does not back down,” added the Austrian-born California governor in a speech that also promised recent immigrants they are welcome in the GOP.

“We Republicans admire your ambition. We encourage your dreams. We believe in your future,” said the actor-turned-politician in one of several speeches crafted to show the softer side of a party known for its conservatism.

The effort to flesh out an image of the president as something more than a resolute commander in chief resulted in something akin to a prime-time Bush family hour, with twins Jenna and Barbara teasing their father gently in a brief, joint appearance at the podium. “We are so proud to be here tonight to introduce someone who read us bedtime stories, picked up carpool, made our favorite peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches and cheered for us when we made a goal, even when it was for the wrong team,” Jenna said.

Schwarzenegger and the first lady took their turns at the Madison Square Garden podium as 2,508 delegates formally bestowed their nomination on the president for a second term in office. “Four more years,” they chanted in unison — then and many times more throughout the night.

Republicans met inside their heavily fortified convention hall as police made more than 560 arrests in the surrounding streets on a day heavy with nonviolent protest. By evening, authorities wrapped an entire midtown Manhattan block in orange netting, working to contain demonstrators who had vowed to march on the Garden.

Bush, locked in a tight re-election race, campaigned across three battleground states and worked to extinguish a convention-week controversy of his own making. “In this different kind of war, we may never sit down at a peace table. But make no mistake about it, we are winning, and we will win” the war on terror, he told an American Legion convention in Tennessee, one day after saying he didn’t think victory would be possible.

“I probably needed to be more articulate” in earlier comments, he conceded in a radio interview with conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

Bush’s Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry, spent the day at home in Nantucket, Mass., as his campaign settled on plans to place $45 million in television advertising in 20 battleground states through Election Day. The commercials will run on broadcast stations and cable, and include appeals to minority voters whom Democrats need to turn out in large numbers on Nov. 2 if they are to deny Bush a second term.

First lady Laura Bush is framed by her image on a giant video screen as she address the Republican National Convention. Mrs. Bush praised the leadership of her husband, who officially was renominated as the Republican presidential nominee Tuesday in New York.

A poll by The Washington Post showed the race to be a dead heat, 48 percent apiece, but found that the president moving ahead of his rival on national security issues and pulling into a virtual tie on handling of the economy.

Bush arrives today in New York, a day ahead of a nomination acceptance speech that is expected to sketch out a second-term agenda. Vice President Dick Cheney addresses the gathering tonight.