Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney will face Kerry and running-mate John Edwards when voters cast their ballots on November 2, an election touted by both sides as the most important in a generation.
Bush has made terrorism the cornerstone of his re-election bid, and said in a television interview on Monday that the United States had to keep projecting an image of strength in the world.
"When we succeed in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's the beginning of the end for extremists," Bush said. "We cannot show weakness in this world today, because the enemy will exploit that weakness."
New polls on Monday showed Bush had regained ground to pull into a virtual dead heat with Kerry less than 10 weeks from election day.
In an ABC News/Washington Post survey, they tied among likely voters at 48 percent each. Kerry was ahead 49-47 in a similar survey by the two news organisations one month ago.
A separate USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll showed Bush gaining ground in two states -- Wisconsin and Pennsylvania -- that the Democrats won four years ago.
Delegates on Monday adopted the party platform, an agenda more conservative than the positions of moderate speakers like California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who will take centre stage on Tuesday evening.
It supports a constitutional ban on abortion and same-sex marriages, and affirms "America's role in leading the world toward greater freedom."
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