BOSTON, MA July 30, 2004 — Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Guiliani was in Boston yesterday, fiercely criticizing Senator Kerry. Giuliani has emerged as one of the most important surrogate Speakers for President Bush in the Republican Party. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein filed this report from Boston.

MAN: It is my honor and pleasure to introduce a great American a great leader a man of strong conviction and principle a man who is a huge asset to our party, please welcome america's mayor, Rudolph Giuliani.

GIULIANI: Thank you ed, thank you very very much ed

All week here, republicans have been organizing what they're calling Democratic Extreme Makeover press conferences, to argue that the convention speeches have been hiding the truth about what they're calling John Kerry's liberal voting record in the Senate. Today's star attraction was Rudolph Giuliani, and the event had to be moved to a venue five times larger.

Giuliani: a month from now we're going to have a convention on president bush's record, we're not going to run away from it as they've been doing in the last four nights

Former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik was here yesterday, making a similar point.

KERIK: this is a time you don't need someone to sit in the white house and not be sure on their commitment not be sure whether they should go to war or not, not send our troops and not send them the money they need to do the job and that I know personally and I understand personally

They word personally is no accident. Both Giuliani and Kerik are forever linked to the September 11th attacks, and their presence vouching for President Bush brings the nation back to that moment when the country rallied around the president .

GIULIANI: 9/11 is the single most important event that took place in the last four years who knows maybe in the last fifty it certainly is a defining event it changed America and examining what the president has done right people feel he's done wrong or what senator kerry has done wrong is perfectly appropriate

Democrats differ. At speech to the New York delegation Thursday, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer issued a warning to Republicans for THEIR convention next month.

SPITZERL Do not dare use 9/11 for political purposes. Do not do it We have seen in the spet 11 commish report how for how many errors were made, opportunities missed, nobody I mean nobody should use it for politics

But the warning that stirred the hearts of democrats almost made Giuliani laugh.

Giuliani: if republicans can't talk about 9/11 then all we're subjected to are the terrible attacks of democrats against the president in which they called him a liar, they've had this movie farenheit 911 if we can't talk about 9/11 this becomes a very one sided election

With the election extremely tight, the Republican Party intends to use Giuliani as much as it possibly can Ed Gillespie, the Chairman of the Republican National Committee, says after the President and Vice President, Giuliani is THE top Republican draw.

Rudy Giuliani is a very popular figure across the country it's not just in the ne like we are in boston today

And so on thursday, the Mayor and his press spokeswoman, Sunny Mindel, were up at dawn to speak to Imus in the morning.

WOMAN: 7:08 was today show, 7:18 was cbs, 7:35 was cnn

Then there were satlellite interviews with five television stations across the country, a press conference, an interview with Sean Hannity.

WOMAN: and now whatever we're doing here which is all the local tv staions, we'll hit ny print, and we'll eventually get through everybody, okay?

Mayor Giuliani isn't always so accommodating. But today he did get to everybody, including WNYC. Reporting from the Democratic National Convention in Boston, for WNYC, I'm Andrea Bernstein.

You can hear the full interview with formerMayor Giuliani here.