Republican officials yesterday tapped Senator Miller, a conservative Southern Democrat, to be the keynote speaker at the GOP convention.

Mr. Miller’s September 1 prime-time speech will center on President Bush’s “pro-growth, pro-American worker, pro-American entrepreneur agenda,” convention organizers said. He will speak on the same night as Vice President Cheney.

Mr. Miller, who represents Georgia, gave the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in New York City 12 years ago, when Bill Clinton was nominated.

“It’s ironic because he gave such a partisan speech,” said Washington D.C. political scientist Eugene Alpert, who called the then-governor’s jabs “Zell zingers.”

“George Bush is a timid man who hears only the voices of caution and the status quo,” Mr. Miller said about Bush senior in 1992.”Let’s face facts: George Bush just doesn’t get it, he doesn’t see it, he doesn’t feel it, and he’s done nothing about it. That’s why we cannot afford four more years.”

But this time the first-term senator, who was elected in 2000, will be throwing barbs for the opposite team.

“Senator Miller’s support is indicative of the broad support the Republican Party has earned under President Bush’s compassionate conservative leadership as Americans reject the ‘out of the mainstream’ direction of John Kerry’s Democratic Party,” said Ed Gillespie, the GOP chairman.

The selection of Mr. Miller, who was already on the convention’s list of speakers, came as little surprise, since “for all intensive purposes, he’s a Republican,” said Democratic campaigner Steve Rabinowitz. “Throughout his career in the Senate, he has pushed Bush’s agenda,” he added.

“He’s their Ron Reagan,” said Mr. Alpert, referring to the surprise speech by the son of President Reagan in favor of stem cell research at the DNC in Boston last month.

The keynote speech is usually reserved for up-and-coming stars in the party. Senate hopeful Barack Obama, who gave the keynote address at the DNC, is often mentioned as a future candidate for president.

Mr. Miller’s speech will air during prime time on the major broadcast networks; Mr. Obama’s address could only be seen on cable TV and PBS.

“He is a man of principle…a centrist Democrat who won’t support the nomination of John Kerry,” Mr. Gillespie said.

Others were less impressed with the choice of Mr. Miller, especially given the options of Senator McCain, Governor Schwarzenegger, and the former mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, who are all scheduled to speak. “Is this the best they can do?” Mr. Rabinowitz said.

Mr. Miller’s future with either party is uncertain, as he is not expected to seek re-election in his home state in 2006 and has alienated many fellow Democrats.

“This is emblematic of what the Republicans are trying to do with their convention – namely mislead the American people,” DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe told the Associated Press. “Republicans claiming that Miller is a Democrat doesn’t make it true.”

Mr. Miller has penned a number of books, including “A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat” published in 2003. In it, he answers his critics who say he left the Democratic Party, insisting the party left him.

The GOP also announced the theme of each day’s speakers. Monday will pay tribute to the families of September 11, with Messrs. Giuliani and McCain speaking to America’s “great acts of bravery” on that day.

Tuesday addresses the “compassion of the American people.” On that day, Laura Bush will provide “insight” into her husband’s last four years in office, and Mr. Schwarzenegger will recount his success story as an immigrant.

President Bush will cap the convention on Thursday, outlining his vision for the next four years, including his economic agenda and plans to make America safer.

Unlike the DNC, which was “backward-looking and biographical,” the RNC will be “quicker paced” and “more in the mix,” Mr. Gillespie said.