Philadelphia – Brimming with confidence and boasting of harmony, Republicans
are raising the curtain on George W. Bush’s Republican National Convention
with opening-night appeals to women, minorities and moderates by the Texas
governor’s wife, Laura, and retired Gen. Colin Powell, one of the GOP’s
biggest stars.
“We’re on our way to Philadelphia and we’re on our way to victory!” – Bush
exulted at an Ohio rally on a bus trip to the Republican National
Convention. He’ll make nightly appearances by satellite links on the road
before arriving in town Wednesday.
Thousands of red, white and blue balloons hung in nets high above the floor
of the First Union Center in anticipation of Bush’s acceptance speech
Thursday. Three gigantic television screens lined the stage to project
larger-than-life images of convention speakers. The over-arching theme:
“Renewing America’s Purpose. Together.”
New polls showed Bush leading Democrat Al Gore anywhere from five to 12
percentage points. An NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll that came out Monday
gave Bush a 47 percent to 42 percent lead in a two-way race, or a 44 percent
to 38 percent margin if other likely candidates were factored in. Democrats
tried to burst Bush’s bubble with television ads in 17 battleground states
attacking running mate Dick Cheney’s conservative voting record.
Bush described his vice presidential pick as “a solid man, a man of
integrity,” and Cheney defended himself on Sunday television talk shows.
Cheney acknowledged that might vote differently now on issues ranging from
gun control to women’s rights – prompting Democrats to seize on his
turnabout.
“It’s hard to figure how someone could change his position on all of those
issues without undergoing a partial lobotomy,” said Ed Rendell, co-chairman
of the Democratic National Committtee.
Republicans boasted that the party was more united than at any time since
the 1984 re-election of Ronald Reagan. “It’s very important to us that there
is unity and a feeling of optimism about winning the White House,” said
Gerald Parsky, chairman of the California delegation, who said many
Republicans in his state voted for Ross Perot in 1992 and stayed home in
1996.
In the spirit of harmony, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., released his delegates
and urged them to give Bush’s campaign “the same amount of enthusiasm and
participation you did for our primary campaign.” He said the nation does not
like “sore losers.”
McCain’s supporters – totaling about 160 in all – groaned in disappointment
and a few said they could not back Bush. “I don’t think I can vote in good
conscience for Bush. I think he’s sending the wrong message,” said James
Manning, a McCain delegate from New York.
Monday night’s speeches by Laura Bush, a former librarian, and Powell, a
black military leader who rose to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, are the opening of a concerted effort to soften some of the party’s
hard edges of the past.
Mrs. Bush, for example, is expected to focus on literacy, an issue she has
championed from the governor’s mansion. The first day’s theme is “Leave No
Child Behind.”
One of the first pieces of business was ratifying the GOP’s platform of
policy principles, a manifesto that reaffirms a desire to ban abortion with
no exceptions and toughens language against gay rights and family planning
counseling for teens. At the same time, it eases some stands, dropping calls
for abolishing the Education Department and setting a more welcoming tone
for immigrants.
This marks the first political convention in Philadelphia since 1948 near
the dawn of the television era. A half century later, major TV networks are
slashing back their reports on grounds that there’s no suspense about the
outcome. But that hasn’t deterred cable outlets – and Internet reporters –
from saturation coverage.
GOP organizers promised “different kind of convention for a different kind
of Republican” – in line with Bush’s theme of being a “compassionate
conservative” focusing on issues like education and Social Security.
“My job is to lift the spirit of the country,” Bush said at a rain-soaked
rally at a suburban baseball field in Cincinnati. “My job is to set our
sights high. My job is to say a united nation can achieve that which we
want: to make sure people are not left behind,” Bush told the ballpark
rally.
In a break with tradition, the convention will begin a rolling roll call of
the states Monday night, spreading out the state-by-state declarations of
support over several nights instead of making the audience endure what
usually is an hours long process.
Democrats will open their convention in Los Angeles on Aug. 14.
