Conventional Politics

By JAMES CARNEY AND JOHN F. DICKERSON/WASHINGTON

Putting together a political convention can be as tense as planning a wedding. Where to put those unpopular family members? Should the nominee's dad give a toast? What about his mom? Questions like these vex Republicans whose job it is to keep Americans from clicking past the G.O.P. convention for reruns of Felicity. Complicating matters, the kids want their ceremony in Philadelphia to be "nontraditional." The theme that GEORGE W. BUSH is a New Kind of Republican means nixing time-honored rites. No paeans to Senate majority leader Trent Lott or House Speaker Denny Hastert. They'll get honorary convention titles but not prime-time slots, a fact that insiders say has Lott steamed. "If your name begins with Senator or Congressman, you're not onstage," says a Bush adviser. Exception: JOHN McCAIN, whose Senate status is overshadowed by his celebrity. Besides, he'd bark if cut out. Not so lucky is former President GEORGE BUSH, who will, like all living G.O.P. ex-Presidents, be seen (in a video tribute) but not heard, lest he overshadow his son and remind voters of the past. BARBARA BUSH is another matter. Some advisers want the former First Lady to introduce her son on the final night.

Keeping things unconventional is the goal. So Governor Bush won't wait until the night of his big speech to show up. He'll make a surprise appearance each of the first three nights to generate excitement, but convention goers will have to guess the venue. The Liberty Bell, perhaps? Technowizards are trying to find a way to beam COLIN POWELL into the hall from an outside location. One idea (ours): Take advantage of ABC's reported decision to show the convention only during halftime of Monday Night Football by putting Powell, complete with headset, in the booth with new man Dennis Miller.

With the pols shelved, enter the regular folk whose stories will be used to trumpet the Bush agenda. As one aide-de-Dubya put it, the emphasis is on "nontraditional groups," i.e., "lots of women, lots of minorities." The first night will feature students from the mostly Hispanic KIPP Academy, a Houston charter school that Bush frequently touts. Finally, there's the entertainment. Instead of the usual G.O.P. country-and-western fare, planners have suggested trying to land Ricky Martin or the Backstreet Boys. It sort of makes one long for the Old Kind of Republican.

--By James Carney and John F. Dickerson/Washington