Republican National Convention

With his party energized and his own hopes soaring, Bob Dole now confronts the hard reality of overtaking a president still buoyed by positive public ratings of both his job performance and the economy. Political strategists in both parties agree that Republicans managed their convention here almost as well as possible--muting disagreement, moderating the party's image, humanizing their nominee and laying down several strong, clear themes for the general election.

Anyone within earshot of the California Beach Party at the Republican National Convention last week saw Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) singing and dancing with the 1960s duo Jan and Dean. But few heard the patriotic ballad Rohrabacher wrote and called "God Bless." The congressman and his good friend, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, former lead guitarist for the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan, recorded a demo of the song several months ago, and Rohrabacher hoped to play it at the convention.

Keeping promises, fulfilling obligations, fighting for beliefs--these are bedrocks of civilization, virtues celebrated throughout our culture. But not necessarily in politics. In politics, such traits of good character can be condemned as opportunistic, selfish and showboating. That's one reason politician is such a dirty word in the public lexicon. You can't believe anything they say. They'll say one thing and do another. Gov.

Post-conventionspeak. . . . We've all seen TV shows, but this was really something. The Ronald Reagan video and Nancy . . . Colin Powell . . . radiant Elizabeth Dole leaving the podium to become Oprah . . . GOP singers belting out "Elvira" . . . the Bob Dole video and the nominee for president belting out his acceptance speech.

Hosting the Republican National Convention has been a dream of many local leaders since the GOP pulled out of a planned convention here in 1972. But things have changed a lot since the days when politicians' main fears were kids with long hair. Today, the spotlight is on the social conservatives, from abortion foes who have promised to disrupt local clinics to illegal-immigration opponents who might demonstrate at the international border.

Among the hundreds of reporters and pundits planning to cover the Republican National Convention the old-fashioned way--for print--will be two former presidential candidates, only one of whom declared for the job. Steve Forbes, the flat-tax proponent who gained ground early in the GOP primary season, will be in San Diego to address various delegations, join Bob Dole at the podium on Thursday night and write a daily column.

Gov. Pete Wilson and GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole on Wednesday negotiated an agreement on abortion language in the Republican platform designed to head off a high-profile floor fight at the party's national convention. The agreement, hailed by both sides of the contentious issue, maintains the party's strong support of a constitutional ban on abortion, but adds a minority attachment to the platform that expresses the views of abortion-rights supporters. "I wish to thank Sen.

Mayor Susan Golding said Monday that if anti-abortion protesters attempt blockades at abortion clinics during next week's Republican National Convention here, police will act "swiftly and decisively" and may use the controversial tactic called "pain compliance."

Gay and lesbian activists, taking their case for same-sex unions directly into the Republican den, are preparing to air political ads in Southern California comparing the bias against gay marriages to that against divorced people and interracial unions. Designed to grab attention during the week of the GOP national convention in San Diego, the advertisements ask why Republicans--with so much else on their plate--are arguing over which marriages are better than others.

In a stinging rebuke of the party's expected nominee, Republican platform writers Monday shredded Bob Dole's proposed "declaration of tolerance" on abortion--dramatically underscoring Dole's lack of control over his party on the eve of his nominating convention. At the same time, the platform panel also opened a new conservative front in the continuing controversy over illegal immigration, approving a call for a constitutional amendment that would deny U.S.