GOP CONVENTION NOTES: THE NAMES, THE FACES ALL COME TOGETHER IN FOUR DAYS

Random convention notes and observations on spending eight of the dog days in Philadelphia and South Jersey:

Want a telling difference between our two national campaigns? Here it is. When GOP nominee Texas Gov. George W. Bush selected former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney for vice president, the Gore campaign reacted with at least three days of frenzied and personal attacks seeking to demonize him. Here's what the Bush campaign, in the person of spokesman Ari Fleischer, had to say about the selection of Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman for vice president: "Vice President Gore has chosen a good man whom Gov. Bush and Secretary Cheney respect."

* * * * *

Sitting in the stands at the hockey arena called the First Union Center one night, I looked up at the man descending the stairs alongside my seat and recognized him as Cincinnati resident and fine gentleman Bill Dewitt Jr., the chairman of the board of the St. Louis Cardinals. Having met him a couple of times in Jefferson City and St. Louis, I re-introduced myself, and we chatted briefly. Knowing we had a good mutual friend, I quipped that Bush campaign national finance director Jack Oliver "is taking care of me this week." Dewitt responded with a grin, "Yeah, he is me too."

As a footnote, Governor Bush, in his pre-convention tour that began in Joplin, Mo., stayed two nights at Dewitt's Cincinnati home and practiced his speech. Just another of many direct Missouri connections, along with the governor's uncle William "Bucky" Bush, a St. Louis resident, right into the Bush campaign. Dewitt and Governor Bush knew each other as investors in the oil business 15 years ago, even before their connection as fellow members of the baseball ownership club.

Speaking of the 31-year-old Oliver, who worked for me the first five months I was in office back in 1993, I told top Bush strategist Karl Rove of the incredibly flattering profile that had appeared that morning in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I told Rove of his quotes that had appeared. (The article was reprinted in these pages the next day.) With U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt of Springfield standing by, I said, "The article is so positive that if Jack had hired a press agent to write it, it couldn't have been more flattering." At that Roy Blunt quipped, "He probably did," to laughter all around.

* * * * *

Interestingly, Governor Bush volunteered to Roy Blunt that the most exciting and energized event of his entire national campaign was the evening rally held at the Springfield, Mo., airport last March, just before the Super Tuesday primary.

* * * * *

There were lots of interested men in one of the skyboxes -- yours truly included -- when actress Bo Derek showed up for a visit after her convention speech. She is quite nice and, of course, at age 43 every bit as dazzling as you would expect. I stood back and watched as dozens lined up, seeking a photo with the star of "10."

* * * * *

Somewhat less thrilling, but still interesting, was a visit with heart transplant surgeon and Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee, who had just returned from a mission trip to Africa accompanied by his friend, Alan Terry, a Cape native. Alan is the new chief financial officer for Franklin Graham Ministries.

~Peter Kinder is assistant to the president of Rust Communications and a state senator from Cape Girardeau. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention.