A huge selection, three doors, four doors, and five doors.
Sedans and hatchbacks, prices low as $53.95.
And during the Make and Tracks clearance, there'll be some real deals.
So go see your Hyundai dealer now.
Well, the going's good.
Rush into your New York area Hyundai dealer.
The Make and Tracks clearance ends September 5th.
Housing desegregation, how one town made it work, Monday.
We're the same, we're walking in.
We're the same, go on and get it in.
It's a grand old party as New Orleans welcomes the Republicans.
Whistling.
Music.
From Bourbon Street to the majestic Mississippi,
Republicans are trumpeting their answer to, Where's George?
Amid the hype and hoopla, questions and challenges for the Vice President,
our CBS News team, including Walter Cronkite and Charles Guralt,
will take a look at them tonight.
Music.
CBS News coverage of Campaign 88 continues.
Tonight, from New Orleans, a preview of the Republican National Convention.
This portion is sponsored by Citicorp and Citibank,
already helping one in every five American families get what they want out of life.
Citicorp, because Americans want to succeed, not just survive.
From CBS News Convention headquarters inside the Louisiana Superdome, here is Dan Rather.
Good evening and welcome to the Superdome in beautiful New Orleans.
This is where it will all happen.
On Monday, this stadium will be filled with delegates to the Republican National Convention,
George Bush's convention.
He will be officially named the GOP candidate for President of the United States.
For Bush, that is the easy part.
He clenched the nomination months ago.
His challenge here to make this convention at least as successful
as the Democratic convention last month in Atlanta.
Trailing, but apparently closing in the polls,
Bush needs the kind of boost Michael Dukakis got in Atlanta.
That will require, among other things, a well-written acceptance speech
and a top-notch delivery of the address by Bush.
To keep you interested in what happens here, Bush has added an element of suspense.
He's keeping his choice of a running mate secret until sometime next week,
when we're told today, Wednesday at the earliest.
Later in this broadcast, we'll have an exclusive interview with George and Barbara Bush.
But first, our chief political correspondent, Bruce Morton,
looks at the candidate put to the test.
This is the Superdome.
The balloons are ready, the props are in place,
and for George Bush, the stakes are very high.
It's worth remembering, this is the game they usually play here.
Crowd cheers
George Bush will play a different game, a game of expectations.
He'll play it most of all from this podium Thursday night,
and he'll play it remembering Michael Dukakis at a similar scene in Atlanta a month ago.
Crowd cheers
Dukakis did that. He made a connection with his own party and with others,
which may wear off, but at least it took an unknown candidate
and made him real to millions of people.
What does George Bush need to do?
This Republican convention is vital to George Bush.
He has to demonstrate that he's the leader of the Republican Party,
prepared to be the leader of the free world.
George Bush has to not necessarily define himself,
but he has to go about the process of saying to America,
I have a very firm set of convictions on the direction that I want to lead this country in.
He has a fuzzy image, not the fuzzy image of somebody that's unknown,
but the fuzzy image of someone who people have been looking at for a long time and can't figure out.
He's got to stand up there and essentially erase that image
and put in its place the real George Bush, if you will.
But that's for later.
In the meantime, the social part of this convention has begun.
This was a music festival along the riverbank tonight.
There's been an official welcome rally.
Volunteers are blowing up all those thousands of balloons.
And Ellie the Elephant is ready.
Most of the delegates will concentrate on good times these next few days.
Bush will instead be wondering, do I distance myself from the president?
If so, how far?
And most of all, what do I say to the country Thursday night?
Clearly Thursday night is the vice president's night,
and it's the take charge time, and he'll be all by himself.
Maybe it's not so different from the other game they play here.
George Bush hopes he won't be blindsided by some unexpected rush of events.
He hopes all the delegates will leave as happy as this man.
It's odd.
The conventional wisdom is that conventions don't make much news anymore,
and in a sense they don't.
We already know who the nominee will be.
But conventions can make or mar political careers, and there's no question.
One speech here will be candidate Bush's biggest test and biggest opportunity
so far in this presidential campaign.
Dan?
Bruce, among the pros, what's the book on George Bush as a campaigner?
He had the reputation, always, Dan, of being a poor candidate
when he ran for the Senate in 1970, when he ran unsuccessfully for president in 1980.
This year he's run a very successful primary campaign and was good,
was effective in debates with the other Republican candidates when he had to be.
Thanks, Bruce.
Look forward to seeing you during the week.
Joining us later in this broadcast and throughout our convention coverage
are Correspondents Ed Bradley, Leslie Stahl and Bob Schieffer on the floor,
Diane Sawyer at the podium, and Bill Plant, following President Reagan.
Now, when we return, we'll have our exclusive interview
with Vice President and Mrs. Bush, recorded Thursday in the old executive office building.
So stay here with us.
MUSIC
Ah!
MUSIC
Ah!
MUSIC
Flight 404 will be delayed.
Flight 404 is still delayed.
Lady Mitchum antiperspirant, it's so effective, even if you had to skip a day.
Flight 404 is finally boarding.
You could.
Those spicy chicken wings you ate have turned you into a disco inferno.
So cool your fiery stomach and head, send flavored alka-seltzer to the rescue,
and save your burning up for the dance floor.
MUSIC
You asleep?
No.
Thinking about the house?
Yes.
You sure we can afford it?
No.
Up tight?
Yes.
Yes.
Buying a home can make you a little uneasy when you don't know what to expect,
but if you get the new Best Buyer Guidebook from Coldwell Banker, we'll take you through every step,
from finding a home to financing it, so don't get left in the dark.
Is it gonna be okay?
Call Coldwell Banker and expect the best.
Remember the Sears Financial Network.
This man's on trial.
He's innocent.
He's lying.
This case is not as simple as it seems.
But for the jury, it's murder.
Order in the court.
She wrote at eight.
Then an unspeakable crime, and the shocking events that become News at 11.
We're actually peeping in bedrooms now.
Has he ever touched you?
We have a responsibility to tell the truth.
We don't know what the truth is.
Martin Sheen is the television reporter who must choose between his conscience and News at 11 Sunday.
MUSIC
Mr. Vice President, Mrs. Bush, thank you for joining us.
Thank you for being with us.
I'm delighted to be here, Danny.
Mr. Vice President, who is George Bush?
Well, you might ought to ask the lady sitting on my right, to whom I've been married for 43 years,
as a family person, someone who wants to be president,
because I believe that I'd be good in enhancing the peace.
I think I'd be good in bringing this prosperity, continuing it, so that everybody benefits.
I think I'm motivated by family values, by faith,
and I think it'll become clear over this campaign who the real George Bush is.
Mrs. Bush, he's talked about who George Bush is as a professional.
Who is he as a person, as a man?
Most decent, honorable, caring, certainly the most beloved living human, I think.
And he'd be good for America.
He's just a wonderful, sharing, good person, and very funny, very funny.
Very funny.
Not lucky.
I mean, he's got a marvelous sense of humor, and he's enormous strength in our family and our friends.
Well, I hear a lot of nice things said about Vice President Bush,
but I can't remember anybody before who said he's funny.
He is funny.
I think you need a sense of humor, and you need to put things in perspective.
And George has, I think one of the things that makes him most presidential is that he hates to be talked about, incidentally,
but is that he's stable, and he keeps things on the right level, and humor helps an awful lot.
He doesn't take himself so deadly serious.
He's wonderful.
Give me an example of his humor.
I knew you were going to say that.
I like the way I walk like Gary Cooper.
I mean, it's important.
Vice President, did your father, the late Senator Prescott Bush, did he have a good sense of humor?
He did. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and I think everybody that knew him saw that.
Could you name any one thing that more than any other you've tried to emulate?
Well, my dad believed in public service, and he believed that you contribute, that you vote, that you participate,
and that was one thing that he taught us all the time, that public service is good.
And from your mother?
Gentleness, caring, sharing.
She tried to instill in us, through example, not through lecturing, a certain kindness, concern for the other guy,
fairness is a word I think, competitive, tough, Dan.
I mean, she could whip anybody in anything.
You mentioned sharing.
Let's talk about how you and Barbara share.
When you made the decision to move to Texas, to pull up your roots, go to Texas, did you talk about that decision?
How was that decision made, or did you say, Barbara, we're moving to God help us Texas?
No, no, we talked about it a long time and thought of a lot of other things, too, jobs.
But it was a joint decision, most of ours, we've lived in 43 different houses, and in how many different...
28 houses.
Make that 28 houses.
We've been married 43 years.
Oh, that's what it is, yeah. Thanks, sweetie.
You know, you've got to be careful now, this new demonstrable display of affection in public,
Barnard practicing now after 43 years to be sure people know that we care about each other.
Well, now tell me about that. This is something fairly new.
Is it something that someone has said to you, Mr. Vice President, I'm sorry,
but you may not be accustomed to public displays of affection, but you have to begin doing some of that?
We've drawn the line at dancing with no music in the holding room.
That I'm not going to do. I don't like dancing.
She is very good at it, and I'm lousy at it.
No, but seriously, I do think we have to try to share a little more insight into family, and I haven't liked doing that, Dan.
We have a strong family.
And look, I think the Dukakis family at the convention did a wonderful job.
I had great respect when I saw his obvious affection for his mother and the way that son did in an interview,
I think, with you or certainly with somebody on your network the day before.
And at this level of politics and in this age, we're going to have to share what gives us our strength and our family does.
And I never liked talking about the loss of a child, for example.
It was a tough time on young parents, but I saw in Barbara an unparalleled strength.
I hear and read, and let's not duck it, sometimes do reports myself,
about people consistently saying, I read these things that George Bush likes pork rinds, he likes country music,
that he engenders immense loyalty from people with whom he's worked and known a long time,
yet, and yet, the public image of George Bush remains aloof, elitist, aristocratic.
Let's talk about that. Maybe we talk about that candidly.
Sure.
Tell me, when you read and see those things, what do you say to yourself? What do you say to him?
Well, I don't like that very much, of course, because I'm looking at a man who did go to Texas
when all his friends stayed elsewhere, or most of them, and who did go into the service when he was 18
and who has taken risks and who does eat those awful pork rinds and who does love that beautiful country music.
People want you to fit comfortably into a mold. They expect somebody that was lucky at birth,
whose dad could pick them up and dust them off and put them back into the arena if they got hurt or very, very sick.
They expect that person to fit into a mold that might be attributed to one region or one strata, and that's not me.
And I think when this campaign is over, people will understand that.
I don't deny my past. I don't deny that things were fortunate for us in terms of being able to get a good education, for example.
My mother and dad were from the Middle West, and yet if you read all this stuff, you'd think they were from Back Bay, Boston or something of that nature.
Mr. Vice President, I know that Mrs. Bush has her own schedule to keep, and I appreciate so much you taking the time to be with us and be patient with us.
We'll see you again soon.
Oops.
Goodbye, Mrs. Bush. Thank you.
It's the new age we're in, Dan.
Forty-three years. It's a tough learning experience.
Mr. Vice President, let's try to make a little news.
Uh-uh.
If you'd like to share with us your choice for a vice president to run a running mate, why we're all ears and cameras.
If you're not prepared to do that, how about giving us a straightforward, honest short list?
I can't do either. The process is being narrowed down.
I am doing it almost alone, getting advice, done a little polling, but I know these people.
I don't have to have public appearances or interviews, and I'm not going to share my views on this with anybody,
and I think it adds a certain element of suspense that's good for a convention, so I'd leave it right there.
Will it be someone who shares your views on, for example, abortion?
I can't say that there's an individual litmus test of any single issue,
but there will be an overall philosophical compatibility because the vice president has got to be comfortable with the president.
Mr. Vice President, you've changed your views on the Equal Rights Amendment, ERA, changed your view on abortion.
Did you do that to satisfy the right wing of the Republican Party?
No, I do it out of conviction. I believe in women's rights.
I believe in a kind of child care program that gives women a choice.
I've always opposed abortion per se, always, but as I look at the situation today, 18, 20 million abortions,
and as I look into the eyes of my adopted grandchild, I know it's right to come down on the side of human life.
I know morally it is right, and that's why I am on what you would call a sanctity of life position.
I feel strongly about it.
The polls consistently indicate that you don't do well with women.
Looking over the convention list in New Orleans, there will be fewer women represented among the delegates this year than there have been some years in the past.
Do you see a direct relationship between those two things?
No, I don't. I see none.
I know there was talk of a gender gap and a concern about it in 1980.
I think everybody that follows politics knows there was a gender gap in 1984, but I've analyzed this.
And you know, Dan, this is a very interesting one.
In the economy, women feel the economy is less good than men.
Women feel inflation is much worse than it really is.
We've analyzed this in great detail, so I've got to get the message out on what the facts are and how I, George Bush, will lead the country in terms of these issues.
And once that happened, I think just like recent polls have closed, you're going to see the gender gap close.
And with those Americans who happen to be black, other minorities, as best I can figure, about 4 percent of the delegates at the Republican convention will be Americans who are black.
Doesn't this give the party one tremendous problem?
And how can you possibly expect to get very many black votes when things like that keep occurring within the party?
The way the delegates are selected relates to sometimes election, who runs for delegate, and sometimes distribution on the part of who has participated in the party.
And much to my frustration, fewer blacks have participated in the party than I want to see participate in the party.
But we're making inroads.
There is disquiet in the black community because of the way Jesse Jackson's campaign ended up.
There's a chance now, particularly in the middle-class areas where there's entrepreneurship to do a better job there, where there's risk-taking and people are on the move doing well, black business people.
And I am right on the issues in terms of trying to help.
So I have been frustrated, and I have a good civil rights record.
But I think it's these issues of economic opportunity and safety and tranquility in the neighborhood and better education.
They move along on foreign policy.
First on drugs.
What about these charges?
They keep coming.
You face them almost everywhere you go, whether you think it fair or not.
George Bush was on the watch when General Noriega allegedly became an international narcotics broker.
The question, where was George Bush?
I want to give you an opportunity to answer that.
George Bush was part of an administration that when the evidence warranted it, tried to bring Mr. Noriega to justice through indicting him.
That's where he was.
Did you know about it when it was happening?
When the inquiry was going on?
Did you know when Noriega was becoming an international, a big-time international drug broker according to the charges,
and was on our payroll as our central intelligence agency had him on a payroll?
I can't discuss what I knew when I was at the CIA.
Because you see, I believe that confidentiality and the oath I took to protect sources and methods of intelligence is a sacred oath.
But I've been asked the question, did I know Noriega was drug trafficking 12 years ago?
And I said no.
One reason for asking the question is to segue into leadership.
Everybody admires the number of jobs you've held.
You do have one of the outstanding resumes in American public service.
But I'd like to ask you what you consider to be your major accomplishments, besides holding the jobs.
What do you point to as career accomplishments, something that you led and brought into action or kept something from happening?
Well, one was back in the CIA days, keeping that agency from being decimated by unfair attacks.
And I was only there a year.
Let me bring it up to date a little more for you.
Some, including the Secretary of State and the President of the United States,
give me a fair degree of credit for going to Europe when European public opinion was caught up in what was known as the freeze movement.
Michael Dukakis was supporting the freeze movement.
When a thousand Soviet weapons were deployed against the West and zero were deployed against the Eastern Bloc,
then we now have an arms control agreement that banishes an entire generation of weapons.
And I think when George Shultz and the President and others, Rich Burke and others knowledgeable about Europe,
give me credit that that's a pretty good accomplishment.
You talked about accomplishments. Let's talk about things that didn't work so well.
The weapons for Iran, sending the missiles to the Ayatollah.
Tell me how you react when you learn that American pilots, U.S. pilots, now have to practice evasive action
against U.S. missiles in the hands of the Iranians that were at the very least refurbished by the weapons for Iran deal that you signed off on.
Well, I beg your pardon. These were tow missiles, which are totally irrelevant to pilots doing evasive action against tow missiles.
But some were hawk parts, were they not?
Tow missiles.
Go ahead.
Maybe hawk parts that I don't think were attacking land-based Iranian installations.
But let me tell you overall, I don't like that.
I think the arms for Iran was wrong, certainly in retrospect.
But I think the reaching out to moderates in Iran was correct.
And I take great pride in having defended and articulated a policy on the Persian Gulf that now makes it look like there might be peace.
And one of the resultant results of that, if it works out, will be much better relations for the United States with these Gulf countries and hopefully someday with Iran.
So, yes, mistakes have been made. And I'm not perfect.
And if I in my infinite wisdom had seen that this would turn out to be as it was arms for Iran, I believe I would have walked down to the president and said, you shouldn't do that.
But I didn't do it.
I supported him. And I also support a Persian Gulf policy that is resulting in peace.
So you got to take the bad with the good. That's the way I'd answer.
Oliver North, whether he's convicted of anything or not, the record show he has not been convicted of anything.
Whether he's convicted or not, in your opinion, did he do anything wrong and if so, what?
Well, if the allegation is correct that he diverted funds to the Contras, funds that weren't intended to go there, that is wrong.
But I'm not going to jump on Ali North when this matter is in the courts to be determined.
I'm a fair play person and I think that he is entitled to fair play.
Then you would not be in favor of pardoning him before the courts have made a decision on his case?
We're not even discussing pardon because I think it imputes a certain sense of guilt.
The question was, would you favor pardon?
No, I hope he's found innocent.
Where, if any place, do you break away from Ronald Reagan, his beliefs and his policies?
Or are you in lockstep with him?
I don't think it's a question of breaking away. I think it's a question of building on.
Some say, well, let me put it more specifically, Governor Dukakis said the other day,
I am closer to Ronald Reagan on foreign affairs than the vice president.
My answer to that is, well, the president can defend himself against reckless charges of that nature.
But I do feel, for example, that we ought to elevate the conventional force talks,
which involve not just the U.S. and the Soviet, but other countries as well,
and put them on the same track as the strategic arms talks.
Vice President, your acceptance speech, do you feel the pressure?
Yes.
Can we talk about that?
Sure.
How do you take the pressure off?
Play horseshoes and go running and recognize that you just can only do your best
and I've been in a few pressure spots in my life, but I think I'll do all right.
I know what I am and I want to try to convey that.
And I know what I'm not. I know Williams, Jenning, Bryant.
And I think it'll go okay.
I want it to be a little more specific than the Democrats.
When they say ideology doesn't matter, just competence,
I think the country needs to know where you want to go, how you want to lead.
Family, there'll be some references to that.
And it's not new.
It's not the counter-democratic moving into what some think is the Republican agenda,
but as I earlier stated, Dan, I haven't shared so much with family, with the public,
because it's been very special and private.
I have to do that more so there'll be some family discussion in there, I'm sure.
The peace, I feel fervently about world peace.
I have to convey what I feel, which is that I'd be a good president.
I know the world as it really is.
I think I could build on a good arms control record.
I think I could enhance the peace and maybe offer hope for freedom.
Mr. Vice President, we're right at the end, and I had promised myself going into this interview
that I'd do my very best to have people know who and what George Bush is behind the eyes,
on the inside, because I'm convinced that for better or worse, people don't know that.
And I want to end on a note of asking you,
can you tell us the single most important thing about yourself you don't believe people in general know?
The strength that I get from my family and my faith.
Mr. Vice President, thank you.
Thank you. Enjoy being with you.
And with you.
And we'll be back with more in a moment.
Music
You can see the dream of success in the eyes of people all across America.
At Citicorp, we understand the dream.
That's why, as Citicorp and Citibank, we've become America's largest financial services organization,
already helping one in every five American families,
with more home mortgages, more student loans, more MasterCard and Visa cards than any other company.
We'd like you to get to know us better.
Citicorp. Because Americans want to succeed, not just survive.
Music
This is CBS.
Scorpio from Germany.
When introduced in 1986, it beat them all to become European Car of the Year.
And now in America, it has triumphed again as Rodentrack's best sedan under $27,500.
The Scorpio Touring Sedan from Germany.
Make yourself comfortable.
Scorpio. The chairman performance you can be comfortable with at SelectBank and Mercury Dealers.
This is Channel 2 News Watch, sponsored by Zhu Zhu.
Staking their claim. Coming up at 11 on Channel 2 News Saturday,
protesters rally in Tompkins Square Park, one week after a bloody battle between police and demonstrators.
The New York area continues to sweat out a heat wave. How long can it last?
Also tonight, pop concerts spark violence in New York and L.A.
Republicans get set for their convention amid controversy over Dukakis' comic book
and new charges that George Bush's story of World War II heroism is not totally true. All at 11.
I want you baby. Zhu Zhu.
The Superior Courtroom Drama, today at 4.
CBS News coverage of the Republican National Convention continues. Here again is Dan Rather.
The rallying cry of the world champion Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979 was, we are family.
But it might well be the slogan of both major political parties this election year.
Charles Corralt explains now why the GOP interest in women and their children has never been as great as in 1988.
It is morning in America, as the Republicans used to say.
Morning David, how are you today? Morning in America. This is Texas.
Good morning Katie. Morning in America. This is California.
It is morning in America, as the Republicans used to say. And where are the mothers of all these children?
They are at work, of course. Two-thirds of all the mothers in this country with children under 18 are at work this morning.
This is the biggest change of all in American life in our time, working wives and single mothers.
News Times 719. George Bush is losing more ground to Michael Dukakis in California.
If you have wondered why George Bush and Michael Dukakis are talking so much about what government can do for the family, this is why these are the voters they are talking to.
All these working women worry about the quality of daycare and the cost of it. They may not care much where the candidates stand on the Middle East or missiles in Europe.
They want to know what the candidates are going to do about the one thing that matters to them.
If there is something in there that is going to help with daycare, oh yes, that will definitely be a factor in how I vote.
It is going to sway the way I vote, and several people that I know, it will sway the way they vote.
I'm going to get a lot of young families out there voting this year.
Many women look for daycare they can afford with an anxiety approaching desperation.
At Bananas, an overworked child care referral service in Oakland, California, the phones never stop ringing.
I'm sorry to tell you that you did not reach Bananas referral line because it is very busy today.
Neither in conservative Texas nor in liberal California did we find a single woman who thought the federal government should not help pay for daycare.
Kathy Fraser Orr of San Francisco.
I can't imagine why the government could be so remiss in making sure that young children are taken care of between birth and five years old when they go to school.
And then the government takes great care and great interest in standards of education.
This deep belief of working women that government must help them cuts across party lines.
This is Debbie Castro who helps run a quality daycare center in the Houston suburbs.
Parents need help and we need help. And so that means the government is going to have to step in and find some funds somewhere for us.
You're a Republican?
Sure am.
You're not talking like a Republican. I mean some people would say that what you just proposed sounds socialist.
It certainly does, doesn't it?
Good daycare is very expensive.
George Bush, breaking with Republican precedent, has proposed a program that would cost two point two billion dollars.
It would give low income working families up to a thousand dollars in tax credits.
Are women impressed?
A thousand dollars? Not really.
A thousand dollar tax credit? If it's costing you five hundred months is this exciting?
I mean would it excite you?
Don't tell them the government can't afford child care. This one issue is of surpassing importance to women.
This is our future really. Our children are our future and if you just kind of let them get lost then we'll be lost also.
What you have just heard of course is an illustration of the notorious gender gap which George Bush will be trying to overcome at the New Orleans convention and right down to election day.
You for example, Kathy Fraser Orr, where do you stand politically and do you plan to vote in November?
I think that the Democrats have always been more pro-family and for the average person, for everybody.
So yeah, I plan to vote in November.
That one remark sums up George Bush's biggest political problem.
This is Charles Caroll.
And when we come back, Bob Schieffer will be along with all of the vice presidential possibilities and Ed Bradley will be reporting on George Bush's problems with the religious right.
So stick here with us.
At General Motors a new partnership is taking shape.
Hey, how'd it go on the new job son?
Not bad. We're learning a lot about computers and stuff. You know, they asked me to a meeting today.
They asked the union?
Yeah. There's a meeting on how we can improve quality and they want to know what I thought.
It's not like it was when I was on the line.
You know, I had a pretty good idea.
At GM the partnership is working. The vision is paying off.
At Citicorp we believe it takes people with vision to help people with dreams.
So many of our people come from fields beyond banking.
Untypical bankers, untypical thinking has made us America's largest financial services company.
As Citicorp and Citibank we're already helping one in five American families.
We'd like you to get to know us better.
Citicorp. Because Americans want to succeed, not just survive.
The great buy-in about vice presidential possibilities stretches at least from New Orleans to New Iberia.
Allegedly and reportedly Vice President Bush now has narrowed his list of possible running mates down to about a half dozen names.
And again reportedly it's said to be a close call. It's also a crucial call.
Bob Giefer joins us now to look at what factors will go into it. Bob?
Dan, picking a vice president is always important of course, but it may be more important than ever this year simply because the electorate remains so volatile.
There are still a lot of people who just haven't decided yet who they want to vote for.
This race probably 90 percent of their votes are still in a position where they could move either way.
So it makes it more difficult to decide who to pick as your vice president and which area of the country to concentrate on.
There is still a lot of talk that Bob Dole remains under consideration.
He'd help in the farm states where Bush is weakest, but Bush's people worry about Dole's acid tongue.
His wife Elizabeth is also in the running. She might help close the gender gap, which has become a real problem for Bush.
Long shot possibility is New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici who speaks fluent Spanish and could help with Hispanic voters.
Wyoming's Alan Simpson because he's one of Bush's closest friends and one of the Senate's most popular members.
And Howard Baker, the former senator and White House staff chief who might help with southern voters.
The right wing has been pushing Jack Kemp all year and he's considered a possibility.
But this week insiders say Hollywood handsome Dan Quayle, the very conservative senator from Indiana, has also emerged as a strong possibility.
He too would be popular with the right wing, a segment of the party Bush must consider.
There's something unsettling for conservatives about the ticket unless George Bush chooses a good strong conservative.
Bush has never been popular with the right and Humphrey has put together a group here to press for a conservative running mate.
Humphrey's people are even considering nominating their own vice presidential candidate if they don't like Bush's choice.
We don't need just someone with whom George Bush feels compatible. We want that.
But we want also someone who complements the ticket and brings new strength.
But despite all that, the talk among insiders keeps coming back to Dole.
One of the Republicans consultants and strategists told us tonight he still makes the ticket look a little more presidential than some of the others.
Dan. Thanks Bob.
George Bush's problem with what Michael Dukakis calls the Republican right wing is that he has shown little appeal to two groups of voters.
Those who are motivated by conservative or Dukakis supporters we call reactionary ideology and those who are motivated by religion.
60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley has been looking into that. Ed?
Dan, Ronald Reagan's two landslide victories were due at least in part to the active support he got from conservatives and from the religious right.
So far most of those people aren't on George Bush's bandwagon and he needs them in November.
May have ever faced.
After eight years of Ronald Reagan, conservatives and the religious right seem to be suffering from a serious case of malaise.
Ronald Reagan has been president for eight years. He really hasn't done much by way of fulfilling his social issue commitments.
I think a lot of them are disappointed. They don't particularly have any confidence that Bush will do more than Reagan.
A lot of the advisors around him are rather impatient with moral values, let's say traditional values, and would love to have the evangelical vote or the religious right vote and not have to be bothered with the issues afterward.
The issue conservatives are waiting for clear, irrefutable evidence from George Bush that they have a stake in this election.
If I could mobilize two or three million people, it can be the margin of victory.
Family, faith, freedom and opportunity. Those four words, those core values are at the very heart of what the election in November is all about.
What George Bush has to do is to not only say I'm for X issue, he has to say this is what I'll do if elected to fight for that issue. It's not enough to say I'm pro-life.
And there is the issue of an acceptable vice presidential choice.
Unless George Bush can figure out the right candidate to balance the left wing of the Republican plane with a good, solid, strong right wing, I'm afraid that this election might be over in August rather than November.
Religious right, while they would never vote for Dukakis, could go fishing on election day. That constituency of about 20% of the electorate is essential.
I think what Bush and the Republicans have to do is figure out some way, if not of selling George Bush as their hero, which is going to be difficult, of selling Michael Dukakis as the devil.
And to do that, Dan, you're going to see the Republicans use this convention not just for George Bush to paint his vision of America, but also you're going to see speaker after speaker up here hammer home just what they say Michael Dukakis really stands for.
That, they think, will bring them the conservatives as for the religious right. Pat Robertson will be on board 100%.
All right, Ed, we'll see. Thanks.
The Democrats and Michael Dukakis last month in Atlanta put on a convention that was something like a hit show. It is a tough act to follow.
And this Republican convention promises to be at least in some ways different. Diane Sawyer at the podium explains why. Good evening, Diane.
Good evening, Dan. Well, the Republicans say that George Bush is a sitting vice president, that you can't expect him to walk into this hall accompanied by the throbbing songs of Neil Diamond, that this will be a less glamorous but more businesslike convention.
However, in one sense, the conventions will be equal in meticulous control of what the viewers see at home. As we'll show you on that score, once again, nothing will be left to chance.
So if this is what you see on your television screen, here's what's behind the scenes. It's a kind of mobile television city. There are trailers here for everything, for teleprompters, for makeup, for rehearsal.
And if the mission is to make George Bush look good, this is mission control. It's a kind of small television studio, and the man who is producing a television show he hopes the networks will reproduce is Mark Good.
The Democrats had a pretty high gloss, almost Hollywood kind of convention. Is your job to top it?
No. Our job is to try to help elect George Bush, and we're going to concentrate primarily on substance.
And let me see if I have it right here. You have monitors which can show you what the four networks are producing at any given time, and you even have direct phone lines to them and they to you to coordinate.
And how many cameras can you go to on the floor?
Ten.
I see too that you have a special monitor which shows you whether the podium is the right height for the speaker.
The podium is set for George Bush, whose height is six feet two, but if you're a little bit shorter, there's an elevator which can give you a bit of a boost.
How do they know how much to raise it? Follow me.
This is just backstage, the last stop before a speaker heads to the podium. And before the convention can size you up, convention officials will size you in.
Now one last footnote, Dan. There have been two burning secrets on the podium today.
Who will be the vice president and who is the mystery guest who's going to pay tribute to Mrs. Reagan on Monday night?
I want you to know that your intrepid news team has managed to crack the case on one of them.
We understand Tom Selleck will be here for Mrs. Reagan on Monday night.
Thank you, Diane.
When we return, Bill Plant will be here to report on the problems of running for president as a vice president and Leslie Stahl will zero in on two must states, California and Texas.
You asleep?
No.
Thinking about the house?
Yes.
Sure we can afford it?
No.
I'll tell you.
Yes.
Buying a home can make you a little uneasy when you don't know what to expect. But if you get the new Best Buyer guidebook from Coldwell Banker, we'll take you through every step from finding a home to financing it. So don't get left in the dark.
Is it going to be okay?
Call Coldwell Banker and expect the best. Remember the Sears financial network.
Extra Strength Alka-Seltzer has more of what you take Alka-Seltzer for. More medicine, more bubbles, for fast relief of heartburn with a headache. Try Extra Strength Alka-Seltzer. More of what you take Alka-Seltzer for.
Flight 404 will be delayed. Flight 404 is still delayed.
Mitcham anti-perspirant. It's so effective, even if you had to skip a day.
Flight 404 is finally boarding.
You could.
It's fleas and ticks.
The answers to your long distance questions are never more than a phone call away.
Just give me the dates. And don't worry. We'll solve it.
AT&T customer representatives are always ready to help you with information on bills, discounts, and the AT&T card. And you can call on their experience 24 hours a day.
Thanks. One less thing that I have to think about.
We're reaching further to bring your world closer.
AT&T, the right choice.
As Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey learned, a vice president can face problems trying to establish his own identity after serving in the shadow of the incumbent.
The problem for Vice President Bush will be dramatically illustrated this week.
Bill Plant reports how. From the box, President Reagan will be sitting in here at the convention. Bill?
Then when Ronald Reagan walks into this convention hall on Monday night and takes his seat here in this presidential box, the stage is going to be set for an emotional, probably wrenching farewell.
As Mr. Reagan effectively passes the mantle of political leadership to George Bush. Question is, how will it sit on Bush's shoulders?
In 1980, when both men were running for president, Bush was seen as the candidate with the best resume in American politics, while Ronald Reagan was often viewed as nothing but an old actor.
George Bush was the resume candidate going up against someone who was not seen as being able to withstand the rigors of the office.
And now in 1988, Ronald Reagan, for many people, overshadows George Bush.
That's the vice president's biggest problem, so serious that it's referred to as the stature gap.
It's also his biggest challenge here in New Orleans, articulating who he is and convincing voters that he stands on his own.
President Reagan has been trying to help Bush make that shift.
He's been a great vice president, but I think George will be an even greater president.
Eight years ago, Ronald Reagan didn't like George Bush. Now, by all accounts, his affection and enthusiasm for his loyal vice president are real.
But Democrats gleefully anticipate that no matter what Mr. Reagan's sentiments, his efforts to help Bush will boomerang.
The more he runs around the country trying to say how strong Mr. Bush is, the weaker he makes Mr. Bush.
I love it. Keep doing it.
The dilemma, the president's strengths often seem to highlight Bush's weaknesses.
Mr. Reagan is the great communicator and has often used those skills to talk his way out of difficulty.
Bush has not yet shown similar ability.
Ronald Reagan is seen by many as presidential. George Bush so far is not.
That's why New Orleans is so critical.
For two years, the Bush campaign has said that George Bush would define who he was and spell out his positive vision for the future.
It still really hasn't happened with the exception of daycare and some defense speeches recently.
This is the one opportunity that George Bush has where the majority of Americans will be tuning in.
Bush's advisors hope that that speech will bring him at least close to even with Michael Dukakis in the polls.
Anything less, they fear, could be a real disaster.
Dan?
Thanks, Bill.
Even in an electronic age, some few states require special effort and expense to prove the candidate really cares.
Leslie Stoll from the convention floor looks now at two states that will be getting extra attention from both parties.
Leslie?
Dan, California and Texas, they are the key battlegrounds of this campaign.
Together, they have 76 electoral votes, more than a fourth of what it takes to win.
Texas. Richard Nixon says it's the big enchilada.
Both camps plan to spend Texas-sized amounts.
Both camps are targeting the same groups.
First, the Hispanics. 18 percent of the vote here.
Dukakis may have an edge.
Vamos a ganar. We're going to win. Thank you all very, very much.
Dukakis is stressing his ethnic roots and his Texas born-and-bred running mate, Lloyd Benson.
Republicans are hitting the issues, issues important to a second major group, the Reagan Democrats.
They are very conservative in this oil cowboy state.
Bush may be more in tune with them than Dukakis. Take gun control.
In Texas, a high percentage of the people are sportsmen and feel that they have a constitutional right to bear arms.
He's on the wrong side of that issue.
In California, the Bush strategy is to use his ultimate California weapon, Ronald Reagan, to campaign for him here, and once again to stress the issues.
If you look at California, where the central issue of the last two gubernatorial campaigns has been the death penalty.
George Bush on the right side of the death penalty. Mike Dukakis is against the death penalty.
But Democrats believe they have issues like the environment on their side,
and they point out that over the years Bush spent very little time in the president's home state.
He has no record of achievement and accomplishment on issues of concern to California.
So I think it's foreign territory to George Bush, and I think he has not made a connection with California voters.
I don't think either one of them are out of sync. I think they both have the opportunity to carry the state. It's going to be very close.
California and Texas, two shootouts at high noon, both expected to be close and tough races with, as Stu Spencer says, take no prisoners campaigning. Dan?
Leslie, thanks. And when we come back, Walter Cronkite will be here to talk about some of the things we can look for at the Republican convention.
This portion of CBS News coverage of the Republican National Convention has been sponsored by General Motors, the mark of excellence.
Morning. What, no kiss? Oh, sorry. Lips that touch sugar and preservatives will never touch mine.
Okay. No. Why, what real commitment? Nutri-grain? Uh-huh.
New Kellogg's Nutri-grain biscuits. Biscuits? Think positive. Oh, no sugar added. No salt, no preservatives. I'm positive I'm going to hate this.
Introducing the only shredded wheat with no preservatives, Nutri-grain biscuits. Okay. Now let's talk commitment.
New Nutri-grain biscuits. Have a nice day at school, Daddy. You too, kids. Bye, Dad.
Across the country, more than 350,000 General Motors workers are going back to school.
They're being trained or retrained to learn new skills to keep pace with today's technology, to enhance each man and woman's value on the job market.
And that means a lot to them, to GM, and to the country. How was school, Dad? Not bad.
Retraining, another reason why the vision is paying off.
Drama to Convince. Johnny's here at our CBS News anchor booth at the Superdome. Walter Cronkite. Good to see you again, Walter.
Good evening, Dad. Besides the acceptance speech and the suspense, much of it orchestrated over the vice presidential choice, any other drama we can look for at this convention?
Oh, I don't think intense drama, really. Again, we're hearing from the conservatives, far-right conservatives, I'd say.
As Bradley showed us there a little while ago with some of his interviews, I found that interesting.
I think it's part of the political game that is fascinating to watch. It's the same old refrain we've heard from that segment of the party at Republican conventions from time immemorial.
And as a matter of fact, the interesting parallel is we hear the same refrain with slightly different lyrics from the far-left and the Democratic Party, much the same way.
You were saying earlier, I think, that you see some parallels between what Pat Robertson is doing, for example, and what Jesse Jackson did.
Very much so. Very much so. Almost the same words, the same numbers. Pat Robertson on that Ed Bradley interview said, you know, we've got two or three million votes out there.
He's got to pay some attention to this, that we can handle and deliver to him. Jackson was saying, I can register three and a half million people.
You've got to pay some attention to us. It's almost the same numbers and it's almost the same story.
Inclusion was the catchword at the Democratic convention. It's much the same here at the Republican convention.
But the Republicans here, and I think in the same way the liberals on the Democratic side, the far liberals, don't really have much to complain about.
I mean, this party is conservative. It was won by Reagan in 1980 for the conservatives, for the right-wing side of the party.
The moderates are out. The liberals are out of the party. They've got a few congressmen, a few senators, and that's it.
And it's not going to change for a while. Bush is one of them.
Walter, the Democrats were accused of running a cover operation, of making their convention seem not as liberal as the party actually is at the core.
Now, is that likely to be the case at this convention for the Republicans, that the convention would be made to appear not quite as conservative, not quite as far to the right as the party has been under Ronald Reagan?
I don't know, Dan. I think they would kind of like to do that. It would be nice if they could make that appeal to the middle of the road.
But there's no indication here of a turn back toward the middle, at least not toward anywhere to the left of the middle, certainly, at all.
There's a strong restatement of the conservative ethic in politics, as preached by Reagan, as talked to the party by Reagan and by the old Goldwater people before that.
They've fought this liberal, moderate part of the party for dominance for 50 years. They finally got it under Reagan. They're not about to let go of it.
They believe it's the lesson that the people out there will listen to and heed.
As you know, Walter, we're down to our last few seconds, but in brief, if you had to look at one thing at this convention that would tell you what the campaign would be like, what would it be?
What the campaign would be like? I think it's going to be tough.
I think the candidates are going to be very hard on each other. It's going to be one of the more bitter campaigns of recent years.
It's certainly shaping up that way. Look forward to working with you, Walter. Thanks for being here with us tonight.
So, George Bush heads now into the most important and perhaps pressure-packed week of his political career. The convention opens Monday.
We'll be here to cover as much of it as we can for you. For now, Dan Rather with Grawker Cronkite. Good night.
This has been CBS News coverage of Campaign 88, the Republican National Convention.