JOPLIN, Mo. - His convention speech nearly complete, George W. Bush set off yesterday on a circuitous crawl toward Philadelphia, stopping in Arkansas on the first day of a ''battleground tour'' through six hotly contested states.
But Bush didn't set foot in swing territory, instead traveling to conservative districts here and in Arkansas, where carefully staged rallies provided lively backdrops for a second day of campaigning with his running mate, former defense secretary Dick Cheney.
At an appearance in Springdale, Ark., Bush intensified his subtle digs at the Clinton administration in the president's home state and defended his running mate against criticism from Democrats. Hailing Cheney as ''the right man'' for the vice presidency, Bush told a crowd of mostly elderly supporters: ''This man is a good man. He's a solid man. He's a man who understands what the definition of `is' is'' - a clear reference to Clinton's taking refuge in semantics to deny that he had lied about his relationship with Monica S. Lewinsky.
What might have been a risky tactic elsewhere in Arkansas - where Clinton won in 1992 and 1996 and still remains overwhelmingly popular - was an easy fit in Washington County, tucked in the increasingly conservative northwestern corner of the state. Standing by Bush's side was Representative Asa Hutchinson, one of the Republican managers of Clinton's impeachment trial; other attendees described themselves as longtime Republicans already committed to voting for Bush.
''Clinton who?'' Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a Republican who took office in 1996, said in an interview. ''Clinton's home state is New York now, I believe. ... Bush is going to win big.''
At no time did Bush address the criticism of Cheney, whose votes during 10 years in Congress - including one against banning plastic guns and another against permitting abortion in instances of rape and incest - have prompted a wave of questions from Democrats about whether he represents Bush's ''compassionate conservatism.''
Taking no questions from the public, Bush focused on background imagery, surrounded by ''Bush-Cheney'' signs as the crowd chanted the name of the newly minted ticket and a soundtrack blared the US Marine Corps Hymn. At the end of the appearance, the stage was flooded with red, white, and blue confetti - a scene reminiscent of the roaring events once staged by Senator John S. McCain during the Republican primaries.
The festivities were repeated in the afternoon at Missouri Southern State University, where Bush and Cheney stood before a giant American flag to greet nearly 5,000 shouting supporters.
Again, the rally was hardly a gathering of swing voters. It was held in the 7th Congressional District of Missouri - the most conservative in the state, and home to conservative Republican Senator John Ashcroft.
Meanwhile, Bush was invigorated by the prospect of the Republican convention that begins in Philadelphia Monday. ''This is going to be an unbelievably interesting, dynamic moment in my life,'' Bush told reporters.
