HILADELPHIA - As a triumphant George W. Bush arrived here with the hope that ''you're looking at the next president,'' his running mate, Dick Cheney, ripped into the Democrats by borrowing a famous phrase from the opposition, saying, ''It is time for them to go.''
Cheney, not known as a great orator, mimicked the mantra of President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, who urged voters in 1992 to send President Bush packing. Last night, in what many Republicans viewed as a fitting turnabout, the convention formalized its nomination of Bush's son, George W. Bush, as the GOP presidential candidate.
''When I look at the administration now in Washington, I am dismayed by opportunities squandered,'' Cheney said. ''Can anyone say with conviction that the man for the job is Al Gore? ... Ladies and gentlemen, the wheel has turned and it is time. It is time for them to go.''
The day's planned theme was to focus on Bush's proposal to cut taxes and to allow some Social Security taxes to be diverted to individual investment accounts. But Bush's economic adviser, Lawrence Lindsey, said in an interview that the Texas governor intends to remain vague about the Social Security plan throughout the campaign.
Lindsey said that Bush would wait until after the election to specify what percentage of Social Security taxes could be set aside in personal accounts. Nor will the campaign commit to whether individuals would be able to keep all the earnings from money set aside in the proposed private accounts.
''There is no Bush position on the question you just asked,'' Lindsey said when asked, in a session with Globe editors and reporters, whether the government might ultimately rely on some of the investment account earnings to shore up the Social Security system. Such a step, he said, could not be ruled in or out at this stage.
Lindsey said that not specifying details - including the question of whether Bush might ultimately advocate raising the Social Security retirement age - is a strategy rooted in Bush's desire to see meaningful Social Security changes enacted by Congress.
''The reason he will not be specific is, he found in Texas and Mrs. Clinton found in Washington, that if you say, `This is my plan,' you don't get the plan,'' Lindsey said. He was referring to Bush's failure to pass a tax overhaul plan in Texas and the failed health care plan put forward by Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Amid the celebrations that dotted the city, there was also concern about the health of former President Gerald R. Ford, who apparently suffered two small strokes this week while in Philadelphia. Ford went to the hospital on Tuesday and was told he had a sinus infection, then returned yesterday and learned he had suffered a stroke. Ford's doctors said yesterday that his condition was improving.
Cheney, who served as Ford's chief of staff a quarter-century ago, began his speech with a salute to his former boss, saying, ''I wouldn't be here tonight if it wasn't for him and the trust and confidence he placed in me 35 years ago.''
The evening's speakers ranged from the expected, such as Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, to the unorthodox, professional wrestler Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock, whose appearance was protested by a group called the Parents Television Council. With an emphasis on what party officials call their version of reality programming, there were also appearances by two single mothers, a fifth-generation farmer and business owners. One emotionally charged moment came when Wendi Smith, a young girl with Down Syndrome, read a letter she had written to the Texas governor, saying ''I wish I could be at your big party when you win, because it will be a great day for America.''
As Bush's nomination became official with the votes of the Wyoming delegation, Bush watched from his hotel suite with his wife, Laura. ''I'm going to lift the spirit of the country,'' Bush said about his upcoming speech. He smiled and patted the arm of his wife as television cameras recorded the moment.
Bush has exuded confidence ever since he announced Cheney as his running mate, bolstered by rising poll numbers and a sense that the first three days of the Republican convention have gone off without a hitch. Bush has also relished a recent verbal attack from President Clinton, interpreting it as a sign that the Democratic Party is feeling desperate about its candidate.
Although he has said he wanted to shy away from mentioning Clinton by name in public, Bush proceeded to do so twice in two days. Yesterday, he said at a crowded luncheon gala hosted by the Republican National Committee: ''We don't want four more years of Clinton-Gore.'' The line drew huge applause.
Last night, when Cheney told the delegates that ''We are all a little weary of the Clinton-Gore routine,'' former President Bush and his wife, Barbara, could seen applauding. Indeed, at every scornful mention of the Clinton White House, the crowd went wild.
In keeping with his promise to be a ''different kind of Republican,'' Governor Bush staged an event yesterday morning for Latino voters at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He told the crowd in Spanish that ''together we can'' make the Republican Party more inclusive of minorities.
But the event was not as exuberant an affair as he might have hoped. Only a handful of supporters held Bush signs written in Spanish, and many of them were white students from the Minnesota College Republicans. Several of the students conceded afterwards that they did not speak Spanish.
''I came here not as a Caucasian male, but as one person, with everybody,'' said Josh Rock, 22, a student at the University of Minnesota.
Rock held a sign that read: ''Juntos Podemos.'' Asked what it meant in English, he replied, ''It's been six years since I took Spanish. I couldn't tell you.'' (It means ''Together We Can.'')
Bush has faced tough questions about his commitment to minorities since the first night of the Republican convention, when Colin L. Powell, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Bush, made a speech criticizing some Republicans for being too quick to attack affirmative action. On Tuesday, George W. Bush said he agreed with Powell ''that Republicans need to do more to reach out to minorities,'' but he remained vague on exactly how he would implement his version of so-called ''affirmative access.''
Bush also could not explain why his events, while larger by the day, have not drawn many minorities, even though the Texas governor has sought to portray himself as a friend to Hispanics and African-Americans.
Asked why his crowds are mostly white, Bush said, ''I don't know. We'll see on Election Day, won't we?
''Listen, these crowds are huge. People that ought to be concerned about these crowds are my opponent,'' Bush said. He noted that in Texas, he won nearly half the Hispanic voting population.
Tonight, Bush is prepared to give the most important speech of his career. After three days of a convention that has been widely described as being news-free, the governor's acceptance speech is expected to be the highlight - or so the Bush forces hope. Many Bush aides well remember Bush's father's ''Read My Lips, No New Taxes'' speech in 1988. In that campaign, he erasaed a 17-point deficit in the polls and won the election. Bush's son is ahead of Gore in numerous polls, but his aides are hoping for a big ''bounce'' from the speech.
''I can't wait to address the convention tomorrow night,'' Bush told supporters at a gala luncheon sponsored by the Republican National Committee, which was expected to raise an estimated $10 million. ''This is a fantastic convention. At least it seems that way on TV. I'm looking forward to showing up there tomorrow.''
As of last night, Bush had practiced the 45-minute speech five times, three times with a teleprompter. He had his latest rehearsal Tuesday night, delivering the speech before Pennsylvania's governor, Tom Ridge, in the dining room of the governor's mansion. A Bush spokeswoman, Karen Hughes, later said it had brought tears to her eyes.
Written by Mike Gerson, a 36-year-old aide, the speech has been described as a mixture of policy and personal anecdote, with Bush elaborating on many of the themes he has repeated on the campaign trail. In particular, education reform, tax cuts and the federal budget surplus will be a central focus, Bush aides said.
Bush will also draw attention to his upbringing in Midland, Texas, where both the candidate and his wife were born and raised. Although Bush left for the East Coast as a teenager, attending Andover Academy, then Yale University, and, later, Harvard Business School, he is expected to focus exclusively on his Southwestern roots.
Entering the convention hall for a technical rehearsal yesterday afternoon, Bush took the stage for the first time. As the sound system was turned on, the Texas governor looked out at the delegates standing on the floor. ''My fellow Americans,'' he said, drawing a swell of applause from the few people in the mostly empty hall, ''I accept your nomination.'' And he summed up his reaction to the sight from the podium, saying repeatedly, ''It feels great up here.''
