HILADELPHIA - Dick Cheney, the would-be vice president, is rethinking some of the votes of Dick Cheney, the Wyoming congressman.
Cheney arrived yesterday in the Republican convention city earlier than scheduled and said his views have softened on some issues since his years as one of the most conservative men in Congress. Democrats, sensing a tactical opening, have started airing commercials questioning whether Cheney's views are out of step with mainstream America.
Republican presidential contender George W. Bush, meanwhile, continued his slow procession to the convention with a relatively light schedule. He attended church in Cincinnati and delivered a speech before spending a second night at the home of Bill DeWitt, a former business partner who has raised money for the Bush campaign.
The Texas governor is to arrive in Philadelphia on Wednesday, the day before he accepts his party's nomination.
Cheney, making the round of Sunday morning talk shows before arriving in Philadelphia, said he would now vote in favor of Head Start funding, the Equal Rights Amendment, and banning plastic guns and ''cop-killer'' bullets. The former six-term congressman voted against all those issues in the 1980s, and Democrats have seized upon the votes since Bush selected Cheney to be his running mate.
''I might find a couple I would do differently,'' Cheney said on CBS's ''Face the Nation.''
He was accompanied on ABC's ''This Week'' by his wife, Lynne V. Cheney, who condemned a question about the couple's daughter Mary, who is gay. ''I would like to say that I'm appalled at the media interest in one of my daughters,'' she said.
Further signifying a more aggressive posture, the Bush campaign released a fact sheet on Cheney's votes and attacked the Democratic commercial.
''Al Gore's decision to launch the first attack ad of the campaign lives up to his staff's boast that they will `cook things up' as part of a `slaughterhouse' style of campaigning. We don't need any more slaughterhouses,'' said Ari Fleischer, Bush's spokesman.
The Democratic commercial, which aired in 15 states, highlights a variety of Cheney votes, including those against the school lunch program and the Clean Water Act.
''What does Cheney's record say about their plans? What are their plans for working families?'' asks the ad, which may be followed by a second ad this week challenging Bush's environmental record.
Cheney, arriving at the Bush headquarters at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel, said he had spent 25 years in Washington. It was his first solo campaign appearance, part of a revised schedule. Cheney had planned to remain in Dallas until Wednesday, but the campaign accelerated the timetable in response to Democratic criticism.
''I'm especially proud of my record voting to support smaller government, lower taxes, stronger national defense, the policies of Ronald Reagan, for example,'' he told a cheering crowd of several hundred.
Cheney also said he was proud of his last five years in private industry, where he served as chairman and chief executive officer of Halliburton Co., a Dallas energy services company. Democrats have criticized Cheney's work, saying he has supported higher oil prices.
In Cincinnati, Bush told a crowd at a ballpark in the Blue Ash Sports Complex: ''We're working our way to the convention, and we're going to states that the Republican candidate hasn't done so well in lately. You see, we started out in Arkansas.
''Now we're here in Ohio, and the last two elections we haven't done so well, but that's going to change come November.''
During his TV interviews, Cheney said his votes in the US House were made when the Democrats controlled Congress and often took up issues under a rules suspension, which limited debate and prohibited amendments.
''I think this is selective,'' Cheney said on NBC's ''Meet the Press.'' ''I cast thousands of votes when I was a member of Congress. They obviously have an ax to grind. They'd like to portray me in a negative light.''
Anne E. Kornblut of the Globe Staff contributed to this report from Cincinnati.
