HILADELPHIA - As he bounced from interview to interview yesterday, Governor Paul Cellucci delivered a well-honed message: George W. Bush is good because he has learned to be inclusive. And as the governor of liberal Massachusetts, that's something I know all about.
Cellucci is selling himself as a walking symbol of the Big Tent GOP, a social moderate who carried a Democratic state. And that image has made him a popular choice on the talk-show circuit and a valued foot-soldier in the Bush campaign.
But while he was winning plaudits for carrying the Bush banner, Cellucci wasn't so popular with some members of his own delegation, who grumbled that Cellucci was putting loyalty to Bush ahead of Massachusetts, or the political views that got him elected in the first place.
It bubbled up over abortion.
For most delegates, the issue is settled: The platform is unswervingly antiabortion. But a pair of abortion-rights groups circulated a petition urging a floor fight on abortion - just the sort of fight that would have upset the GOP's hard-fought unity theme.
Among other states, the insurgents targeted Massachusetts, where both Cellucci and Lieutenant Governor Jane Swift favor legal abortion. But while former governor William F. Weld was vocal about his abortion rights stance in 1996, Cellucci went the other way. He declined to sign. And some delegates say state party leaders asked them not to sign the petition, or encouraged them to remove their names.
In the end, Massachusetts fell two votes short of the majority needed to approve the petition; several other states also could not gather the votes. And Cellucci's aides said that despite his views on abortion, the governor preferred unity over dissent.
''We support the platform that Governor Bush wants to run on, and the platform that he feels comfortable running on,'' said John Brockelman, director of the state Republican Party. ''Right now, instead of intraparty fights, we're concentrating on winning the election in November. He and the Republican Party agree on 99 percent of the issues.''
Still, some Massachusetts delegates were grumbling yesterday.
''A lot of people felt they were being pressured and were upset,'' said Bruce Colton, who signed the petition.
''I guess this is a vilification of all politicians, but very few of them are willing to stand up and holler what they believe,'' added Spencer Goldstein, another Massachusetts delegate who signed the petition. ''Unfortunately, Cellucci has his own agenda, whatever that is. He may be concerned about a state agenda but also a national agenda.''
And a few delegates quietly suggested Cellucci might be making sure he doesn't jeopardize a possible position with a Bush administration.
It's a buzz Cellucci will have to contend with all week, as he focuses on helping Republicans take back the White House. He even tried, at times, to merge his state and national agendas: He told delegates that putting his tax-cut proposition on the Massachusetts ballot would bring out conservative voters - and Bush backers - on Election Day.
Cellucci's ties to the Bush family date back to 1979, when he was a state representative and the first elected official in Massachusetts to endorse the elder George Bush for president. He was also an early booster of George W. Bush. Cellucci recalled the younger Bush calling to congratulate him on winning the Massachusetts governorship, and Cellucci telling Bush that a governor schooled in compromise and coalition building should be the next GOP presidential nominee.
Yesterday, he tried to deliver that message on a slot on ''The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,'' a series of interviews with Internet outlets, and a stand-up with a 13-year-old from Scholastic News. He was even ambushed by a crew from Comedy Central, but didn't play along when the interviewer asked him whether Bush's choice of Dick Cheney as his vice-presidential nominee represented a ''same-sex ticket.''
''That wasn't very funny,'' Cellucci said. ''Try another one.''
Cellucci also plans to travel to Los Angeles to do counterspin in the early days of the Democratic National Convention. When he ran into Maryland Governor Parris Glendenning, a Democrat, yesterday, Cellucci promised he'd be doing ''tit for tat'' in a couple of weeks.
Apart from his media tour, some analysts said Cellucci is critical in another important role: raising support among Italian-Americans. There will be small events, such as a speech before the National Italian-American Federation, and blowouts like tomorrow night's ''Carnevale Italiano,'' a street fair he is co-sponsoring.
Ethnic identification has long served Cellucci well. When he ran for governor, he carried some traditionally Democratic cities with large Italian populations, GOP consultant Charles Manning said.
