HILADELPHIA - Dick Cheney had finished his speech and was posing for snapshots with old friends from Wyoming when his daughter Mary tapped him on the shoulder and pointed behind him.
''Turn around, the cameras are over there,'' she seemed to whisper into his ear, as Cheney spun on his heels.
It was a small moment on opening day of the Republican National Convention, but it captured the feel of the Cheney campaign.
A little more than a week after George W. Bush plucked Cheney out of the business world and thrust him onto the Republican ticket, the campaign is still adjusting to having a second banana while the former congressman and defense secretary is hustling to reacquaint himself with his political roots.
The campaign, which has offered presidential-style planning since Bush announced his candidacy more than a year ago, struggles when asked about Cheney's schedule. As for ''the secretary,'' as the staff calls him, Cheney makes his remarks and drives home Bush's familiar themes while referring to handwritten notes on paper folded lengthwise.
Tonight Cheney steps into the spotlight on the grandest of political stages: a national party convention to deliver his nomination acceptance speech. Cheney, and then Bush tomorrow night, despite their conservative beliefs, will try to appeal to moderate and independent voters.
Democrats have hammered at Cheney since Bush chose him, highlighting his draft deferments during the Vietnam War. The party has also launched television commercials criticizing his congressional votes in the 1980s against the Clean Water Act and a proposal to ban armor-piercing bullets.
In addition, President Clinton has gone on the attack on behalf of Vice President Al Gore, challenging Bush's rationale for running and criticizing Cheney's record.
''They're sort of at a crossroad,'' said Charles Cook, a columnist and author of the Cook Political Report. ''The initial gut reaction that people had was this was a real experienced guy and that was good with Bush's relative lack of experience. But then Democrats really started punishing the guy and some of that has started to bite him. That 1980s record dropped into this vegetarian, no-red-meat convention here in 2000. The question now is what image takes hold.''
Scott Reed, a Republican political strategist who managed Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign, said the Democrats have made a tactical error in attacking someone voters will remember tonight as the trusted adviser who calmly led the nation through the Persian Gulf War.
''Cheney had a bumpy start, but it's nothing that won't be overcome by George W. Bush. At the end of the day, people vote for the top of the ticket. Cheney will be seen as a great choice who helped solidify the base and helped in the battleground states and will eventually help George W. Bush govern,'' said Reed.
Cheney, 59, has never had a reputation as a dynamo despite a swift political ascent. By age 34, he was President Ford's chief of staff. Next he served six terms as Wyoming's lone congressman, including a stint as the number two Republican in the House, before President Bush tapped him to be defense secretary in 1989. For the past five years, Cheney has headed the Dallas-based Halliburton Co., a multibillion-dollar engineering and oil services firm.
Bush carefully choreographed Cheney's selection, but both campaign and candidate have struggled since. While Bush travels in a custom Boeing 727, the staff is still deciding when to start coordinated travel for Cheney and his would-be press corps. Yesterday his schedule listed one event, a luncheon speech honoring House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert. Cheney earlier visited former President Gerald Ford.
When Cheney and Hastert started shaking hands with the luncheon guests, one aide assembled a group of photographers to take pictures, but another aide cut them off in mid-stride and herded the photographers to the back of the room.
Cheney, meanwhile, has the halting manner Bush displayed a year ago when the Texas governor announced he was running for president.
The former defense secretary makes short speeches and only occasionally stops to take a question. When confronted with Democratic criticisms, he sometimes struggles to recall issues.
After his arrival in Philadelphia on Sunday, Cheney made brief remarks at a rally and then bounded off the stage, all before the campaign staff had time to fire up confetti machines.
Asked about his reentry into politics, Cheney smiled and remarked: ''It's a lot of fun. It's a change of pace, different style of operation.''
During an interview with CNN, Cheney added: ''I'm glad I stepped back onto the political stage. It's not easy, it's a tough thing to do, but it's important.''
That reality has been noted.
''I almost think he's been off balance since he started, because that's not his style,'' said Wyoming delegate Scott Court to a friend as the two chatted in front of reporters before Cheney spoke at a breakfast meeting of the state's delegation.
