While he said he was opposed to abortion, Mr. Bond nonetheless drew a standing ovation when he made clear that the party should abandon its anti-abortion platform.

Mr. Bush cultivated the anti-abortion movement throughout the primaries and embraced his party's adamantly anti-abortion platform.

Asked if he could envision a Democratic Party with, say, an anti-abortion platform, Mr. Shuler did not hesitate.

I won on a pro-choice platform," snapped Al Clements, who was chairman of the committee that wrote the state Republican Party's vigorously anti-abortion platform earlier this year.

But if the Republicans again have a hard-line, anti-abortion platform, Manus-Salzman says she will not give money to the party.

Broad public support for preserving the right of women to obtain abortions remains undiminished seven years after Ronald Reagan came to office on a strong anti-abortion platform.

Currently both major political parties, ARENA on the right and FMLN on the left, have anti-abortion platforms.

So Mr. Bush, elected on an anti-abortion platform, is doing his job, well.

But the speculation in California is that he wanted a way to keep at arm's length from President Bush, the convention and the anti-abortion platform.

The Democratic contender, Marion Berry, is a former White House aide but campaigned on an anti-abortion and anti-gun-control platform.