Republicans Edgy, Edgar Acknowledges

Republicans are nervous.

"No doubt about that," said Gov. Edgar, chairman of the85-member Illinois delegation going to Houston to renominate abeleaguered President Bush.

"People know the president is probably behind in the polls,"said Edgar, an understatement, given that Democrat Bill Clinton stillis registering a post-convention bounce while Bush is trying tojump-start his stalled campaign.

"That makes everybody a little nervous. But that's good, itmakes sure nobody's complacent," Edgar said in an interview.

He does not believe Illinois Republicans are distancingthemselves from the GOP ticket and said it is "the president's call"whether to replace Vice President Dan Quayle.

"Watching Dan Quayle the last three and a half years, I thinkhe's done everything a vice president is supposed to do. There is nodoubt he has taken it from the media. It's like he can't do anythingright in some ways."

On the state level, the button-down Edgar's biggest leadershipchallenge may well be to rev up the delegation in the face ofdiscouraging polls.

Raising his national profile a few notches, Edgar will speak tothe convention Monday night on international trade. Elected withhelp of minorities, Edgar will host a reception for Hispanics andaddress the California delegation Wednesday on the need to open upthe party.

"Hopefully the speeches and the motivational stuff will bethere, because the Republican Party will need it," said delegate SamPanayotovich, 10th Ward GOP committeeman. "We must come back out ofit on a high."

Abortion rights activists want to push the thorny issue onto theconvention floor after losing a platform battle - a major potentialheadache for Edgar as delegation chairman. He signaled that he willdiscourage any such move among Illinois delegates.

Edgar said Bush, who has been saying for weeks he'll personallytake off the gloves after Houston, is "coming into his stride."

The governor's campaign apparatus is running the Illinois Bush/Quayle campaign, in contrast to the way the Democrats are working thestate for Clinton/Gore. They brought in an Iowa political consultantto oversee the campaign here to avoid getting tangled up inDemocratic infighting or Downstate/Chicago rivalries.

Both Democrats and Republicans agree Illinois is one of ahandful of pivotal states in determining the next president. In1988, Bush beat Michael Dukakis in Illinos with a slim 50.6 percentof the vote. The candidates have already been spending time here,dipping into the pockets of Illinois contributors at fund-raisers aswell as looking for votes. In Houston, Quayle is tentativelyscheduled to speak to the Illinois delegation.

Illinois Republicans - those going to Houston and those stayinghome - have much prestige at stake in the election, perhaps more thanother Republicans in the nation. House Minority Leader Robert H.Michel (R-Ill.) is the convention chairman.

Three Cabinet members come from Illinois - Labor Secretary LynnMartin, who will nominate Bush on Wednesday night, AgricultureSecretary Edward Madigan and Veterans Affairs Secretary Ed Derwinski.Former Chief of Staff Samuel K. Skinner, who was replaced Thursday byJim Baker, and named a GOP party official, is also from Illinois.Edgar's son, Brad, works in the Bush White House where he's a memberof the president's advance team.

Monday evening, Gov. Edgar will be among the speakers, comingbefore former President Ronald Reagan and after Commerce SecretaryBarbara Franklin.

"A little more big-time than speaking at the State Fair," hesaid.

His talk on international trade will play off the NorthAmerican Free Trade Agreement announced Wednesday that creates aU.S.-Candadian-Mexican common market. The pact needs the approval ofCongress.

The governor is making a special pitch to Hispanics, hosting areception on Monday, paid for by Chicago-based Ameritech, for allHispanic convention delegates.

Hispanics are the fastest growing voter segment. Whileminorities tend to vote Democratic, Edgar said Republicans have goodchances to make strides among Hispanics in 1992, especially amongMexican-Americans.

Houston will mark Edgar's third convention, his first asgovernor. As a high school senior, Edgar was active in WilliamScranton's presidential campaign and invited to go to the conventionin California - which would have been his first. But he never leftIllinois.

Said Edgar, "I was 17 at the time and my mother told me therewas no way I was going to San Francisco."