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Spotlights shine in the background as the Philadelphia Boys Choir practices on the main stage at the First Union Center in Philadelphia Sunday, July 30, 2000, on the eve of the Republican National Convention that starts Monday. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

August 1, 2000 

CINCINNATI (AP) - George W. Bush is leaving the partisan attacks to others as he makes his way to the Republican National Convention, courting voters in the battleground state of Ohio with a pledge to "set our spirits high."

No Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio, and independents wield heavy influence in presidential elections. "The last two elections we haven't done so well, but that's going to change come November," he told a rain-soaked rally Sunday.

Slowly making his way to the convention, Bush is spending two days in Ohio, which carries 21 electoral votes. He had rallies planned Monday in Dayton and Columbus.

On the eve of the convention, Bush reached out for bipartisan support.

"My job is to lift the spirit of the country," Bush said Sunday. "My job is to set our spirits high. My job is to say a united nation can achieve that which we want: to make sure people are not left behind."

Since leaving Austin, Texas, on Friday, Bush has been traveling through states that voted for Bill Clinton in the last two elections but which Republican strategists hope to capture in the fall.

He and wife Laura went to church Sunday and worked on their convention speeches. Mrs. Bush addresses the convention Monday night, during its first prime-time session.

Between his wife's speech and one by retired Gen. Colin Powell, Bush will make a live video presentation to convention delegates from a school in Columbus.

	Abortion activists march in downtown Philadelphia Sunday, July 30, 2000, as part of the Unity 2000 March and Rally. Many different groups - demonstrating for a variety of causes - participated in the rally. Philadelphia is the site of the Republican National Convention which starts Monday. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

On Tuesday, Bush had campaign stops scheduled in Charleston, West Virginia, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He planned to arrive in Philadelphia, the convention city, Wednesday.

Besides making one reference to "my opponent" Sunday during his pitch for saving Social Security, Bush left the partisan fireworks to others.

"Whoever would have thought you would see Microsoft split up and the Clintons still together?" said Rep. Steve Chabot, the second impeachment prosecutor to stump with Bush on his tour to the convention.

Bill Cunningham, a local radio talk show host, compared Bush's White House bid to Ronald Reagan's 1980 win against Democrat Jimmy Carter.

"Let's elect another governor from the West to scour out the White House of filth and degradation. God bless America!"

Scott McClellan, Bush campaign spokesman, said the speakers were "expressing their own opinions" and that they were not necessarily shared by Bush. "The governor is focusing on his agenda," he said.

In 1996, President Clinton won Ohio, 47 percent to Bob Dole's 41 percent; 11 percent of the voters here picked Reform Party candidate Ross Perot.

Four years earlier, Clinton took 42 percent to President Bush's 38 percent, while Perot received 21 percent of the vote.

"One of the keys to winning is reaching out to independents and ticket-splitters," said Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer. "That's one of the reasons why Ohio is so important to Governor Bush - it's home to so many independent voters."

Bush's appearance Sunday was delayed by 15 minutes while medics tended to Helen L. Geiger, 73, of Cincinnati, who collapsed at the rally and was rushed to Bethesda North Hospital where she was pronounced dead, Blue Ash firefighters said.