President Bush at the Republican convention: No early rehearsal necessary

One more sign of the changing of the guard:

Two weeks before he will deliver his speech at the Republican National Convention accepting the party's presidential nomination, Sen. John McCain has set aside time to rehearse his delivery.

It is, of course, the biggest speech in his campaign for the White House.

For the man he would replace, however, a speech to the convention -- nationwide television audience and all -- is, well, no big deal anymore.

President Bush is planning to fly to Minneapolis on Labor Day, the day the convention opens, deliver his speech, and leave town immediately that night, returning either to the White House or heading for a few low-key days in the nearly invisible setting of Camp David.

That, of course, is just the way the McCain camp wants it -- keeping Bush as far from the limelight as politically possible.

As for speech preparations during the president's downtime this week and next at his home in Crawford, Texas, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino expected nothing out of the ordinary.

Before a really big speech -- say, a State of the Union address with its national television audience -- presidents have regularly trekked down to the White House theater and conducted dress rehearsals with teleprompters, with staff members offering critiques.

Not this time.

"I don't anticipate any rehearsals in Crawford," Perino said the other day.

After all, it's not his show.

-- James Gerstenzang

Photo credit: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times