More than 2,000 delegates gather in Philadelphia for the Republican National Convention, with their more than 2,000 alternates. The majority of delegates assembling here are more conservative than George W. Bush has sought to portray the Republican Party, this according to a New York Times-CBS News poll of those delegates. On a host of important issues, from affirmative action to environmental concerns to abortion, the poll found that delegates stand significantly to the right of much of the nation, and even to the right of rank-and-file Republican voters. In fact, a majority of the more than 2,000 delegates describe themselves as somewhat or very conservative.

The delegates, by and large, supported large tax cuts and school vouchers, oppose gun control, curbs on trade, environmental safeguards, abortion rights, prescription drug subsidies for the elderly and campaign finance regulation. In one notable exception of the contrast between the delegates and Republican voters, the poll, again conducted by the New York Times and CBS, found that fewer than half the delegates said they supported mandatory child safety locks on firearms.