Utah delegates — at least those who didn't skip out for the New York Yankees game going on at the same time — relished the one-liners and cheered rabidly for the body builder-turned-actor who never held office before becoming governor of California a year ago.

Walker understands the attraction. She recently had dinner with the California governor at the National Governors Association meetings, and she was prepared not to like him. But she found it impossi- ble not to like him.

And his speech was the perfect anecdote for an otherwise lackluster day of speeches by party loyalists and unknowns.

"Conventions are about one-liners and yelling and shouting how proud we are to be Republicans and have freedom," Walker said. "It is a celebration, not a discussion of weighty issues."

Schwarzenegger's act was a tough one to follow for first lady Laura Bush, who gave delegates insight into life at the White House after 9/11.

"No American president wants to go to war," she said, neither Lincoln nor Roosevelt nor her own husband.

"I remember some very quiet nights at the dinner table," she said. "George was weighing grim scenarios and ominous intelligence and potentially even more devastating attacks. . . .

"And I remember sitting in the window of the White House, watching as my husband walked on the lawn below. I knew he was wrestling with these agonizing decisions that would have such profound consequences for so many lives and the future of the world," she said.

The effort to flesh out an image of the president as something more than commander in chief resulted in something akin to a prime-time Bush family hour, with twins Jenna and Barbara teasing their father gently in a brief, joint appearance at the podium. "We are so proud to be here tonight to introduce someone who read us bedtime stories, picked up carpool, made our favorite peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches and cheered for us when we made a goal, even when it was for the wrong team," Jenna said.

Schwarzenegger and the first lady took their turns at the Madison Square Garden podium as 2,508 delegates formally bestowed their nomination on the president for a second term in office. "Four more years," they chanted in unison — then and many times more throughout the night.

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Contributing: New York Times News Service; Associated Press; E-mail: spang@desnews.com