"Politics to me is all service for the betterment of man," said delegate Richard Snelgrove of Salt Lake. "Republicans and Democrats can all agree on some things, and one of those is service."

The cancellation of Monday night's events meant that a number of big-name speakers will probably not be heard from live at the Xcel Energy Center. Those include President Bush and Vice President Cheney. It also leaves the program schedule for future days in limbo.

On Monday night there had been no official word as to whether today's program would go as planned. One of today's scheduled headliners is to be Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. The only word was that the convention schedule would be shortened to four hours, instead of the originally planned six. It is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. MDT.

Outside of the short speeches from Bush and McCain that closed the convention's opening day, much of the three hours inside the convention hall was focused on business. The party approved its rules, sat its delegates, and approved its platform. All of it was accomplished efficiently, with no debate.

The most excitement in St. Paul, in fact, may have been in the streets, where thousands of protesters rallied, primarily against the Iraq War.

Their activities snarled traffic and resulted in a few arrests, but few delegates saw the protests as their buses were routed to the convention hall, while protesters were almost two blocks away from the bus parking.

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