Still, they invited Trumbull along as a guest of the state party, and he will have the same privileges as the delegates--except voting rights, of course.

But Trumbull isn't dwelling on it. He's excited to be in the center of the action.

"At this point, the convention is going to be very interesting--we had thought this was going to be a very boring convention...and now all the talk about the language of the platform is really getting people excited," he said.

Trumbull said he's never been to a national convention, citing the cost and time as deterrents. But he said he's looking forward to the political receptions, and the chance to meet fellow Republicans from other states.

He also defended Cambridge's turnout to the convention--with about 200 Massachussetts Republicans attending from some 350 cities, Cambridge will actually be overrepresented, Trumbull said.

Cambridge's third Republican convention-goer, Weld, could not be reached for comment.

Discouraged but Optimistic

Cambridge is an overwhelmingly and aggressively liberal city, so its few Republicans are almost by nature a hardy bunch.

Nevertheless, Cambridge Republicans interviewed had a hard time defending Dole.

Trumbull, for example, said he's viewing the party's bitter strife about platform language as a chance to "really get people excited...because something is actually going to be decided there, in a fairly open fashion."

But he conceded that the Republican infighting wasn't all good.

"Granted. When you get lemons, make lemonade," he conceded. "If we're going to have it, at least it shows we can have it. The other party can't have a discussion."

Some Cambridge Republicans are blaming the party's problems on Dole.

"I think he's making all the wrong moves," said Jonathan T. Spampinato, a Weld aide and former Cambridge City Council candidate. "I think he's moving farther to the right, and he is significantly diminishing the possibility that he will even have a respectable showing."

But on the whole, the Republicans said they were optimistic about the party and the candidate.

Cambridge Republican John L. Fitzgerald, for example, is looking forward to the infusion of cash Dole's campaign will receive once he's the GOP's official nominee.

After next week, for the first time, Dole and Clinton will be competing on level ground," O'Neill said. "Then people will finally get to see a real debate."

Trumbull agreed.

"Don't underestimate how much difference that makes, when you can control the message that gets out...instead of, for the most part, a very hostile someone else," he said