Jenna, Barbara give dad a boost

NEW YORK — Twins Jenna and Barbara Bush, said to be the president’s aces in the hole on sewing up the youth vote, have been the most elusive of all the celebrities and politicians at the Republican convention.

Still, the Republican bash is functioning as a coming-out party for the 22-year-olds, who are putting in appearances at several events, such as yesterday’s “W Stands for Women” rally that drew 1,000 women to the Waldorf Astoria ballroom.

As the president’s sister, Dorothy Bush Koch, and mother, Barbara Bush, spoke, the two young women, dressed informally in slacks, high heels, dark brown or black tops and a sweater (Barbara) or blazer (Jenna), applauded on cue, if a bit mechanically.

Their aunt and grandmother were clear as to what is expected. The president and first lady Laura Bush, Mrs. Koch said, are “lucky to have two daughters who can reach out to a whole generation of women.”

The daughters and their mother were repeatedly referred to by speakers as “strong women” and their grandmother said the duo did well during a recent visit to Greece for the Olympics.

“I kept telling them to stand up straight and keep their hair out of their eyes,” Barbara Bush said. “They were a huge hit in Greece. George and I were a bit concerned when the entire [American] wrestling team wanted to date them.”

Unlike the Kerry daughters, who introduced their stepmother, Teresa Heinz Kerry, at the Democratic National Convention last month in Boston, neither of the Bush girls will make a formal speech from the floor of Madison Square Garden.

Today, they will introduce their mother at a “Tribute to First Lady Laura Bush” lunch hosted by the National Federation of Republican Women. They will be at Madison Square Garden for first lady Laura Bush’s prime-time speech later tonight.

Tomorrow morning, they will reappear at Madison Square Garden to introduce White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. at an event for 2,500 young Republicans featuring elected officials and Hollywood celebrities.

After listening to their father’s acceptance speech Thursday night, they will head for a “Next Generation Convention Party” at Gotham Hall in Manhattan with Emma Bloomberg, daughter of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Emily Pataki, daughter of New York Gov. George E. Pataki.

It hasn’t been all roses for political debutantes this election year. Sunday night, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry’s daughters, Alexandra and Vanessa, were booed by a crowd when they appeared at MTV’s Video Music Awards ceremony in Miami. There were also boos for a pre-recorded video by the Bush daughters aired at the MTV event.

The twins got a better reception Sunday at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan, where they arrived to a wild scrum of photographers for a late-night “R: The Party” reception to kick off the convention’s first big celebrity bash.

“Jenna! Barbara!” dozens of photographers shouted as the pair, both dressed in faded jeans, tops and high heels, stood uncomfortably near the entrance of the trendy club. The presidential daughters smiled briefly, then disappeared inside.

Neither said a word, and the press was barred from taking photographs at the swank event, a tacit acknowledgment that the Bush-Cheney campaign does not want a repeat of the embarrassing photographs of Jenna dancing on a New York nightclub table, which were splashed across tabloid front pages earlier this year.

Jenna also got a tongue-lashing from her mother last month after she playfully stuck out her tongue at White House press — a gesture quickly captured by photographers.

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