American Notes CONVENTION SITES

For financially depressed New Orleans, it was an embarrassment of riches. First the city was notified by the Republican National Committee that it had been selected as the site of the 1988 G.O.P. Convention, a three-day bonanza that should generate $50 million in business. Then Democratic Chairman Paul Kirk said his committee (which had just sampled the Cajun cuisine and first- class hotels) might also choose the City That Care Forgot as its party's convention site.

The catch was that New Orleans had already signed a contract giving the Republicans six weeks of unlimited access to the Superdome before the convention opens on Aug. 15. Since the Democrats are to begin their convention on July 17, the clause prevents New Orleans from being host to both parties. Kirk charged that the G.O.P. was holding New Orleans "hostage." But the Republicans held the city to its contract, and the Democrats are now leaning toward Houston.