Gustav prompts 'substantial' changes to RNC agenda

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney will not attend the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, because of Hurricane Gustav, White House press secretary Dana Perino said Sunday.
The Republican National Convention was set to kick off Monday in Minneapolis-St.Paul, Minnesota.

The Republican National Convention was set to kick off Monday in Minneapolis-St.Paul, Minnesota.

In addition, "substantial" changes to the Republican National Convention program will be announced Sunday because of the storm, two Republican officials said.

One option is delaying the planned Monday opening of the convention, both sources said, though one of the officials said "that has not been decided. We need a few more hours to look at all of the contingencies. But there will be some substantial adjustments."

Instead of attending, Bush is likely to address the convention's Monday session, if there is one, via satellite, other officials said. First lady Laura Bush is scheduled to attend.

The final decisions will be made after Rick Davis, a top campaign aide to Sen. John McCain, meets Sunday with convention planners in St. Paul.

Shaping those decisions will be briefings that McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has received in the past 24 hours from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Federal Emergency Management Agency Director David Paulison and several Gulf Coast governors.

"It's a dire outlook, and we need to make some changes," one McCain campaign official said. "But this has never happened before to anyone's convention, so we need some time to touch all the bases."

A senior McCain source said Saturday that officials were considering turning the convention into a massive telethon to raise money for the Red Cross and other agencies to help with hurricane aid.

"He wants to do something service oriented if and when the storm hits and it's as bad as it's expected to be now," the McCain source said.

They are also hoping to get McCain himself to a storm-affected area as soon as possible.

McCain had suggested to a Fox News interviewer that the convention could be suspended if it seemed that a festive gathering was inappropriate in light of the destruction the storm may bring. Video Watch as the Gulf Coast prepares for Gustav »

Republican Govs. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Charlie Crist of Florida, Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Rick Perry of Texas -- whose states lie in the path of the Category 3 Gustav -- will skip the GOP convention because of the storm.

The storm has forced last-minute changes in the convention's announced schedule: If the convention -- originally scheduled to start Monday -- commences by Tuesday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's speech will probably move to that night from Wednesday.

Other changes were being contemplated Saturday afternoon.

The hardest decisions, like whether to cancel a day or two of the four-day gathering or to condense days, will be made at the last second, GOP officials said, but the logistics are being discussed.
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Also on Saturday, Bush declared a state of emergency in Mississippi, following similar declarations in Louisiana and Texas.

The president ordered federal aid to supplement state and local efforts in the areas in the forecast path of Hurricane Gustav. Bush and his administration were heavily criticized in 2005 for not moving fast enough to send federal help to the Gulf Coast when Hurricane Katrina hit.

I won't hide it: I find these recent developments absolutely thrilling. Although it would have been nice for the citizenry to familiarize themselves more with GOP "rising star" creationist nut jobs like Bobby Jindal.

Now then -- how could Gustav help the Republicans? Let me run briefly through four or five ways:

1. Allows McCain to Appear Magnanimous. By potentially delaying or canceling his "date" at the GOP convention, McCain appears as though he is giving something up to tend to the Gulf Coast. Sympathetic and neutral-to-sympathetic media outlets may view this as underscoring McCain's "America First" theme.

2. Lowers Expectations Bar. The selection of Sarah Palin as the VP nominee has forced the GOP to shift abruptly from a "Ready to Lead" theme to an "America First" theme. While it is difficult to say whether one of these themes was intrinsically stronger than the other, odds are that a lot of speeches had to be re-engineered, probably rendering them less effective upon delivery. Gustav, however, may give the GOP a built-in "excuse" for more off-the-cuff, hastily-organized speeches.

3. Removes the Bush problem. The further Mr. 30% is from St. Paul, the better off the Republicans will be.

4. Do-Over. Americans have short memories, and a relatively more successful response to Gustav could allow the GOP to argue that it has redeemed itself for the mistake of Katrina.

5. Crisis Mentality May Benefit McCain. By appearing in New Orleans, and perhaps even delivering his acceptance speech from there, McCain will have the opportunity to appear "presidential". Rather than asserting to that he is ready to lead -- an assertion that was undermined the the selection of Palin -- he may hope to give the appearance of actually demonstrating such leadership.

This is not to say that there aren't risks to the Republicans. There is a fine line between responding to tragedy and appearing to exploit it, and any gaffes by McCain, Palin or Bush could quickly alter the narrative. Gustav has yet to pass through the Gulf of Mexico's oil platforms, and any sort of spill could substantially undermine support for their offshore drilling initiatives. Finally, there is an opportunity cost involved. Although the Republicans may appear to be effective in responding to Gustav, they may not be able to emphasize certain other themes which might also have been effective uses of their free national airtime.

12:55 pm ET

After a briefing Sunday at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, President Bush said he was assured that New Orleans' levees are "stronger than they have ever been." But he said people across the Gulf Coast and in New Orleans need to understand there is a serious risk of flooding from a storm of this size.

(Louisiana Governor) Jindal says the levees are not fully restored and it won't be until 2011 before they are expected to protect from a 100-year event. He said, "We shouldn't count on them to protect our lives."

Yes, the GOP needs to dump the social conservatives but I think they're just symptomatic of a larger problem, which is the desperate need for third parties in this country.

Do we really need 3 or 4 or 5 different types of agendas to have to sift through?

Yes, the GOP needs to dump the social conservatives but I think they're just symptomatic of a larger problem, which is the desperate need for third parties in this country.

I was not aware that the two major parties actually had different agendas.

I'm perfectly ok with two parties. Do we really need 3 or 4 or 5 different types of agendas to have to sift through?

This right here makes Americans look like idiots. "Do we really need 3 or 4 or 5 different types of agendas to have to sift through?". If you can't make a decision when you are presented with more than 2 options because there is just too much stuff to look at, you're a moron.

Admitting on a message board that you might have blueballs though?



Do I even need to go there?

I have decided.

And no Chud, you don't look like a moron for being exasperated during an election season. Frankly, people that don't bother really digging into the issues (with a sense of being a bit overwhelmed) are the morons.

I see what you're saying. It is exasperating. But 2 parties still limits options far too much for my liking. I probably shouldn't have phrased that to call you a moron, because you probably aren't.

have you seen the shit i've admited to here?