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Gustav's 1st Victim is the RNC

2008_08_mccain2.jpgJohn McCain has all but canceled tomorrow's first night of the Republican National Convention due to the expected severity of Hurricane Gustav's arrival along the Gulf Coast. "This is a time when we have to do away with our party politics and we have to act as Americans." Earlier in the day it had been announce that President Bush and Vice President Cheney would not be speaking at the convention as scheduled tomorrow so that people wouldn't remember how atrociously they screwed up Katrina in order to attend to the emergency. The McCain campaign said that the opening program on Monday would be "business only and will refrain from political rhetoric." The status of the rest of the convention will be day-to-day with some speculation that we could see a telethon in order to raise money for those affected by the hurricane.

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  • nustita

    I'm coming late to this thread, but had to register a quibble with your headline: seems rather callous considering that Gustav killed 81 people in the Caribbean before heading north.

  • demonyc

    "Are you kidding? This is a gift to the republicans: Bush and Cheney don't come and they get a mulligan on the whole hurricane thing."



    this is totally on point. republicans will somehow slither around this to make this a win in the way they avoided an impeachment for the worst president in modern times. mccain is a stick with a teleprompter and usually telegenic off the cuff in a crowd. many republicans may actually be heaving a sigh of relief. besides, dedicated voters on both sides won't change their minds. both parties always give a free pass to their own, claiming correctness, and demanding privacy (at least palin didn't throw her daughter out of the house (would she reject a gay child?), but reagan made his son marry a fellow dancer.)



    btw, many of you are not seeing the intentionally comic nature of these democratic schadenfreude posts -- or are choosing not to see it.

  • NannyState

    ^ Yes it was all Bush's fault and the Republicans are even more culpable. They should all be hanged.

  • ides_of_march

    Was it the Bush administration's fault that Mayor Ray Nagin and Governor Blanco utterly failed their own people at every level? Was it Bush's fault Nagin let 700 city buses sit idle then get destroyed by flood waters instead of being used to evacuate the city's poorer citizens? Was it Bush's fault the local cops either fled or joined in the looting instead of keeping order? Is is Bush's fault some people have become completely dependent on government, to think for them, to wipe their butts for them?



    Apparently, as long as you're a democrat you get a free pass when you screw up big time. Just blame it all on the republicans.

  • The Edge

    I don't get it..



    You guys would be bitching and crying if it had happened to the DNC, too.



    And it's easy to believe that the GOP is the "only" evil party in American politics, right?



    Rrrrriiiiight.

  • Kevin Walsh

    To be exact, the Xcel Energy Center is in St. Paul.



    www.forgotten-ny.com

  • ides_of_march

    "Perhaps there is a God of Mercy, or just a very unintelligent GOP to schedule a convention in NOLA during hurricane season."



    Might want to check your facts before you go calling other people unintelligent.

  • Kevin Walsh

    >>>Perhaps there is a God of Mercy, or just a very unintelligent GOP to schedule a convention in NOLA during hurricane season.



    The GOP convention is in Minneapolis, MN.



    www.forgotten-ny.com

  • Anna_Merkin

    Perhaps there is a God of Mercy, or just a very unintelligent GOP to schedule a convention in NOLA during hurricane season.

  • JacqueMehoff

    backfire.

  • westernqueensland

    I love the religious right: True Christians.

    the Rev. James Dobson's ministry asked all believers to pray for a storm on Thursday night so that the Obama acceptance speech outdoors in Denver would have to be cancelled.
    My personal favorite from the Katrina Debacle was the (white) cops keeping Black residents from fleeing.

  • Gothamist_Cynic
  • Mr Mel

    Republicans>too little, too late.

    Mc Cain & Ms Palin can go down there and hold as many hands as they want to. The gov't will still screw up the relief effort (if needed), like they did the last time.

    What Barbara Bush said about the victims of Katrina is still the way they think. There's really no compassion here.

  • S.D.

    "How petty, cynical and despicable of the democrats to use a natural disaster and its potential for human suffering to try and gain some sort of partisan political advantage."



    Yeah! How dare they Democratic Party pull resources from the recovery so they can make a speech there!!!!



    Wait a second...

    Sen. McCain was thinking of making a speech there!



    How petty, cynical and despicable a person would he be to use a natural disaster and its potential for human suffering to try and gain some sort of partisan political advantage.



    Huh. Go Figure.

  • MFer

    Projected NY Post Headline: WIND, WIN SITUATION.

  • MFer

    If anything, this gives McCain the opportunity to differentiate himself from Bush. He's already seen as taking command of the convention schedule. New Orleans won't be hit as hard. But he'll be down there immediately offering comfort and relief--and he won't not saying "Good job, Brownie."

  • ides_of_march

    How petty, cynical and despicable of the democrats to use a natural disaster and its potential for human suffering to try and gain some sort of partisan political advantage.



    The media also seem jubilant at the possibility of a catastrophic storm disrupting the GOP convention.



    They should all be ashamed of themselves.

  • JacqueMehoff

    didn't someone said to pray for rain on Obama's outdoor speech? well, the plan backfired.



    the Rev. James Dobson's ministry asked all believers to pray for a storm on Thursday night so that the Obama acceptance speech outdoors in Denver would have to be cancelled.

  • ides_of_march

    Excuse me but the big screw ups were by the incompetent and corrupt city and state governments during Katrina, but they're all democrats so the media prefer to lay the blame at George Bush's feet. Talk about media bias.

  • westernqueensland

    Are you kidding? This is a gift to the republicans: Bush and Cheney don't come and they get a mulligan on the whole hurricane thing.

  • fakenewyorker

    it is a sign from god

    john mccain does not have the mandate of heaven

  • WesleySnipesAlot

    But.. But... I was all ready to play my Guiliani 9/11 drinking game! I even put the hospital on speed dial in preparation for my all but inevitable alcohol poisoning within the first 5 minutes of the speech!!!

  • babyhitler

    whatever. McCain is finished. Obama had a jump of 6 points in polls after the DNC and then had an extra 2 point lead after McCain introduced Palin. So many republican dudes weren't going to vote for Hilary and now McCain has fucked over their party. For every female hilary backer McCain gets for Palin He'll see two republican dudes sit on their hands come November. No black people in Alaska Y'all!

  • interlard

    Perhaps God really is trying to speak to the Republicans?



    It's a shame they can't remember to act as Americans the rest of the time.

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