When it became clear that the Gulf Coast would be hit by Hurricane Gustav sometime Monday, Sen. John McCain’s campaign announced that the schedule of the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul would be greatly altered.

‘I pledge that tomorrow night and if necessary throughout our convention, we will act as Americans and not as Republicans because America needs us now,’ McCain said in a statement Sunday. That statement now serves as the homepage for McCain’s campaign Web site.

McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis, held a press conference Sunday to announce that only required official business would take part in the convention’s opening day. Scheduled speeches by President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman were all cancelled.

‘In order for the Republican Party to officially exist and for Senator McCain to qualify for the ballot, we are – by law – required to conduct specific official business,’ Davis said. ‘At this point, our program on Monday has been scaled back and will only include what party rules governing the nomination of our candidates for president and vice president require. We will perform the official business as required.’

The McCain campaign instead put all focus of the convention onto Hurricane Gustav, including arranging for relief fundraising efforts and chartering a jet to take Gulf Coast delegates back to their home states.

Though all the scheduled speeches were cancelled, first lady Laura Bush and McCain’s wife Cindy both spoke briefly Monday night. Bush introduced video messages from Gulf State governors – all Republicans – who were unable to attend the convention as planned.

The first lady emphasized the importance of bipartisanship during times of natural disaster.

‘When such events occur, we are reminded that first we are all Americans and that our shared American ideals will always transcend political parties and partisanship,’ first lady Bush said.

McCain’s wife announced the campaign’s creation of the Web site www.causegreater.com, which hosts links to fundraising efforts for the Gulf Coast.

‘This is a time when we take off our Republican hats and put on our American hats,’ she said.

When and if the convention will resume as originally planned is unknown.

mghicken@syr.edu

Published on September 1, 2008 at 12:00 pm