Hurricane Gustav to Postpone Republican Convention?

As tropical storm Gustav rips through the Gulf of Mexico, looking set to become hurricane Gustav very soon, there is a good chance that it could make landfall Monday in New Orleans. Monday is also the day that President Bush was scheduled to speak to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. With the Obama campaign branding McCain as a third term of Bush at the Democratic Convention in Denver, and with the third anniversary of Katrina falling on Friday, August 29, hurricane Gustav's timing couldn't be worse for the Republican party. So ironic is the possibility of Gustav repeating Katrina's performance as Bush is scheduled to take the stage that a New York Times editorial today called it "Karmic Payback" for the Republicans.

This, after a YouTube video circulated around the internet earlier this week of a man calling for people to pray for rain during Barack Obama's acceptance speech Thursday night, no less.

One thing is certain: the Republicans don't want to begin their convention with such an ominous reminder of Bush administration bungling during Katrina. Nor do they want images of the party atmosphere of the Republican National Convention broadcast as a disaster unfolds on the Gulf Coast. The images of people suffering in New Orleans during Katrina, even as President Bush continued his vacation and FEMA continued to do nothing, are still fresh in too many people's minds. Not only that, but hurricane Gustav would tend to upstage anything McCain might say during the convention, eliminating the hope of a huge news cycle for the convention. While Gustav is currently a tropical storm, it is expected to reach hurricane strength Thursday night.

The McCain camp has already started to float the idea of moving the convention date forward a bit to avoid a potential conflict. Governors Bobby Jindal, of Louisiana, and Rick Perry of Texas, another state potentially in Gustav's path, have both announced they wouldn't be at the convention if the storm continues on its track. Gustav is predicted to become a category 3 hurricane by Sunday. Texas has already declared a state of emergency in preparation and Louisiana residents are being urged to prepare. According to FoxNews reports, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, David Paulison, is already in Louisiana. Moving the convention could prove a pointless move, however, if tropical storm Hanna continues on its projected path toward the Atlantic coast, and toward hurricane status, in the wake of Gustav.

Hurricane prediction isn't an exact science, so it remains to be seen where the storms will make landfall, and just how strong they will become. Hopefully Gustav won't become a repeat of Katrina, but Gustav's timing, even if disaster is averted, can't help but raise a specter the Republicans would rather not have haunt their official announcement of McCain's nomination.