The Sept. 1-4 Republican National Convention, or RNC, opened later here Monday.
The convention was thrown into turmoil last Sunday as Hurricane Gustav approached the U.S. Gulf Coast, threatening a disaster that forced party organizers to rewrite long-held plans on the fly and all but cancel political speechmaking and celebrations.
Cindy's husband, Ariz. Senator John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, visited the U.S. Gulf Coast briefly Sunday and instructed convention organizers to suspend all but essential business on the opening day of the convention and turn many of the gathering's planned festivities into fund-raisers for potential victims of the storm. President George W. Bush also canceled his speech at the convention's opening night. Officials said that as part of the convention's opening night, Laura Bush and McCain's wife, Cindy, would speak from the podium and describe ways to help victims of Hurricane Gustav.
A television monitor near the floor of the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota shows U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain as he speaks about Hurricane Gustav and changes in convention plans August 31, 2008. The First Lady visited the convention site Sunday evening to check out the podium. Cindy McCain and Palin arrived in St. Paul by private plane Sunday night.
Staffers making preparations at the Xcel Energy Center, the convention site, anxiously gathered around televisions sets tracking the storm's path, while convention organizers discussed shortening, canceling or toning down the week's festivities.
"We had hoped we could have a more traditional convention, but events have conspired otherwise," said McCain campaign manager Rick Davis.
"There is no pattern to how we will react to this." All speeches scheduled for opening session were canceled, with events limited to perfunctory party business such as receiving credentials reports, adopting rules, electing party officers and approving a party platform.
McCain said in an interview with NBC that it was possible he would make his acceptance speech not from the convention podium but via satellite from the Gulf Coast region.
For McCain, whom Democrats would like to tie to the Bush legacy, the president's absence from the convention also represents a chance to show his own mettle under pressure, while at the same time removing an unpopular figure from the showcase event of his campaign.
Source:Xinhua
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