The news in the US is dominated Hurricane Gustav, not by the Republican Convention or reactions to John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate. In contrast to three years ago when New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, this time round most Orleanos have left the city. Many Americans viewed the US government response to Hurricane Katrina as incompetent, and the slow response by the Federal Emergency Management Agency severely damaged both President Bush and the Republican Party. Hurricane Gustav is being seen as a chance for President Bush to win back some of his lost popularity. Attending the Republican Convention would be political suicide, so this time he's staying at his post.
Three years ago, Senator McCain criticised the government response to Katrina. As the Republican presidential candidate, he is also paying close attention to the possible fallout - political and otherwise - from the storm. Most of the activities marking the opening of the Republican convention have been cancelled - it would have been very poor taste to throw a party while Gustav is raging across the Gulf States. On Sunday, Senator McCain flew to Mississippi, and in a speech that evening he emphasised that the criticism that he levelled at the Bush government three years ago is now bearing fruit.
"There's no doubt that there has been, thank God, dramatic improvement since the last tragedy of Hurrican Katrina."
Whether or not the rest of the Convention will be scaled back or cancelled completely depends on how much damage Gustav wreaks. The Republican governors of Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida - all states lying in Gustav's path - won't be attending the Convention. Concern about the potential 'storm of the century' has created a somewhat surrealistic atmosphere in St Paul. Minnesota is currently enjoying perfect summer weather - sunshine with a light breeze - an enormous contrast to the Gulf Coast some 2000 kilometres to the south.
Protest march
The absence of President Bush and Vice President Cheney and John McCain's call to bury the political hatchet during this time of national calamity has made little impression on a number of militant protesters who have come to demonstrate at the Republican convention. When compared to last week's Democratic Convention in Denver, the atmosphere in St Paul is decidedly grim. A large demonstration is scheduled for Monday evening. Riot police and protesters held a sort of dress rehearsal on Sunday evening says an observer from the Minnesota Peace Team, an organisation that is attempting to reduce violence from both sides.
"It would help if we didn't have all this manpower and equipment over in Iraq. We need it here for Americans who are in trouble and facing natural disasters. Thanks very much for telling the story."
The peace activist is predicting a number of incidents, and says that the media will focus far more attention on any clashes between police and protesters than is usual during a party convention.
* RNW translation (jc)
Tags: Bush, Cheney, Convention, Gulf Coast, Gustav, Hurricane, Katrina, Louisiana, McCain, Republican, St Paul