John McCain said he would change the Republican National Convention from a “celebratory event” to a “call to the nation for action,” during a Sunday visit to Jackson, Miss., where he was briefed on preparation efforts happening on the Gulf Coast.
“I pledge that tomorrow night, and if necessary, throughout our convention if necessary, to act as Americans, not Republicans, because America needs us now no matter whether we are Republican or Democrat,” said McCain.
Hurricane Gustav could accelerate from a Category 3 to a Category 5 storm, meteorologists warned, and is expected to hit New Orleans as early as midday Monday.
This morning, McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, toured the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Emergency Operation Center in Jackson. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a former Republican National Committee chairman, invited the campaign to the state and helped coordinate the trip.
”When other conservatives were hesitant about the cost of Katrina, John McCain stood up first and said, no, this is the worst natural disaster in American history,” said Barbour, in a press conference with McCain and Palin. “We’re going to do what needs to be done.’’
The McCain campaign said it did not visit New Orleans because it did not want to interrupt ongoing emergency preparations. He plans to visit Louisiana sometime after the storm.
“There’s very little doubt that we have to go from a party event to a call to the nation for action, action to help our fellow citizens in this time of tragedy and disaster, action in the form of volunteering, donations, reaching out our hands and our hearts and our wallets to the people who are under such great threat from this great natural disaster,” said McCain.
Convention organizers are scrambling to find ways to recast the GOP convention in the event Gustav causes major damage to the Gulf Coast. The party must nominate McCain — a process that Republican officials say could take as little as two hours — but wants to ensure the tone of the party convention is appropriately somber.
New Orleans is a sensitive subject for Republicans, who fear another natural disaster will remind voters of the Bush administration’s inept response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
McCain’s visit came hours after President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney announced that they would not attend the Republican convention this week in St. Paul.
Instead of heading to St. Paul on Monday, Bush will travel to the Emergency Operations Center in Austin, Texas, where federal, state and local officials are coordinating their efforts. He’ll also visit relief centers in San Antonio.
“The message to the people of the Gulf Coast is: This storm is dangerous,” said Bush on Sunday.
The McCain campaign said it would release more information on the convention plans Sunday afternoon. McCain may give his acceptance speech to the convention via satellite from the Gulf Coast.
Barack Obama said Sunday that his campaign plans to use its massive supporter e-mail list to mobilize volunteers and donations to the relief effort.
Obama also questioned whether McCain’s trip to the region distracted police, fire and other necessary government services away from the preparation efforts going.
"I'm assuming that where [McCain] went that wasn't an issue,” said Obama. “We’re going to try to stay clear of the area until things have settled down and then we'll probably try to figure out how we can be as helpful as possible."
| 
| 310 : vote(s) so far
| Cast your vote: