The White House says President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney will skip the Republican National Convention because of Hurricane Gustav. … Cheney is to leave Tuesday on a four-country trip that includes a stop in Georgia.
If the Republican Party is the equivalent of the old Soviet Union, then perhaps this is January 1990:
On February 7, 1990, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union agreed to give up its monopoly of power. Over the next several weeks, the 15 constituent republics of the USSR held their first competitive elections. Reformers and ethnic nationalists won many of the seats.
Update. Thanks to everyone for their comments. I fear that the point of this post was not as clear as it should have been. My argument was that it is a sad commentary on the state of the national G.O.P. that the President and Vice President are so unpopular the Party would rather not have them at its convention, and thus they have found excuses not to attend. I am quite sure that if strategists thought it would help McCain’s candidacy, they would have found a way for Bush and Cheney to be in the Twin Cities.
pablo says
Their worst nightmare is George W. Bush and Dick Cheney showing up at their convention. The hurricane is a perfect excuse.
joes says
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
libby-rural says
Why over 300 comments on the VP pick Bobby?
<
p>Nothing else to talk about?
sabutai says
There’ll be more than 300 comments around the blogosphere about Hurricane Gustav tomorrow. Doesn’t mean that it’s a good thing for America.
pers-1765 says
A hurricane does provide a decent excuse. It’s not like his dog is sick and he decided to stay in DC.
stomv says
I guess he learned something as POTUS, based on his response to Katrina and daddy’s response to Andrew.
pers-1765 says
After a few more terms he may have actually become presidential. It’s like someone dropping out of school before earning their degree.
sabutai says
I think eight years failing to earn an introductory degree what others needed 2 years to do was plenty of opportunity.
pers-1765 says
swamp-yank says
Like they really have to “lead” the hurricane effort. What’s in the RNC for them? I helps McCain most not to have them there. Try to distance from the administration.
<
p>Would the administration relinquish their hold on the White House or use their emergency powers to keep in power. Interesting article in the NYT. Seems they want to keep the war powers going.
<
p>“It ain’t over…”
sabutai says
He said “Sometimes the right thing and the politically expedient thing are the same.”
<
p>What is not the right thing is McCain’s decision to engage in a spot of disaster tourism by wandering about the preparations to deal with this storm. In other words, a Senator and governor with zero hurricane experience, aides, security, journalists, and other hangers-on decided to pose in the middle of a frenzied bullpen trying to organize an effort to save people’s lives. Not exactly “Country First”.
billxi says
They’re not pulling out that old democratic saw, that they’re too busy running for president to worry about people. Re: Kerry in 2004.
<
p> Maybe you folks should stay complacent. Makes it easier for an elective and bloodless coup of Massachusetts.
demredsox says
Now that’s a new one.
peter-porcupine says
kirth says
when Gustav was a tropical storm somewhere out in the Atlantic, and nobody in NOLA was making frenzied preparations for a hurricane? That one?
christopher says
Maybe it’s a politically convenient excuse, but is the President really going to New Orleans on the day the storm is expected to hit? It seems it would be fine to speak Monday as planned, then head to New Orleans to survey the damage after the storm itself was out of the way.
peter-porcupine says
This just sounds cranky, not like genuine or germane comment.
johnk says
that’s good news for the RNC. How can you not invite the President and VP? But they had them in the first night and were going to get them the hell out of there immediately afterward, not to be seen again.
<
p>Plus a whole lot of relieved people in Congress have an excuse to not share the spotlight with this loser ticket. We already know that Pat Roberts (KS), Ted Stevens (AK), Elizabeth Dole (NC), Gordon Smith (OR), Susan Collins (ME), Larry Craig (ID), Wayne Allard (CO), and John Sununu (NH) weren’t going, you know re-elections and all that, plus Roger Wicker (R-MS) was on the fence, you think he’s going now?
<
p>The only good news is that Republicans up for re-election don’t have to show up at the convention this year.
johnk says
just dropped out … he has plans.
pers-1765 says
He’s chosen to do disaster tourism instead but will be addressing the convention via satellite. Wonder why Bush couldn’t address the convention by satellite?