« Previous | Main | Next »

McCain: Hurricane Gustav May Suspend RNC

Share

August 30, 2008 4:08 PM

ABC News' Karen Travers reports: In an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace that will air Sunday morning, Sen. John McCain indicated that the GOP convention could be suspended because of Hurricane Gustav.

"It wouldn't be appropriate to have a festive occasion while a near tragedy or a terrible challenge is presented in the form of a natural disaster," McCain told Wallace.

McCain said that he has been in touch with the governors of the Gulf Coast states—where Gustav is expected to make landfall—and that his campaign would continue to monitor the now-Category 4 storm.

"I'm afraid, Chris, that we may have to look at that situation and we'll try and monitor it. I've been talking to Governors Jindal [La.], Barbour [Miss.], Riley [Ala.], Crist [Fla.], I've been talking to all of them," McCain told Wallace.  "So we're monitoring it from day to day and I'm saying a few prayers too."

A Republican convention official tells ABC News, however, that at this point, there are no plans to cancel the convention but there are several contingency plans that are being looked at in terms of delegation travel and the program of speakers. Both Crist and Jindal are scheduled to speak at the convention this week, but no decisions have been made yet on their plans to come to Minneapolis-Saint Paul.

This official says the Republican National Convention Committee is "still moving forward with opening the convention on Monday" as planned and notes that there is official business that has to happen at the convention, like the actual nomination of John McCain and the platform ratification.

The RNCC has issued the following statement from 2008 Republican National Convention President and CEO Maria Cino:

"Like all Americans, our prayers are with those who will be affected by Hurricane Gustav. We continue to closely monitor the movement of the storm and are considering necessary contingencies. We are in communication with the Gulf state governors to make sure the convention is taking all the appropriate steps as the hurricane progresses. The safety of our affected delegations is our first priority and preparing for Gustav comes before anything else."

August 30, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (96)

User Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

Not this time. People are still upset about McCain and Bush yukking it up during Katrina.

Posted by: Moo | Aug 30, 2008 4:18:04 PM

Here's the irony. The conservatives were praying for rain for the Obama speech instead their convention is getting the rain.

Obama rocked it on Thursday.

Posted by: Vanessa | Aug 30, 2008 4:19:17 PM

Moo ... if you have to lie to make a point, your point becomes pointless .. McCain hardly yukked it up during Katrina ... where was your Obamanation? .. he wasn't in New Orleans!!

Posted by: Francisco Cardenas | Aug 30, 2008 4:27:41 PM

It appears the prayers are working. Something has been pushing that hurricane westward for two days now.

Posted by: msgijoe | Aug 30, 2008 4:29:14 PM

God will cast a vote to punish the immoral Republicans.

Posted by: tom lloyd | Aug 30, 2008 4:31:30 PM

What ill timing. The Dems are going to rock this vote. Let us see how the Bush Adm. responds to THIS one. What a farce.

Go Dems!! Obama/Biden...Clinton.

Posted by: Too bad | Aug 30, 2008 4:37:08 PM

... because it will LOOK bad.

Posted by: Libratine | Aug 30, 2008 4:41:27 PM

The Rep. are thrilled to cancel the convention. This will give McCain more needed time to dump Ms Palin. Way too much is coming to the surface regarding this lady. Look for her to have sudden health issues that will prevent her from being his running mate.

Posted by: Trish | Aug 30, 2008 4:43:26 PM

Gustav: PROOF that God exists.

Posted by: Libratine | Aug 30, 2008 4:44:35 PM

HA! Do you know how many people have flight plans and hotels booked ???? This would screw everything up if they cancelled. Only real reason is cuz they want all the news coverage to be on them and not have to share it. Republicans are a JOKE.

Posted by: Barb | Aug 30, 2008 4:49:34 PM

I wont pray for any tragedy for any political reasons, People died during Katrina and it is wrong to wish history to repeat itself, McCain's camp need to understand praying for rain is not the solution for the problems we facing, last time another Republican said an attack on American soil will help McCain win the elections, McCain said the same thing in 2004 for Bush, Republicans need to understand people died in Katrina & 9/11, no one benefited apart from Republicans according to them. Lets talk about jobs, health care, Iraq/Iran, but there is no fun or gain when one person die during those tragedies.

Posted by: Herman | Aug 30, 2008 4:51:37 PM

I take the war hero over the ............America everytime.

Posted by: rt | Aug 30, 2008 4:53:20 PM

The only way we'll know if the nation is about to be punished is if Obama wins in November.

Posted by: bb | Aug 30, 2008 4:55:05 PM

the comments by dems at a time when people like me in texas are worried about the hurricane just shows me more why i left the dem party they are like the people who we seen spitting on our service men when they were protesting the war and trying to have the enlisting office in that crummy college town that was on the news dave in houston

Posted by: dave in texas | Aug 30, 2008 4:58:12 PM

This demonstration of selflessness only reinforces what everybody already knows.

And that is:

that John McCain will always put the public interest over partisan interests.

Posted by: McCain Blog Outreach Coordinator | Aug 30, 2008 4:58:21 PM

It never ceases to amaze me. Those of us who accept the notion that in the beginning God created like to suggest that God is raining down some sort of punishment or perhaps manipulating human events for the benefit of one group over another. In my view nothing could be further from the truth. At the end of creation God said that everthing was good. That meant that his relationship with humans was perfect---human relationships were perfect---nature's relationship with nature was perfect---and human relationships with nature were perfect.
Plants were provided for food for all creatures---there was no death. These relationships became fractured when humans disobeyed and decided they would like to be like God. The punishment was simple---life would become difficult---all these perfect relationships would become troubled---and death would now be part of life. Hurricanes, earthquakes, drought, floods, accidents, and any other such tragedy are now as much a part of life as is joy, happiness, and good times. God promised a Messiah who would heal those broken relationships. Christians believe that person to be Jesus Christ. God does not sleep nor does he interfere. We are created with the intelligence to figure out what needs to be done in the good times and in the bad. We need to pray for the wisdom to use that intelligence and work through whatever life brings. It sounds to me that perhaps we have learned something from out failures in the face of Katrina and are beginning to work through the threat of Gustav. May God be with us through it all.

Posted by: George | Aug 30, 2008 5:02:43 PM

this is a category 4 very serious. how can any of you use this potential travesty/disaster as an opportunity to continue to spew hate.
please take you hatred and put it on hold. this is a a time to pray for ALL our brothers and sisters in affected areas who i' am certain are horrified.
last year my university organized a trip to new orleans we were knee deep in mud and worse but i would do it again in a heartbeat as should you.
hillary supporter in new mexico

Posted by: sonia trevino | Aug 30, 2008 5:05:17 PM

That so called Minister on You Tube prayed for rain on Obama's Acceptence Speech....

Some Prayed for Disarray, Strife & Contention.

Some prayed for Anti-Obama Inside & Outside the Convention...

Did'nt Happen

Some Prayed for the Clinton's to Be Bitter in their Speeches and Hateful to the Bitter End...

Did'nt Happen

Yet it is the RNP Convention, that will have (Chaos)

Mitt Romney & Tim Pawlenty are pissed at how they were USED in this VP Process.

Joe Lieberman was the only Person to attend Sarah Palin's VP Introduction.

The RNP Convention Begin or shall I say, Let it Thrive On Chaos, Anarchy and Dissention...

PS: That You Tube Minister had Better take a 2 Nd look at what he Prayed for and hw the Prayer was Answered.

38 Million People Watched Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech...

38 Million !!!

Posted by: o. | Aug 30, 2008 5:05:44 PM

As devasting as Gustav may be where it strikes & the havoc down by Katrina - both will be NOTHING in terms of costs to U.S.citizens when compared to the devastation possible with the election of Obama/Biden. With their desire for more costly gov.programs & for more gov.control of our lives...their agenda brings promise of total collapse of our U.S. way of life. It will bring about the total overrun by our enemies...&usher in the end of the Western World.

Posted by: Lu Moehr | Aug 30, 2008 5:07:55 PM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/30/gop-alaska-state-senator_n_122664.html

The Anchorage Daily News is reporting that many of Palin's local colleagues, even Republican, were rather stunned by her being chosen as McCain's vice president.

State Senate President Lyda Green said she thought it was a joke when someone called her at 6 a.m. to give her the news.


"She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?" said Green, a Republican from Palin's hometown of Wasilla. "Look at what she's done to this state. What would she do to the nation?"

Posted by: o. | Aug 30, 2008 5:08:05 PM

Post a comment