McCain Shutters RNC For Monday ... And More?

Arizona Sen. John McCain speaks at a press conference after visiting the command center at the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency for an update on Hurricane Gustav on Sunday.

Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty Images

So:

We just finished watching a briefing by Republican nominee Senator John McCain.

He said, in essence, that the convention is postponed for all intents and purposes, and chose to speak from a non-partisan point of view. One casual observer of the speech said, in essence, that McCain's approach to turning this into a rescue event rather than a rally was the most brilliant political move he could make.

But let's back up. This is a time when history meets history. This Republican Convention has now met, literally, the perfect storm.

When Senator McCain spoke, he laid out a plan where the number one priority of the party was to meet this "great national challenge and disaster." He added: "I have every expectation that we will not see the mistakes of Katrina repeated," which could be taken as a backhanded reference to the Bush Administration's response.

Also he said, "This is a time when we have to do away with our party politics and act as Americans."

The RNC chair Mike Duncan expanded on his remarks.

More soon ...

Farai Chideya

Tags: Hurricane Gustav

4:44 PM ET | 08-31-2008 | permalink

comments | | e-mail