I reprint this post from TPM election central (a must read blog for political junkies), having already borrowed its headline:
Priorities, priorities.
Check out this Karl Rove quote buried in a Fox News article about the threat Hurricane Gustav poses to the GOP’s convention plans:
“The Republicans can’t seem to get a break when it comes to August and when it comes to the weather,” said Rove, a FOX News analyst. “I know this is being thought a lot about in Washington and at the White House and discussed and I suspect they will monitor it carefully and figure out what to do.”
Yeah, Katrina (which hit in August 2005) was really rough on those Republicans, no question about it.
You can’t make this stuff up!
For more on the implications of Gustav on the RNC, see the Washington Post‘s piece today, “GOP Considers Delaying Convention.” The piece warns that, “Gustav threatens to provide an untimely reminder of Hurricane Katrina. A new major storm along the Gulf Coast would renew memories of one of the low points of the Bush administration.” It also notes that, “A hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico could also cast unwelcome attention on the offshore oil rigs that McCain has championed as a solution to rising gasoline prices.”
But the article has two unintentionally funny parts:
Senior Republicans said images of political celebration in the Twin Cities while thousands of Americans flee a hurricane could be dubious. “Senator McCain has always been sensitive to national crisis,” said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds….
In fact, on the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, both Bush and McCain were AWOL (see TP’s “As Katrina hit, McCain celebrated 69th birthday with Bush“). Even better:
[Former White House spokesman Scott McClellan] suggested that McCain could benefit politically from such a scenario: It would allow Bush to mount an effective GOP response to a disaster, while removing the unpopular president from the convention roster. “It could be a two-fer,” McClellan said.
When it’s a plus that your party’s President doesn’t show up — and you’re counting on confidence from that same president — you got problems.
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Language Intelligence: Lessons on persuasion from Jesus, Shakespeare, Lincoln, and Lady Gaga
With the selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate, McCain has also made it clear that he hates polar bears. This is the lady running Alaska that is currently suing the federal government for listing polar bears as a threatened species. Can you believe it? Was this a desperation move for McCain?
This is the first I’d heard of Sarah Palin, so I thought I should read up on her. A google search on Sarah Palin global warming led to lots of stories about the polar bear suit, several mentions of her being closely aligned with Ted Stevens (eek), as well as this open denial, in a recent interview with Newsmax:
Q: What is your take on global warming and how is it affecting our country?
Palin: A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.
http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/sarah_palin_vp/2008/08/29/126139.html
Well, there you have it: any possible climate credibility of McCain’s ticket finished off in a single stroke.
The name Gustav rang a bell for me, so I went to Wicki…
The very first sentence: “Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave ( meaning ‘staff of the gods’)….”
I’m normally not stupidstitious, but I don’t like the sounds of that.
The ringing bell?
Schwerer Gustav was a huge 800mm German gun from WW2.
It only fired 48 rounds in anger, but it created absolute devastation.
“PRESIDENT PALIN” has a ring to it, too. anyone want to make her your official second choice for president?
The Rove quote made me think of Major Houlihan:
“He’s ruining this war for all of us!”
As for the way the GOP really wants things to be?
Perhaps Frank Burns: “Never have so many suffered so much so so few could be so happy.”
Palin, like McCain, has a reputation of being a maverick1, and the press is already making a big deal out of how shocking and mavericky this pick is. It was a terrible move for the climate, but a very smart move for John McCain.
1The press doesn’t much care that McCain voted in favor of Bush 90% of the time.
Joe, your blog software ate my <sup> tags.
The Republicans want to keep open the possibility of delaying the convention. Well they can delay it ’till January 20th, 2009 for all I care. It won’t make a difference if its delayed. The damage was done after August 29th, 2005 not because they caused it but because they failed to respond.
A post at DailyKos quotes her as favoring creationism.
CapitalClimate has archived a meteorologist’s perspective on Katrina and its aftermath as it occurred. Unfortunately, the reader comments haven’t been preserved, but they showed remarkable hostility from the audience of what was then a DC weather blog to the attention being given to the subject.
How many days did Harriet Miers last and will Palin last more?
Miers lasted a little over 3 weeks (Oct. 3-27).