Cancelling Monday’s Convention Good News

bill rappleye

No Bush, Not Bad, says delegate

Delegate Steve Kass, the former radio host and current state employee, says of the cancellation of speeches tomorrow, “It’s a blessing.  It certainly doesn’t hurt the McCain campaign that both Bush and Cheney will not be speaking.“  What organizers plan to do for the rest of the week will be decided as the storm in News Orleans plays out.  Kass did say he hopes some of the speakers, like Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Senator Joe Lieberman, will get a chance later in the week to speak in prime time.  But he said cutting out all the speeches on Monday isn’t all bad.  “Have you ever heard some of these people?“, he quipped.  When asked if he thought the party would suffer from reduced television coverage, he said, “ If we get Tuesday and Wednesday in, it won’t make that much of a difference.“  The RNC has said it is considering making one of the days of the convention a fundraiser for potential victims of the hurricane.  So there may be little political speechmaking here in St. Paul, other than the acceptance speeches by the two candidates.  Given the millions of dollars, 18 months of preparation, the scheduling smack up against the Democrats;  all intended to counteract the positive impression the speakers in Denver projected across the country, it must be a huge disappointment to the party strategists.  At least an unexpected development.  Perhaps it plays into their hands, as they scramble to come up with a Plan B.  No Bush, as Kass pointed out.  A chance to show how much they care about poor people.  Show real disaster management expertise.  And what says concern more than money, and the party is talking about turning the political fundraising masters into relief agents.  And if McCain-Palin are on TV in Louisiana, it makes the contrast with the unpopular incumbent even more dramatic, and more real to the voters.  The more circumstances are played up as inconvenience, the more credit the ticket gets for compassion.