by JS O’Brien
Republican candidates are running as far away from President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney as possible, because their approval ratings are at or near historic lows for a sitting administration. The upcoming GOP convention in Minneapolis presented a difficult issue for the GOP: It would be an admission of Republican failure to exclude the nominal party leaders from the convention, but their appearance would be an aid to the Democrats, who are trying their best to defeat John McCain on George W. Bush’s abysmal eight-year record. An appearance by the two most unpopular and incompetent men in the White House’s recent history would further tie this year’s GOP candidates to them.
Hurricane Gustav has solved all that. Today, Bush and Cheney announced that they will not appear at the convention in order to remain at the White House, ostensibly to provide assistance should it be needed, but probably to lounge around the Oval Office playing zoom zorch.
Regardless, they will not appear at the convention, which is what the GOP wanted all along and didn’t know how to effect. Gustav is bad news for the Gulf Coast, but great news for the Republicans.
Categories: Politics/Law/Government, War/Security
Progressive Culture | Scholars & Rogues 
Being somewhat in the neighborhood of the storm, I cannot even contemplate how Gustav would be good news to anyone save for the surfers who will get a good swell.
However, Dan Fowler would probably disagree with you as likes the hurricane and implies that “God is on the side of the Dems.”
bsentee/2008/aug/30/fowler-fouls-hurricane-is-gods-favor-to-dem/
I guess neither side has any shame.
Jeff
You’d go surfing in a hurricane? Wow, cojones…
I normally surf every hurricane, but have to sit this one out do to medical issues which I wrote about in detail in my blog. It was an accident that was due to my stupidity and recklessness, and I’m paying for it. By the way, right now, the waves here are a clean 12-15′ right at my beach, and I can’t surf. While we’re well out of the cone of the hurricane, it’s providing the best ground swell since Wilma.
Jeff
It only took the GOP convention for the government to pay attention to disaster relief.
It’s ironic that climate change actually helped the GOP in this instance. Though, that’s what you have to say about the GOP. They’re great at capitalizing on advantages and making lemonade when they get handed the lemons.
As is customary when the outgoing president speaks at the convention, the crowd will chant “Four more years! Four more years!” I will be watching to see if that happens for Boy George W.
Bobby
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