GOP Makes Major Changes to Convention Activities

ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 31 -- The Republican Party rewrote its convention script Sunday, canceling appearances by President Bush and Vice President Cheney and jettisoning most of the rest of its Monday night program, as presumptive nominee John McCain called on his party to halt partisan activities as Hurricane Gustav bore down on the Gulf Coast.

"We must redirect our efforts from the really celebratory event of the nomination of president and vice president of our party to acting as all Americans," Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.) told reporters in Jackson, Miss., where he flew to inspect hurricane preparations. "There's very little doubt that we have to go from a party event to a call to the nation for action, action to help our fellow citizens in this time of tragedy and disaster, action in the form of volunteering, donations, reaching out our hands and our hearts and our wallets to the people who are under such great threat from this great natural disaster."

Instead of speaking to the convention Monday night, Bush planned to fly Monday to Austin and San Antonio to meet with emergency responders and evacuees. The Republican National Committee was also chartering a DC-9 to fly delegates back home to affected states, according to McCain campaign manager Rick Davis.

Davis told reporters here that seven-hour program scheduled for Monday night would be pared down to a bare-bones afternoon session of roughly two hours devoted mainly to meeting the legal requirements involved with convening the party's nominating convention. He said that there would be no partisan speeches and that officials would assess what to do with the rest of the convention once it became clear the magnitude of the storm damage. He said that they would seek to make sure that "nothing new distracts from the" response efforts in the Gulf.

The rapidly shifting nature of what had been a meticulously planned celebration of McCain's candidacy reflected a strong effort by Republicans to distance themselves from any association with Hurricane Katrina, which struck almost exactly three years ago and soured many Americans on the Bush administration because of wide perceptions of botched relief efforts.

GOP officials were hoping that by quickly shifting the theme of the convention to Hurricane Gustav and service to others, they could also buttress their efforts to show that McCain would represent a departure from Bush.

In an afternoon video announcement broadcast at a Republican press conference here, McCain said he had been impressed with relief efforts in Mississippi and "I have every expectation that we will not see the mistakes of Katrina repeated." Nonetheless, he added, the concerns about the storm mean that this is a "time to do away with party politics." He said convention-goers must "take off their Republican hats and put on their American hats."

Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, told reporters that a speech by Bush--likely by satellite video--could still occur later, but much will depend on events related to Gustav. Events for later in the week will be determined day by day.

Both Bush and McCain were focused on the hurricane efforts Sunday.

Bush visited the Federal Emergency Management Agency offices in Washington, where he disclosed his plans for visiting the hurricane relief operations.

"In light of these events, I will not be going to Minnesota for the Republican National Convention," he said. "I'm going to travel down to Texas tomorrow to visit with the Emergency Operations Center in Austin, where coordination among federal, state, and local government officials is occurring. I intend to go down to San Antonio where state and local officials are prepositioning relief materials for Texas and Louisiana, and I'll have a chance to visit with residents of both states who have been evacuated."

He said would go to Louisiana "as soon as conditions permit."

Campaign staff members and officials organizing the convention said they are looking at different possibilities to show respect and concern for Gulf Coast residents, such as organizing some sort of charitable event, perhaps even a telethon, for hurricane victims. They are also talking about turning hundreds of house parties slated to be held for McCain next week into charity fundraisers.

"We need to be sensitive to this as we go forward," said one top McCain official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak for the campaign.

On a campaign swing in Ohio, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama announced that his campaign would mobilize supporters from his enormous e-mail list to send money or enlist as volunteers once the impact of Hurricane Gustav becomes apparent.

Obama told reporters that his campaign already is coordinating with local authorities. The senator has said he has no plans to go to the region, because of the potential disruption, although he said McCain's visit Sunday was appropriate.

"We can activate an e-mail list of a couple million people who want to give back," Obama said. "I think we can get tons of volunteers to travel down there if it becomes necessary."

McCain still plans to use the convention to introduce his new running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to the nation and to launch himself into the fall campaign. "McCain needs a good convention. Gustav is making that tough," said Ed Rogers, a prominent GOP strategist and lobbyist who is close to Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.

Staff writers Michael D. Shear, Juliet Eilperin, Paul Kane and Shailagh Murray contributed to this report.