Katrina's Evil Twin, Gustav

For about a millisecond I felt sorry for The RNC when I heard McCain's spokesmodel discuss the ever changing plans regarding the Republican Convention/Party in Minneapolis. It seems that some of those republifolks are a little bit worried about their reputation getting all messed up again because they fiddled while the Gulf region was devastated by Katrina exactly 3 years ago. Who wants to see that story again?

The Republicans are trying to show their sensitive side so people know they care about their fellow Americans (do not tell me that this wasn't discussed by their strategists- it is just so out of character for this party that turned their back on the good people of the Gulf Coast). The word of the day was "appropriate". Rick Davis, Mc Cain's campaign manager, said they would respond "appropriately" if they needed to adjust the convention schedule with regards to the weather. They were considering changing their ad strategy because they aren’t going to do anything that would be deemed inappropriate in the course of this kind of situation and because the negative tone would be inappropriate during Gustav. Delegates from the Gulf coast were offered trips back home. Bush & Cheney have cancelled their appearances at the parties convention so they can focus on preparations for Hurricane Gustav, which may hit New Orleans. The LA Times reports that Republican strategists are relieved that the president, and his low ratings, won't attend. And the presumptive nominee John McCain said, "This is a time when we have to do away with our party politics and we have to act as Americans" Really? Why this time? Why start now?


3 years ago, they didn't act as Americans who care about what happens to their fellow citizens. You might recall that George Bush helped John McCain celebrate McCain's 70th birthday that same day exactly 3 years ago as Katrina was bearing down. After the cake photo-op, Bush hopped on a plane heading to sunny California, that day, not even thinking about the potential danger the citizens of the Gulf coast were facing. We know how that story unfolded.

An historical 2 million people have evacuated from the New Orleans area in advance of Gustav, Katrina's evil twin that has it's eye on the Gulf Coast. I don't want to belittle the efforts that have been put into improving the government response, and I know evacuations aren't a walk in the park, but if they, if we, didn't learn anything in the last 3 years, then it's more shameful than it looks.

Mother Nature has a twisted sense of humor; sending Gustav to arrive on the anniversary of Katrina is cruel. So hang on to your hats (literally) and let's see if the government really learned anything exactly 3 years ago. My thoughts are with the residents of the Gulfcoast region as they face another fight for their survival.