GOP convention events on hold ahead of hurricane GOP drops convention's opening night as Gustav nears

ST. PAUL, MINN. -- Haunted by the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Republicans sacrificed tonight's prime-time national convention opening to Hurricane Gustav and turned their concerns to victims and evacuees.

``This is a time when we have to do away with our party politics and we have to act as Americans,'' John McCain, soon to be the official presidential candidate, said Sunday from St. Louis. ``We are going to suspend most of our activities tomorrow, except for those absolutely necessary.''

The move left Republican politics in limbo just as it was prepared to answer last week's nomination of Barack Obama at the Democratic convention in Denver.

Instead of speeches by President Bush and Vice President Cheney, as well as rhetoric to fire up voters for McCain, the party was to spend less than three hours today on legal and parliamentary formalities to get McCain's ticket on ballots across the nation.

The rest of the four-day convention was put on hold as the nation watched to see whether Gustav would bring the kind of devastation that Katrina delivered in New Orleans.

Political fundraising activities at the convention will be morphed into charity events for hurricane relief, officials said.

GOP leaders offered to fly delegates from Texas and the other Gulf states home. A dozen from Louisiana accepted Sunday. Four or five of the 280 or so Texas delegates canceled their trip to St. Paul, a spokesman said.

After Katrina, President Bush and other officials admitted to serious flaws with relief and repair efforts. Memories of Katrina weighed on the party Sunday.

``I have every expectation we will not see the mistakes of Katrina repeated,'' McCain said after telephone briefings with Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who canceled his trip to the convention, as have the governors of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

Officials said they were unsure when the convention could resume or whether McCain would appear in St. Paul to accept the party's nomination.

``I hope and pray we will be able to resume some of our operations as soon as possible, but frankly some of that is in the hands of God,'' McCain said.

McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said it was inappropriate to ponder the political costs of delaying and perhaps toning down the McCain showcasing and verbal attacks on the Democrats.

``We really don't have the luxury of trying to evaluate the politics of this situation. Right now, we have a hurricane bearing down on the Gulf,'' he said.

Rice University political scientist Bob Stein said Gustav presented a double challenge to the Republican Party.

``It cuts into the media coverage of the convention and gives the Democrats talking points on the hurricane'' because of the government's troubled Katrina legacy, Stein said.

There were no announcements about whether side events, such as celebrations and reception for each state's delegation, would be muted. Texas GOP officials started considering whether to turn theirs into a charity event.

``The delegation is incredibly humbled and honored to be here to help nominate this historic ticket, but the tone will be decidedly more somber and the focus back home,'' spokesman Hans Klingler said.

Also, the Democratic Party canceled its daily briefing for reporters in St. Paul.

The hurricane was a prime conversation topic among Texas Republican delegates, but some said the show needed to go on.

``Every parade gets rained on somewhere in the country, and so some folks are not going to be able to come,'' said delegate Borah Van Dormolen of Salado, who was a prominent speaker at the Texas GOP convention in Houston in June.

``But we are a party that lives by principles and lives by rules,'' she told the Associated Press. ``We're here as delegates to nominate our presidential candidate.''

Delegate Cathie Adams, Republican national committeewoman-elect and president of the Texas Eagle Forum, said that although her thoughts are with the people affected by the hurricane, the GOP has important business to accomplish at the convention.

``First of all, no one can take the excitement away that I have for this ticket, but I also think that we are here to do the business of the party, and so this is not a vacation,'' Adams said.

She said concern for people in the hurricane's path is uppermost in delegates' minds, but she added, ``Everything that can be done is being done.''

Texas delegate Gale Sayers of Converse said that ``whatever the RNC decides to do, I'll take part in. ... I spent a lot of time volunteering in shelters during Hurricane Katrina. God is the one in charge of nature.''

Chronicle reporter Julie Mason contributed from Washington.

alan.bernstein@chron.com

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