The Republican "Dilemma"

Lost in the glare of the VP feeding frenzy were reports like this one:

Party officials are discussing the possibility of postponing convention proceedings if the threat to New Orleans and other Gulf Coast areas grows. If there is serious damage in the Gulf Coast, images of Republicans partying in Minneapolis-St. Paul could be an embarrassing reminder of the Bush administration's delayed response to Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

Well, cry me a river fellas, what a dilemma, I wouldn't want you to be embarrassed. The irony is they wouldn't be in this awful bind in the first place if Bush and McCain hadn't been yucking it up while New Orleans drowned three years ago this very weekend. Sure, Republicans can't control hurricanes, but the weird thing is some of them think we can:

I know there are people who demur from that, but I believe that the Bible teaches that when you violate the law of God, that God brings punishment sometimes before the Day of Judgment, and I believe that the Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans.

Think about that before you cut these orcs any slack. Imagine what those self appointed, divine speakers for Republican Jesus might say if a dramatic natural disaster coincided with the Democratic Convention.

Should the conservative festivities be postponed in the event of a national disaster? Yes. Will they be? No, of course not. They might try some PR stunt or another. Maybe wrapping Palin up in a designer emergency responders costume and throwing a yellow raincoat around McCain for a few quick pics staged near the coast. Odds are they'll just change the speaking schedule and then point to it with great, noble fanfare as evidence of their selfless sacrifice.

Well, the danger from Gustav is very real, it could develop into a major hurricane as early as tomorrow. Residents of hurricane prone areas should think about spending a long, lazy Labor Day weekend with friends or family well inland. But there is also a chance Gustav will wane as it nears the coast, veer off, or in some way spare us the worst. That would be great news for anyone living below sea level in the storm's cone, great news for the rest of us who would face even higher gas prices should the storm tear through critical energy installations. And great news for George Bush and John McCain: they won't have to worry quite so much about being embarrassed.