[paulat]

Big mistake...get Palin out there in prime time.

[penelopesire]

I agree and it would look political. Let the WH, Jindal and Barbour handle this...John McCain and Sarah Palin need to be at the convention.

[rightwinggoth]

if mccain does it, he will be accused of being an opportunistic camera hog and people will still hate him anyway.

[Burma Jones]

I think they should make all efforts to shorten the convention, perhaps just cut the first two days and go with Wednesday and Thursday. It may indeed be the right thing to do with the hurricane, but it probably would have been a good political idea even with no hurricane. The hurricane just provides the excuse. McCain and Palin were not going to get a bump from a bunch of speeches by old warhorses like we just saw in Denver. The only thing people will want to see are the speeches of our two candidates. And because McCain doesn’t do particularly well in big settings, have him give a “fireside chat” speech by satellite, with Palin in MN in person. The GOP may get some “credit” for doing this, but frankly, it would probably be a more effective approach, hurricane or not.

[TN4Liberty]

I agree that Palin in front of a camera is a good thing.

However, the tax on law enforcement and similar resources that results from a convention and Presidential candidate visit may be more than is wise, given the need for these resources to help with a potential emergency.

I think that would be my approach with the media, and it clearly is a valid issue.

[Non-Sequitur]

Big mistake...get Palin out there in prime time.

Agreed. Bush not being there I can understand. Jindal not being there, ditto. But the hurricane is not hitting Arizona or Alaska. Going down there will make it look like McCain is milking the storm for political purposes.

[fso301]

Big mistake...get Palin out there in prime time.

Actually, I think it a smart move. It will show that the party cares.

Furthermore, McCain needs to win California and Gov. Schwartzeneggers sudden announcement last week that he would not be attending the convention where he was a scheduled speaker could be made an issue by the media. Now no one will be attending.

[NavyCanDo]

I don't think any of us should jump to any conclusions. The media is going to put allot of misleading info out to keep us confused, and unknowing. McCain is a strategist like no other we have seen in our life time. He will surprise us once again, rest assured. As Hannity says, let not your heart be troubled.

[Tunehead54]

McCain made plans to travel to a threatened area of the Gulf Coast on Sunday, accompanied by his wife, Cindy, and running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. They planned to meet Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) in Jackson, Miss., aides said.

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Major mistake! What can either do down there except complicate 1st responder tasks?

It looks like the evacs are working well, the busses even look to have AC - and BTW the rest of America is not evacuating so why not hold just a subdued convention - saving all those convention related jobs and area income? Plus we want Palin on the big screen! ;-)