For GOP, a day of distractions

The Republican National Convention on Monday opened a suddenly uncertain week in St. Paul, thrown off course by Hurricane Gustav and a new obstacle to returning to its political script: the surprise revelation that GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's teenage daughter is five months pregnant.

In a short, sober first session that was a far cry from original plans, GOP leaders focused on helping hurricane victims with appeals for relief from both First Lady Laura Bush and Cindy McCain, the wife of GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.

However, there were indications Monday that the convention could return to a more normal schedule by tonight.

McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said the campaign hoped to have a "firm fix on what we'll be able to do" by this morning.

He added that McCain still intends to accept the nomination in St. Paul.

"As of now," Davis said, "there is no contingency plan at this point that would have him outside the city to deliver his acceptance speech."

Davis said that Palin was in St. Paul but that she had no plans to make any public appearances today.

"It's been quite a whirlwind week for her," Davis said. "This will be a good opportunity for her to catch her breath."

Amid the uncertainty, Palin's family news dominated the day. McCain's campaign worked urgently to stress the decision of Palin's 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, to keep the baby and marry the father in the hope those choices would resonate with social conservative voters.

Outside the convention, meanwhile, protests that began peacefully at midday turned tense and disruptive by the evening. Authorities called in 150 National Guard troops to help maintain order in some parts of St. Paul, and more than 280 people were arrested in showdowns with police or for acts of vandalism.

Taking no chances

While Hurricane Gustav proved much less destructive than was feared, party leaders remained mindful of the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and took no chances to risk political damage that could come from appearing inattentive or unprepared.

"As we all know, events on the Gulf Coast have changed the focus of our attention, and our first priority today is to ensure the safety and well-being of those living in the Gulf Coast region," Laura Bush told the delegates. "When such events occur, we're reminded that, first, we're all Americans, and that our shared American ideals will transcend political parties and partisanship."

Cindy McCain, standing by the First Lady's side, echoed her husband's refrain from the lead-up to the convention: "I would ask that each one of us commit to join together to aid those in need as quickly as possible," she said. "As John has been saying for the last several days, this is a time when we take off our Republican hats and put on our American hats."

A page from charity telethons

Texas delegates in cowboy hats led a long standing ovation for Bush and McCain from an assembled convention that had little else to cheer, given the truncated opening session. In contrast to the Democrats' national convention last week in Denver, there was little music in the hall to stir the crowd.

Taking a page from a charity telethon, senior Republican officials launched a Hurricane Gustav Relief Effort. The initiative includes the formation of a center where volunteers will assemble and send 80,000 "comfort packages" and a comprehensive effort to encourage Americans to donate to charities serving the Gulf states, which were slammed by the storm Monday.

Delegates were urged to help and to stay abreast of convention relief efforts through text-message alerts. They were also directed to a hurricane relief website, www.causegreater.com.

"I hope each of you will be generous with your prayers and your pocketbooks," said Robert (Mike) Duncan, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

The brief appearances of the First Lady and Cindy McCain were accompanied by video feeds of four Republican governors from the Gulf region, including Haley Barbour of Mississippi.

"We've felt your prayers," said Barbour, a former national party chairman. "We're aware you're pulling for us."

Cracking the convention's larger efforts to remain above the partisan fray, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas made a pitch for his party's organization in the storm. "You're seeing Republican governors in Republican states doing a fabulous job of taking care of the citizens," Perry said.

But even as Gustav gave convention delegates a chance to show the nation their compassion and concern, it was hard to avoid memories of Katrina, a low point in the Bush presidency.

'Disappointed' delegates

Laura Bush talked about the mistakes of Katrina earlier in the day on CBS' "The Early Show." "There were lots of mistakes and they were on every level," she said. "They were local, they were statewide and there were certainly federal mistakes. But we learned from those."

Speaking of the convention, she said she understood if Republican delegates were "disappointed" because they had expected four nights of celebration around their candidate for president.

In one of the other overtly political messages of the day, Laura Bush made a pitch to women voters in a reference to Palin, telling CBS viewers, "I'm proud that I'm going to get my wish and get to vote for a Republican woman on this ticket."

By the close of business, convention organizers released no plans about today's program.

Kevin Diaz • 202-408-2753