The parties and parades kicked off in the Twin Cities this weekend, but the celebrations were understandably overshadowed by news from the South.
It's difficult to imagine the depth of fear that residents of the Gulf Coast must have been experiencing as Hurricane Gustav moved toward them. Still struggling to recover and rebuild after Katrina, New Orleans and other coastal areas faced an unpredictable test of the emergency management, infrastructure and security plans that have been put in place since 2005.
Early indications were that at least some of the necessary preparations that could have mitigated Katrina's impact were in place, as curfew and evacuation plans took effect and as the National Guard moved in to provide security.
Ominously, though, Federal Emergency Management Agency Director David Paulison said Sunday that there were no guarantees that levees strengthened by the Army Corps of Engineers after Katrina would hold up, because "... there are still a lot of vulnerabilities. This could be a much worse storm. Hopefully, it won't be, but the possibilities are definitely there."
Facing that threat, Sen. John McCain wisely moved to rewrite the program for Monday's start of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, limiting the day's events to only what's necessary. That was the right call.
Earlier in the day, President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney appropriately canceled their plans to attend the convention, as did governors and other officials from states in the hurricane's path. Ensuring a smooth-running response to Gustav is far more important than presidential politics today.
Late Sunday, it was unclear what additional impact the hurricane would have on the RNC beyond Monday's schedule changes. The best-case scenario is that the storm will lose strength before it makes landfall. If it doesn't, Republican officials will have to make more difficult decisions.
At a time when political divisions are highlighted, our hope is that Republicans, Democrats and independents will pull together to provide whatever level of support is needed for the people of the Gulf Coast. And if that means scaling back the convention even more, the party should be free to make that judgment call without any second-guessing. Just three years and a few days after Katrina, a hurricane is putting lives at risk once again.
