The focus of the Republican Convention in St Paul had to change quickly on Monday as hurricane Gustav struck the Gulf coast. All anyone could think of and talk about in the United States and across the world is Gustav.
When news of Gustav first broke, the Republican strategy gurus worked fast to change the programme so as not to seem insensitive towards the devastation that was sure to come. And on presumptive presidential candidate John McCain's orders, the festivities were toned down as it was 'inappropriate to celebrate while the natural disaster hit Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
But then Gustav was not the only sidetrack of the convention. The Grand Old Party (GOP) has another challenge - as if John McCain's choice of running mate - 44-year-old Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska - wasn't enough to get the tongues wagging. Palin's 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant. This came to light after rumours surfaced that Palin's four-year-old baby who has down-syndrome was actually her daughter's child and that the governor faked the pregnancy. Palin's values and her parenting skills have now come under scrutiny.
Another scandal rocking the Palin's is that she has hired a lawyer as Alaska investigates the firing of her public safety commissioner. She hired a lawyer three weeks ago to act on her behalf as state legislators investigate whether she abused her power in firing the state public safety commissioner for refusing to fire her ex-brother-in-law, who's a state trooper.
So, instead of the Republicans having one big party in St Paul and them getting maximum media mileage like the Democrats did in Denver, they're rocked by these storms (hurricane Gustav and Palin's family issues). The question now is, will the Republicans weather their storm?
Related articles
*McCain vows to win November presidential election
*Grand finale planned for Republican convention
*Thousands converge on Minnesota for RNC
*Hurricane Gustav puts a damper on GOP Convention
*Protests mark opening of GOP Convention
*Bush sings McCain's praises
*More action need to fight sexism: McCain camp
*Palin hits out at Obama
*Leaders needed once again
*Obama will be an extraordinary president:wife
Leave a comment