ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - John McCain tore up the script for his Republican National Convention on Sunday, casting himself as above politics as Hurricane Gustav churned toward New Orleans. "We will act as Americans," not partisans, he declared.
President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney scrapped plans to address the convention Monday night, and McCain's aides chartered a jet to fly delegates back to their hurricane-threatened states along the Gulf Coast. Campaign manager Rick Davis said the first-night program was being cut from seven hours to two-and-a-half.
Officials said that as part of the convention's opening night, Laura Bush and McCain's wife, Cindy, would speak from the podium and describe ways to help victims of the storm bearing down on a region that was devastated three years ago by Hurricane Katrina. The first lady visited the convention hall Sunday evening to check out the podium....