Gustav isn't Katrina; McCain shouldn't have cut short his convention. The decision to drastically change and cut short the first day of the Republican National Convention because of Hurricane Gustav is noble, but unnecessary. Since when does the country come to a stand-still because a hurricane hits a coast? Of course, this isn't just any coast. This hurricane affects the same coast that Hurricane Katrina hit three years ago. However, the devastation that Katrina wreaked on New Orleans and Mississippi back then and the subsequent inadequate response of the federal government cannot be made up for by this response to Hurricane Gustav.
Yes, Katrina was horrible. Yes, the federal government largely ignored the victims for days. Yes, New Orleans has yet to be rebuilt by a president that promised it would be.
No, Gustav is not Katrina. And unless McCain thinks he will garner votes by sacrificing this important week for his campaign, then I cannot understand why he made this decision.
What is the logic behind all but completely canceling an event that has been in the works for months?
If the convention is unnecessary to the campaign and ultimately the results of Nov. 4, then why have them in the first place?
The national news media's incessant coverage and the RNC's interruption are both exaggerated responses to Gustav. Hurricane Katrina needed this sort of coverage and national attention and help. Gustav just doesn't.
The local government responded to this hurricane the way they should have responded to Katrina - this time they made a concerted effort to get residents out of the area. In fact, an estimated 95 percent of the residents were evacuated.
There is no Superdome. No bodies piled up on the streets. No stores being looted.
Gustav hit at a category 1 contrasting with Katrina's category 3. This time, the levees in New Orleans didn't break. In numerous ways, this hurricane is just not the same as Katrina.
McCain (and Obama for that matter), are using this natural disaster as a way to collect votes. Why else would they be making a huge deal out of this hurricane? Yes, it is important. Many people were evacuated from their homes, some with no place to go. However, because Katrina and the government's response to it is still fresh in everyone's mind, it seems that these candidates are clamoring to distance themselves from any speculation that they are not ready for a crisis in this nation.
It's all political.
The unfortunate thing for voters is the RNC is the first opportunity for the nation to get a glimpse of the McCain-Palin ticket. To deny the country that opportunity because of a hurricane that affects a small amount of people (in the large scheme of things) is not the right choice to make.
Fortunately for the Red Cross and the victims, both McCain and Obama have tapped their supporters to donate money to disaster relief.
I'm not knocking them for that. But, this response has been just too much. From President Bush's earlier decision to skip the entire convention to McCain's decision to broadcast from a hurricane relief center to Obama's text message to supporters asking them to donate. This response is overwhelming and clearly an attempt to "make up for Katrina."
The events of Hurricane Katrina cannot be made up for. So, instead of trying to erase mistakes from the past by making an enormous deal out of a sizably smaller event in the present, the RNC should resume it's regularly scheduled event and not try to politicize a natural disaster.
Copyright Brigham Young University 13 Oct 2008
