Even though there are thousands of people still dealing with the aftermath of hurricane Gustav, the Republicans have decided to go ahead with a full convention schedule while reminding the country of the victims of the storm:President Bush, who was scheduled to speak Monday, will deliver his address via satellite at 9:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, officials said.
Tuesday's theme will be "Who is John McCain," officials said.
Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who ran in the early GOP 2008 presidential primaries, and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democrat's 2000 vice presidential nominee, will deliver primetime speeches after President Bush.
GOP officials said the convention will still have an emphasis on helping those impacted by Gustav's passage through the Gulf states.
The decision to go forward with the convention schedule was made with the agreement of all Gulf Coast governors, convention officials said.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Sen. John McCain's choice for vice president, is scheduled to address the GOP convention Wednesday night.
The Lieberman address will be watched particularly closely for hints that the former Democrat will be willing to caucus with the GOP in the event McCain is elected. With the Republicans in danger of losing at least 2 seats in the Senate, Lieberman's defection from the Democratic caucus would be welcome.
As for the rest of the convention, the delegates I have talked to have been remarkably upbeat despite all that has happened with the weather and the extraordinary attempts to derail Sarah Palin's nomination as Vice President. They are still excited about Palin and believe the revelations about her daughter's pregnancy will not hurt her standing with the American people.
But will there be much of a TV audience? Perhaps not tonight. But I predict a huge amount of curiosity about Palin and hence big TV numbers tomorrow night. As for McCain's speech on Thursday, he will probably not draw the numbers Obama did, but it should still be seen by upwards of 30 million people - a nice audience under any circumstances.
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