Republican Convention Day 1: Gustav Goes

Hurricane Gustav threatened Louisiana and upset plans for the opening night of the Republican Convention. All eyes went to New Orleans and a lot of people were holding their breath, the name "Katrina" dancind in their heads. In the end, the response went off like clockwork. Gov. Bobby Jindal looked impressive. Mayor Nagin got it right the second time around. Virtually all of the defenses held - some weak points just barely. And in the end, Gustav was more sound and fury than havoc and destruction.

The Republican Convention turned into a telethon for raising money to help hurricane victims. Several on the left were wishing for this result - that the Convention would be disrupted. Jabba the Moore went so far as to assert quite cynically that the timing of the hurricane was proof of a just God. But with only the first night disrupted, the only thing that really got tossed from the convention was the speech by George Bush. Since Obama is betting the farm on tying McCain to Bush, this one has to go under the heading of "be careful what you wish for." And if this was divine intervention, than the left should be worried indeed.