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Laura Bush, Cindy McCain focus on Gustav |
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By Sam Youngman and Betsy Rothstein
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Posted: 09/01/08 07:57 PM [ET] |
ST. PAUL — With President Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) focused on Hurricane Gustav, First Lady Laura Bush and her would-be successor Cindy McCain addressed the less-than-full convention hall and urged attendees on Monday night to contribute to hurricane relief efforts.
The unusual opening night of the convention was adjourned shortly after 5 p.m. local time (6 p.m. EST), after Laura Bush and Cindy McCain spoke from the podium about the need to put the well-being of Gulf Coast residents ahead of partisan politics.
"I would ask that each one of us commit to join together to aid those in need as quickly as possible," Cindy McCain said. "As John has been saying for the last several days, this is a time when we take off our Republican hats and put on our American hats."
Laura Bush led off by introducing a video featuring the Republican governors of the Gulf states, as the campaign and GOP officials worked furiously to portray themselves as prepared and connected to the Gulf region after the devastating political effects of Hurricane Katrina three years ago. After the video, Laura Bush came back out on the stage accompanied by Cindy McCain.
The two women were met with thunderous applause as they came out to announce a McCain campaign effort — www.CauseGreater.com — to raise money for Gulf hurricane victims.
Instead of addressing the convention in person, President Bush flew to a Federal Emergency Management Agency outpost in Texas. Bush and Vice President Cheney had been scheduled to speak on Monday night.
In their stead, Laura Bush and Cindy McCain served as the day's headliners, attending a Louisiana delegation breakfast earlier in the day where the first lady put in a plug for McCain’s vice presidential choice, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and for the president.
“When you're a mayor, your constituents are next door,” she said of Palin’s experience, noting that a mayor can be more in touch than a president. She quickly added, “Although I don’t think President Bush is out of touch.”
Palin was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, before being elected governor in 2006.
For most delegates at the Louisiana breakfast, Cindy McCain’s presence was a given but Laura Bush’s came as a surprise. The women provided prayer and comfort to members of the delegation, many of whom expressed deep anxieties about the safety of family members and the condition of their homes back in Louisiana.
“Our hearts and our thoughts are so deeply with you and the Gulf Coast,” Cindy McCain told the breakfast audience in a room packed with TV cameras at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Minneapolis. “[The hurricane] is not as bad as we thought it would be. I know in large part it is because of our prayers.”
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