As much as anything, this indicates that the Republicans are again calling off the attack dogs in light of hurricane relief. The GOP is walking a fine line. On one hand, they need to avoid partisanship in a time of a national crisis. Yet, by linking the relief response to the political convention theme of "Country First," the Republicans also need to avoid the appearance that they are politicizing relief efforts.

In this regard, they can't win, because either way, some people will see their actions as political. It does give John McCain the opportunity to look "presidential," as the hurricane hit during his time in the spotlight. Had it hit last week, I imagine the Democrats would have responded similarly. Any comments? Here's the AP update on convention changes:
(AP) Republicans revamped their convention plans for a second day, dropping former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani as keynote speaker Tuesday night while trying to determine President Bush's role in the political pageantry celebrating John McCain's candidacy for president.
In Giuliani's speaking slot were former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee, one of McCain's rivals for the Republican nomination, and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, the Democrats' vice presidential candidate in 2000 and now a McCain supporter. Republicans say the two will talk about McCain's life and their friendship with him.

Whether Bush will address delegates via satellite Tuesday night had not been decided, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and others had been expected to speak Monday night, but the McCain campaign and convention officials agreed to trim back the politics and focus instead on fundraising for victims of Hurricane Gustav.