Report: RNC mulls convention delay

DENVER, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Republican officials may postpone the GOP convention if Tropical Storm Gustav makes landfall along the Gulf Coast this weekend, Fox News Channel said Thursday.

McCain presidential campaign spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said contingency plans are in place and campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said it was possible the convention, set to run Monday through Thursday in St. Paul, Minn., could be postponed, the report said.

"Senator McCain has always been sensitive to national crises -- in the 2000 race, he postponed his announcement because of the situation in the Balkans, and we are monitoring the situation very closely," Bounds said.

Karl Rove, President George W. Bush's former top political adviser and an informal adviser to the McCain campaign, said it was still an open question whether Bush would travel to St. Paul, where he is to speak at the convention Monday.

The Republican Party is aware it could appear to be insensitive to hurricane victims, given public reaction to the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina three years ago, the report said.

"The Republicans can't seem to get a break when it comes to August and when it comes to the weather," said Rove who is also a Fox News analyst.

Gustav was approaching hurricane strength when it washed and blew onto eastern Jamaica Thursday. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency Wednesday.