| | Will McCain turn RNC into telethon for hurricane victims?
 A top aide in the McCain campaign said officials may turn the Republican National Convention into a service event to aid possible victims of a hurricane headed towards the Gulf Coast, CNN reported Saturday.
Convention officials are discussing several ways of changing plans so that Republicans are not seen celebrating in the wake of category 4 Hurricane Gustav, which could cause serious damage to New Orleans.
"He wants to do something service-oriented if and when the storm hits and it's as bad as its expected to be now," the McCain source said.
The forecasts that Gustav could come ashore as a powerful storm in Louisiana by late Monday or early Tuesday revived memories of the widely criticized response of President George W. Bush's administration to Hurricane Katrina three years ago.
That is not an impression Republicans want to send voters about Sen. John McCain.
Besides turning the RNC into a massive fund-raiser, the McCain campaign has also discussed postponing the convention for later in the week or even shortening it by one or two days.
Campaign manager Rick Davis will meet Sunday with officials in charge of planning the convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul to discuss the status of damage done to the southern states before consulting Sen. John McCain on what, if any, changes should be made.
"I wouldn't call it a nightmare, but it is a very perplexing challenge," said a GOP official planning the event.
McCain and his newly announced running mate Gov. Sarah Palin continued to hit the campaign trail Saturday to build momentum of her surprise addition to the ticket. The senator told a rally in Pennsylvania that he was keeping the people of the Gulf Coast in his thoughts and prayers, Reuters reported.
McCain explained to Fox News why he is considering pushing back the convention, ABC News reported.
"It just wouldn't be appropriate to have a festive occasion while a near tragedy or a terrible challenge is presented in the form of a natural disaster," he said in the interview.
His wife Cindy McCain told told ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" that the couple would leave all options open.
"We're keeping a very close eye on what this hurricane is doing," she said. "If it looks like it's going to hit, we will, obviously, drastically change our plans. This is not a time to celebrate."
Regardless, a convention official said the event's committee was "still moving forward with opening the convention on Monday" as planned.
President Bush, scheduled to speak the first night of the convention, is making plans to speak via satellite in case the hurricane prevents him from attending.
The president vowed to federal help to all states that face hurricane damage and called leaders in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas in the early morning from the White House, Reuters reported.
Wire services contributed to this report.
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