Symbolism

It has been mentioned that due to the impending landfall of hurricane Gustav, the Republican Party briefly considered postponing their convention, if only to avoid a resurgence of the images of John McCain having birthday cake with President Bush while New Orleans was flooding under Katrina.

But the interesting thing is that several prominent members of the Religious Right famously prayed for rain during Obama's open air acceptance of the Democratic nomination. It does not say much for them that they would stoop that low, and it does not say much for their relationship with their God that it did not happen, but symbolically even worse, how does it look that after that praying, it was the Republicans who had to consider whether rain was going to force an alteration of their plans.

Now, I am a firm believer that Jesus does not aid in touchdowns at clutch moments in football games, and I am equally certain that God has more important things to worry about than whether John McCain or Barack Obama leads the United States for the next four years.

Still, when you famously and publically call for rain to ruin your opponent's plans (and would almost certainly have pointed to any actual storm as proof that God was on your side), you have to think it only hurts their credibility when that rain comes on YOUR picnic.

Just a thought (and a more politically correct one than the one a friend of mine had, which I am tempted to omit because it's not politically correct, but it made me laugh, so I will anyway): He suggested that if nothing else, the selection of Sarah Palin will help McCain's offshore drilling strategy, for how many men can look at a former beauty queen and NOT think "drill now, drill here".

Liam.