Apparently the GOP didn’t want the nation to get a close look at Cindy McCain. She was hustled on and off the stage in St. Paul very early in the evening, way not prime time. I could snark about her shiny gold suit, but that would be sexist.

MSNBC reports that police used tear gas on protesters at the RNC convention. So is Little Lulu covering this as tightly as she covered protests in Denver? Of course not.

However, Little Lulu does want us to leave Bristol Palin alone. I didn’t know anyone was bothering her. It’s her mother we’re bothering.

I called the last post “GOP Tries to Hide Behind Hurricane.” I’m thinking Gustav isn’t a big enough hurricane for them to hide behind. That could change; we’re not out of danger, especially from floods. But I think most of the nation is still disgusted about Katrina, and the GOP dog and pony show of concern about a less serious storm is just a reminder.

I just flipped on the television and saw President Bush in some bunker in Texas, walking around shaking hands and congratulating everyone in the vicinity on the great job they were doing about Hurricane Gustav. It was a near-perfect replay of that wonderful moment on the Mississippi tarmac when Bush uttered his immortal line, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”

I heard one report say the President might address the nation tomorrow night about Gustav. There’s no question Gustav is a significant storm, but so far it’s not shaping up into another Katrina. That could change, of course. But I think the GOP might over-do the concern act. People haven’t forgotten Katrina. People understand there’s an election coming.

Hurricane Gustav presented the GOP with a perfect reason to keep the POTUS and VPOTUS out of St. Paul. Instead, the GOP is using the convention to put on a great show of concern. They are already raising money for hurricane “victims,” for example, assuming there are any. Maybe the money could be sent to Katrina victims still waiting for help.

Today McCain and running mate Sarah Palin are in Mississippi pretending to be Doing Something and getting their pictures taken. Oh, and McCain accused Obama of “playing politics” with the hurricane.

The lesson, children, is that if you’re going to be hit by a natural disaster during a Republican administration, be sure it’s close to election time. Otherwise, you are SOL.

Stuff to read —

Mother Jones, “John McCain’s Miserable Record on Hurricane Katrina”

Paul Krugman, “John, Don’t Go”

Mike Madden, “Bush, McCain and the GOP try to dodge Katrina 2.0”

Those of you who can’t STFU about the alleged faked Sarah Palin pregnancy, here’s a documented pregnancy you can obsess about. Reuters reports that Bristol Palin is pregnant now.

The 17-year-old daughter of the Republican vice-presidential candidate, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, is pregnant, Palin said Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.

Bristol Palin, one of Palin’s five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Senator John McCain.

If Bristol is five months pregnant, she couldn’t very well have given birth four months ago. I hope we can let that rumor go now.

However, IMO the last thing a pregnant 17-year-old needs is a shotgun wedding.

Update: Here’s the MSNBC video —

Of course, maybe they’re faking Bristol’s pregnancy now so that they can deny … oh, never mind.

Update: Another report here.