Bush to skip GOP convention

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- President Bush and Vice President Cheney have canceled planned appearances at Republican National Convention so they can focus on Hurricane Gustav, the White House said Sunday.

Bush had been scheduled to speak Monday night. The hurricane is causing major problems for convention planners, who must consider whether to reschedule or cancel events in the wake of possible death and damage in the New Orleans area and elsewhere.

"It 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," presumptive GOP nominee John McCain said in a pre-taped interview for Fox News Sunday.

McCain and his chosen running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, travel Sunday to Mississippi at the invitation of Gov. Haley Barbour and receive a briefing at the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. The Mississippi Gulf Coast, ravaged by Hurricane Katrina three years ago, is is threatened again by Gustav.

Saturday, Palin eagerly began her new job as McCain's running mate and greeted key swing-state voters with some of her family in tow.

"It is so good to be here in Steeler Country!" Palin told about 5,000 supporters at a minor league ballpark in Washington, Pa., about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh. Members of the crowd, including some from nearby Ohio and West Virginia, chanted, "Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!"

The 44-year-old governor echoed the largely biographical, introductory speech she gave Friday in Dayton. The self-described "hockey mom" said she sought the mayor's job in tiny Wasillla, Alaska, in order to "stop wasteful spending, cut property taxes, and put the people first."

After a stint on an Alaska ethics board, in which she pursued a case against the chairman of the state's Republican Party, Palin won election as governor in 2006. "I stood up to the old politics as usual," she said, including the "good old boys network."

McCain introduced his newly minted running mate to the crowd at Consol Energy Park, citing her record of "reform and public integrity."