Gustav may have a silver lining for Republicans

ST. PAUL (Reuters) - Hurricane Gustav's untimely arrival may prove to be just the ticket for Republicans eager to prove they can be compassionate conservatives.

It may also provide an unexpected public relations benefit for Republican National Convention sponsors, many of whom quickly transformed their lavish parties in St. Paul, Minnesota, into gala fund-raisers for Gulf Coast charities.

Treading a fine line between showing genuine concern for those in the path of a deadly storm and appearing to profit from others' misfortune, politicians and the sponsors won plaudits for striking the right balance.

"They're playing it exactly like they have to," said Michael Lewis, a marketing professor at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. "They can't hold a convention that's one-third advertising, one-third party and one-third ... politics while a natural disaster occurs."

Companies that shelled out big bucks on advertising and parties at the convention raced to shift their focus to fund-raising for hurricane relief efforts.

The "Political Chicks a Go Go" party, sponsored by cable television's Lifetime Network and the political group RightNOW!, was rebranded as "RightNOW! Relief for the Gulf Coast."

The "Spirits of Minneapolis" party, hosted by the Distilled Spirits Council along with big companies such as Daimler, Lockheed Martin and AstraZeneca, renamed the event "Spirits of the Gulf Coast" and set up a fund-raiser for the Red Cross.

"People are here in Minneapolis anyway," said Frank Coleman, who helped organize the event. "It would be very hard to pull the plug at this point. We hope to raise some significant money for the Gulf."

Republican President Bush was widely viewed as out of touch when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans three years ago, leaving a stain on his legacy and hastening his slide in popularity.

The party canceled all but essential business on Monday, the start of the four-day convention to nominate presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, as Gustav barged ashore just west of New Orleans. Tuesday's schedule was put on hold as they tracked the storm's progress.

COMPASSION

McCain visited a disaster relief drop-off center on Monday in Waterville, Ohio, where he packed cleaning materials, sponges, rubber gloves and other items into buckets labeled "Hurricane Gustav Relief Supplies."

"It gives them an opportunity to play off the disaster of Katrina by showing an early and laser-like compassion for the welfare of the people on the Gulf Coast," said Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

"For McCain, it provides him with a chance to focus on issues of compassion, which in his campaign have only been touched on occasionally," he added.

The party's conservative Christian base has been embracing issues of "compassion" as the evangelical movement broadens its agenda beyond hot-button social issues like opposition to abortion and into areas such as alleviating poverty and assisting disaster victims.

Tony Perkins, president of the conservative evangelical lobby group the Family Research Council, left the Republican convention on Monday to help PRC Compassion, a faith-based charitable coalition, with relief efforts in Louisiana.

The Campaign Finance Institute estimated that private sponsors were spending more than $112 million on the Democratic and Republican conventions combined.

Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, urged sponsors to tone down their celebrations and "please be respectful" of people in harm's way.

Retailer Target Corp, which is also a major convention sponsor, said it was donating 80,000 emergency supply packs prepared by convention delegates and company volunteers.

Paul Argenti, a corporate communications professor at Dartmouth University's Tuck School of Business, said these convention parties are normally private affairs, so companies could get "credit for being good guys" if they publicized their charitable efforts.

"Do companies benefit from rubbing elbows with politicians? Yes. Will they do that anyway? Yes," he said. "If they redirect the money (to hurricane relief) that's a plus for them."

(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason in Waterville, Ohio; editing by Patricia Zengerle)