McCain, Palin team up as Hurricane Gustav looms
* McCain campaign gets fundraising boost
* Republicans consider contingencies before Gustav
* Democrats question Palin's readiness
By Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON, Pa., Aug 30 (Reuters) - White House hopeful John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin hit the campaign trail as a team on Saturday, seeking to build on the momentum of her surprise addition to the Republican ticket even as Hurricane Gustav threatened to overshadow next week's party convention.
A crowded rally in the electoral battleground state of Pennsylvania shouted: "Sarah, Sarah!" as the Alaska governor took the stage with McCain, whose vice presidential pick on Friday ignited fundraising and drew Democratic scorn.
But Hurricane Gustav threatened to distract attention from the duo. As the Republican convention prepared to kick off, 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.
McCain told the rally he was keeping the people in the Gulf Coast in his thoughts and prayers and said in a taped interview on Fox News that the convention could be postponed.
"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.
McCain and Palin will be nominated officially at the convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. Bush is scheduled to speak there on Monday evening, but White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the administration was making contingency plans that could include an address via satellite instead.
"We continue to track the path of the storm and there is no scheduling change to speak of yet," she told reporters. Republican convention organizers said they were also monitoring the storm and considering contingencies.
Democratic nominee Barack Obama, campaigning in Ohio, spoke by phone with Louisiana's lieutenant governor and the mayor of New Orleans about the storm.
Both Obama and McCain have sharply criticized Bush's response to Katrina and are eager to assure voters they would handle a natural disaster in the United States differently.
PALIN GENERATES ENTHUSIASM, CRITICISM
McCain and his wife, Cindy, spent time getting to know Palin, her husband, Todd, and their children on Saturday, visiting voters together at a diner in Pittsburgh and holding a rally in the town of Washington with a crowd estimated at some 10,000.
Palin, the first woman to be nominated as vice president on a Republican ticket, drew boos from an otherwise enthusiastic crowd when she referred to New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's failed bid for the Democratic nomination.
The Arizona senator announced his vice presidential choice on Friday after hosting Palin at his Arizona home on Thursday. It was only the second time the two had met in person.
Palin's conservative credentials, including strong anti-abortion views and a record of confronting entrenched interests during less than two years as governor of Alaska, energized conservatives, who poured money into the campaign.
The campaign raised about $4 million via the Internet on Friday alone. McCain adviser Steve Schmidt, who runs the campaign's daily operations, said it had never raised more than more than $1 million in a single day over the Internet before.
Democrats and national newspaper editorials were critical of the choice, pouncing on the first-term Alaska governor's lack of experience.
"No one knows whether Sarah Palin could be a competent president, which shows how highly political and potentially reckless this choice is," New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer said in a statement.
Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president, said he had never met Palin.
"She seems to have a compelling life story. Obviously, she's a fine mother and an up-and-coming public servant," Obama told CBS' "60 Minutes," according to a transcript released by the TV network.
Seeking to highlight skepticism of McCain's pick, the Obama campaign sent out an e-mail with dozens of quotes from editorials across the country, including Palin's home state of Alaska, where she is popular, questioning her preparedness.
"Republicans rightfully have criticized the Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, for his lack of experience, but Palin is a neophyte in comparison," wrote Alaska's Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
"Governor Palin's lack of experience, especially in national security and foreign affairs, raises immediate questions about how prepared she is to potentially succeed to the presidency," wrote The New York Times.
Frank Donatelli, deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee, dismissed the criticism.
"John McCain found a partner as a reformer," he told a conference call with reporters. "Senator McCain has not only succeeded in unifying our party, but also in generating great enthusiasm." (Additional reporting by Caren Bohan, Tim Ryan and Jeremy Pelofsky; Editing by Peter Cooney)
* Republicans consider contingencies before Gustav
* Democrats question Palin's readiness
By Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON, Pa., Aug 30 (Reuters) - White House hopeful John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin hit the campaign trail as a team on Saturday, seeking to build on the momentum of her surprise addition to the Republican ticket even as Hurricane Gustav threatened to overshadow next week's party convention.
A crowded rally in the electoral battleground state of Pennsylvania shouted: "Sarah, Sarah!" as the Alaska governor took the stage with McCain, whose vice presidential pick on Friday ignited fundraising and drew Democratic scorn.
But Hurricane Gustav threatened to distract attention from the duo. As the Republican convention prepared to kick off, 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.
McCain told the rally he was keeping the people in the Gulf Coast in his thoughts and prayers and said in a taped interview on Fox News that the convention could be postponed.
"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.
McCain and Palin will be nominated officially at the convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. Bush is scheduled to speak there on Monday evening, but White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the administration was making contingency plans that could include an address via satellite instead.
"We continue to track the path of the storm and there is no scheduling change to speak of yet," she told reporters. Republican convention organizers said they were also monitoring the storm and considering contingencies.
Democratic nominee Barack Obama, campaigning in Ohio, spoke by phone with Louisiana's lieutenant governor and the mayor of New Orleans about the storm.
Both Obama and McCain have sharply criticized Bush's response to Katrina and are eager to assure voters they would handle a natural disaster in the United States differently.
PALIN GENERATES ENTHUSIASM, CRITICISM
McCain and his wife, Cindy, spent time getting to know Palin, her husband, Todd, and their children on Saturday, visiting voters together at a diner in Pittsburgh and holding a rally in the town of Washington with a crowd estimated at some 10,000.
Palin, the first woman to be nominated as vice president on a Republican ticket, drew boos from an otherwise enthusiastic crowd when she referred to New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's failed bid for the Democratic nomination.
The Arizona senator announced his vice presidential choice on Friday after hosting Palin at his Arizona home on Thursday. It was only the second time the two had met in person.
Palin's conservative credentials, including strong anti-abortion views and a record of confronting entrenched interests during less than two years as governor of Alaska, energized conservatives, who poured money into the campaign.
The campaign raised about $4 million via the Internet on Friday alone. McCain adviser Steve Schmidt, who runs the campaign's daily operations, said it had never raised more than more than $1 million in a single day over the Internet before.
Democrats and national newspaper editorials were critical of the choice, pouncing on the first-term Alaska governor's lack of experience.
"No one knows whether Sarah Palin could be a competent president, which shows how highly political and potentially reckless this choice is," New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer said in a statement.
Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president, said he had never met Palin.
"She seems to have a compelling life story. Obviously, she's a fine mother and an up-and-coming public servant," Obama told CBS' "60 Minutes," according to a transcript released by the TV network.
Seeking to highlight skepticism of McCain's pick, the Obama campaign sent out an e-mail with dozens of quotes from editorials across the country, including Palin's home state of Alaska, where she is popular, questioning her preparedness.
"Republicans rightfully have criticized the Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, for his lack of experience, but Palin is a neophyte in comparison," wrote Alaska's Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
"Governor Palin's lack of experience, especially in national security and foreign affairs, raises immediate questions about how prepared she is to potentially succeed to the presidency," wrote The New York Times.
Frank Donatelli, deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee, dismissed the criticism.
"John McCain found a partner as a reformer," he told a conference call with reporters. "Senator McCain has not only succeeded in unifying our party, but also in generating great enthusiasm." (Additional reporting by Caren Bohan, Tim Ryan and Jeremy Pelofsky; Editing by Peter Cooney)
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
Obama arrives in Ghana
