Why McCain hopes Gustav goes away

John McCain must be wishing Gustav will go away. The tropical storm is gaining strength and headed for the U.S. Gulf Coast. Forecasters say it will be a hurricane before the end of the day. Two reasons for McCain to worry. One: If Gustav hits Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal, the GOP’s young rising star, might ...

John McCain must be wishing Gustav will go away. The tropical storm is gaining strength and headed for the U.S. Gulf Coast. Forecasters say it will be a hurricane before the end of the day.

John McCain must be wishing Gustav will go away. The tropical storm is gaining strength and headed for the U.S. Gulf Coast. Forecasters say it will be a hurricane before the end of the day.

Two reasons for McCain to worry. One: If Gustav hits Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal, the GOP’s young rising star, might cancel his speech at the Republican convention in Minneapolis next week. Jindal has already declared a state of emergency in preparation for the storm’s landfall. And two: Katrina hit New Orleans three years ago this week. If the storm veers just to the right of its current path, it could hit make a direct hit on the city. And the last thing McCain wants is a crisis in the Crescent City reminding everyone how incompetent the Bush administration’s response in 2005 was. That sound you hear is the Obama campaign readying spots featuring Bush, McCain, and the infamous "heckuva job, Brownie" line.

Carolyn O'Hara is a senior editor at Foreign Policy.

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