George W. Bush will skip the Republican Convention in Minneapolis on Monday in order to focus his attention on Hurricane Gustav, which is making its way toward the Gulf Coast with building intensity. The White House, McCain campaign and convention officials have been meeting and holding conference calls almost continuously over the past 24 hours as the storm and the Republican convention opening approach. The Associated Press reported this afternoon that more than 1 million citizens of the region likely to be affected have already fled. One of the lowlights of the Bush presidency came when the White House was slow to respond to Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed vast swaths of New Orleans, and Bush is determined not to repeat those mistakes. Although most convention plans are currently on hold, the tentative plans is to have First Lady Laura Bush read her husband's speech. A video presentation will complement her remarks. As of this afternoon, Vice President Dick Cheney had been planning to give his speech and leave immediately to monitor the situation. Republican sources say they will be monitoring the incoming storm and may revisit that decision if the situation worsens. Speaking in an interview taped for Fox News Sunday, John McCain said the entire convention may have to 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, according to a Mike Allen story http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/13007.html in Politico. "So we're monitoring it from day to day and I'm saying a few prayers, too." Several McCain advisers were concerned in recent days that the White House had been planning to send Bush regardless of the storm. Some White House officials, in turn, thought McCain's team simply didn't want Bush to attend. McCain said back in March that he wanted to campaign with Bush as much as Bush's schedule would allow. "I intend to have as much possible campaigning events together, as it is in keeping with the president's heavy schedule. And I look forward to that opportunity. I look forward to the chance to bring our message to America," he said. They have not yet campaigned together.