Concern, Compassion, or Campaign Concoction?

Did Senator John McCain and his running mate Governor Sarah Palin leave the campaign trail to visit Mississippi as the state prepared for Hurricane Gustav Monday, or was it actually an orchestrated campaign stop? 

Good, bad, or otherwise, no politician makes a move without first calculating the reason and outcome of his or her actions. 

Consider the scenario at play. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Mississippi fared much better than Louisiana in getting a fast response from the federal government, and the accompanying money which offset its recovery. The reason? Simply put, connections. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is a Republican ... and not your run of the mill Republican. He is the former head of the Republican National Committee ... the same RNC that help get George W. Bush elected president. Not only that, Mississippi's two U.S. Senators were Republicans, as were two of the four members of the Mississippi Congressional Delegation.

Without a doubt, Barbour cares about the state of Mississippi. However, he also cares about the state of the Republican Party ... meaning the outcome of November's presidential election and his career when his term as governor is complete. What better way to keep his star shining than to make a "news worthy" stop for the Republican Party, especially when it makes McCain and Palin look better than Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney who were absent in the early days following Katrina?

Barbour owns a successful lobbying firm in Washington. However, there has been talk of a cabinet position when he is finished governing Mississippi. There is also talk he may run for president himself one day.

But with more than 1-million evacuees making their way into or through Mississippi, was this really the time for a two hour stop over in the state? Consider that contraflow was enacted on both I-59 and I-55 allowing all lanes to flow northward from Louisiana into Mississippi. Consider that once inside Mississippi the lanes reverted to the regular traffic flow. Consider the frayed nerves, evacuees searching for rooms or shelters, the overload of cars, and deteriorating weather conditions. Now answer another question: was this the best time for a contrived campaign stop and photo op? 

Mississippi has traditionally been a red state, supporting Republican candidates. In polling between March and August of this year, conducted by Rasmussen Reports, Research 2000 for DailyKos.com, and Survey USA, McCain has been ahead of Senator Barack Obama by as many as 15 points. 

So why, oh why, did McCain and Palin spend a mere 120 minutes in the state, pulling resources away from hurricane preparations when those resources were needed to assure the safety of Mississippians and evacuees from Louisiana?

Let's call this trip what it was ... a blatant campaign stop crafted to look like a visit of concern. 

" ... or so this news junkie thinks!"