Locals adapt to GOP changes

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Locals going to the Republican National Convention are adapting to program changes made in the face of looming Hurricane Gustav.

On the eve of the convention, presumptive presidential nominee John McCain was determined to avoid the mistakes made by George Bush three years ago in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and ordered the cancellation of all but essential opening-day business on Monday.

Speaking from St. Paul, Minn., Sunday, Ron Nate, of Rexburg, one of Idaho's 29 delegates to the convention, said the atmosphere among Republican delegates was positive despite the last-minute cancellations.

"We're still going to the events," Nate said. "The changes were expected when we heard about Gustav."

The official business of the convention -- McCain's nomination for president and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's acceptance as his vice presidential running mate on Wednesday -- is on hold pending the outcome of Hurricane Gustav.

Nate said McCain's choice of Palin as his vice presidential pick was a pleasant surprise for Republicans.

"She is a solid conservative and a fiscal conservative," said Nate, an economics professor at Brigham Young University-Idaho. "We're very excited to have her on the ticket.

Maria Nate, an alternate Republican delegate, said Palin's nomination inspired her.

"As a woman who's active in the community, I have great admiration for her, and I know that as a mom, I can make a difference," Nate said.

Ron and Maria Nate also attended the National Republican Convention in New York four years ago, and they followed the Democratic National Convention held last week in Denver.

"I watched (Barack Obama) speak and it seems to me, his is a campaign of contradictions," Ron Nate said. "He talks about change, but then names a Washington insider as his running mate."

Christine King, former AMIS chief executive officer and a consultant for ON Semiconductor, which bought the Pocatello manufacturer last year, plans to travel to the convention in St. Paul today.

She was also surprised when McCain named Palin, who was born in Sandpoint and earned a degree from the University of Idaho in Moscow, as his running mate.

But King said she's not unhappy about the decision.

"(Palin) seems like a real go-getter," King said.

King, who's attending her first Republican convention, said the delegates are taking the possible cancellations in stride.

"They're just taking it day by day, until they know what's going on with Gustav," she said.

Hurricane Gustav weakened after crossing Cuba Sunday, but top winds still reached 115 mph and forecasters predicted it would be a Category 3 hurricane when it makes landfall Monday along the U.S. Gulf coast.

Republican delegates are set to take part in a two-hour session Monday, but it's unclear when, or if, McCain will be in Minnesota.

He was scheduled to bring the convention to a close with his prime-time acceptance speech Thursday.

But McCain told NBC News Sunday, it's possible that he would deliver his acceptance speech by satellite from the Gulf region, saying "all possibilities and all scenarios" are open.

President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney canceled plans to address the convention today.

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