National Convention of Republicans opens in Minnesota

Washington, Sept 2 (PTI) Republicans convened their
national convention in St Paul, Minnesota on a subdued note
focussing much of their attention on how best they could rally
forces to the beleaguered folks of Louisiana and Mississippi
affected by Hurricane Gustav.

At the same time, they made sure that some of the
legal and technical issues of putting Senator John McCain on
the Grand Old Party (G.O.P.) ticket is out of the way.

The opening session was barely for about two-and-a-half
hours and one of the first orders of business was the adoption
of a party platform, a document that largely sidesteped the
national debate about the Iraq War.

"The waging of war, and the achieving of peace, should
never be micromanaged in a party platform. In dealing with
present conflicts or future crises, our next president must
preserve all options," the G.O.P. has maintained.

And unlike the expansive comments the 2004 Platform had
on India, this time the Party was succinct and to the point,
but did not missed the larger aspects of the bilateral
relationship between the United States and India.

"We welcome America's new relationship with India,
including the US-India Civil Nuclear Accord. Our common
security concerns and shared commitment to political freedom
and representative government can be the foundation for an
enduring partnership," the Party Platform for 2008 has said.

The platform also calls for a constitutional amendment
banning abortion, the deportation of illegal immigrants
convicted of gang crimes and no new taxes.

"The last thing America needs now is tax hikes,"it added.

Contrary to an earlier statement from the White House,
the First Lady Laura Bush will also be not attending the
occasion in Minnesota, she did attended the event and address
the delegates along with Cindy McCain, the wife of the soon to
be official Grand Old Party nominee Senator John McCain.

"George (Bush) and I were planning to come to enjoy this
convention, to have a really good time, and we would have
been here tonight speaking, but, of course, as we all know,
events in the Gulf Coast region have changed the focus of our
attention. And our first priority now, Tuesday, is to ensure
the safety and the well being of those living in the Gulf
Coast region," the First Lady said in her address.

"Our shared American ideals will always transcend
political parties and partisanship. We hope that the people on
the Gulf Coast know that the American people are here to do
what we can to assist them," Laura Bush said.

The question that remained unanswered will the President
George W Bush address the Convention before the session ends.
There were speculations that the President may make a
satellite appearance.

The Republican Convention is also taking place at a time
when the McCain-Palin ticket is under tremendous pressure from
liberal quarters with news surfacing that Governor Sarah
Palin's 17-year-old daughter is five months pregnant and
unmarried at that.

But even before this news hit the air waves Laura Bush
warned that stepping on sexism by picking on Governor Palin is
going to be a risky business.

"Do you think she'll face the sexism from the media and
from the general public that the Hillary Clinton people said
that they faced?" the First Lady was asked on Fox News.

"Possibly, I think that's a possibility, although I think
everyone is going to be particularly careful after - I think
the other side particularly, because I think that is something
that we all looked at," the First Lady said.