It’s true that the Republicans never really wanted to give Bush and Cheney primetime speaking slots at their convention. They know that their former heroes are less popular than a case of genital herpes. So, it’s excellent news for John McCain that Hurricane Gustav has wiped away the first day of the convention and, with it, the presence of the dynamic duo. But let’s not get carried away. People don’t need to see Bush and Cheney in Minnesota to remember that they’d rather have the clap than see them running the country for even one more day. McCain gains very little by their absence. He loses much more with the loss of 25% of his infomercial time and all the accompanying hype from the national press.

Most of all, Hurricane Gustav has reminded everyone just why they hate Bush and Cheney more than they would a bout of chlamydia. It has conjured up dormant feelings of outrage. It has provided Democrats an opportunity to remind people that John McCain was eating birthday cake with the president in Arizona while people were floating dead in the flood waters of the 9th Ward.

It appears that the levees are holding in The Big Easy, which is excellent news for everyone. And, therefore, it looks like the Republicans should be able to resume their convention activities by no later than Wednesday. That’s good, because no one has one clue about who Sarah Palin is or what might compel John McCain to place her a heartbeat away from the presidency. They’ll need Wednesday to introduce her to the country.

But will Wednesday be enough? The Hurricane has wiped out two-to-four days of coverage that would otherwise have been devoted to Palin. They’ll never get another comparable opportunity to have her in the limelight. That strikes me as a problem. It strikes me as more of a problem than the absence of Bush and Cheney is a solution.

I know that whatever happens is always excellent news for the Republicans and also a reason why we can never leave Iraq, but people need to exercise a little more nuance in their interpretation of events.