The Republican National Convention will only run from 3 to 5:30 p.m. on Monday owing to the expected landfall of Hurricane Gustav tomorrow evening. The agenda will be limited to party activities, with expected speeches by President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Laura Bush and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger canceled. Bush is expected to address the nation from Washington tomorrow night instead.

The expected arrival of Hurricane Gustav has also thrown into question the rest of the week’s activities. There is no guarantee that John McCain will come to St. Paul. He doesn’t have to be present for the nomination to be official. “I hope and pray we’ll be able to resume some of our normal operations as quickly as possible,” McCain said at a press conference in St. Louis. “But some of that is, frankly, in the hands of God.”