Bush doesn't bother with the phony precautions for this hurricane.

Two weeks ago, as Hurricane Gustav picked up steam through the Gulf of Mexico and took aim at New Orleans, President Bush canceled his plan to speak in person to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. -- during the one hour of prime-time live network television coverage, no less.

Instead, he flew to Texas to inspect preparations for storm relief, and was briefed on evacuations. He spoke to the Republican delegates that night in a low-key eight-minute live video from the White House, just before the major network coverage began.

But these hurricanes are coming along one after another, and today -- even as the impact of the outer edges of Hurricane Ike were being felt from New Orleans to Galveston and beyond -- the president kept to his original agenda and travel plan: He arrived not far away in Oklahoma on a cloudy morning, spoke to a forum on health savings accounts -- and did $1 million worth of political fundraising.

At the fundraising luncheon in Oklahoma City, Bush spoke behind closed doors to ...

... people who paid as much as $25,000 each to boost John McCain's presidential bid and the Republican Party.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/presidentbush/2008/09/ike-republicans.html