St. Paul, Minn. — St. Paul, Minn. - Nothing ever seems to come easily for John McCain.
Last year at this time, his Straight Talk bus was running on fumes, and there were predictions that he'd soon be out of the presidential race. Now, just as he's about to claim his party's nomination - a prize he began pursuing almost a decade ago -natural disaster looms.
A major hurricane is threatening to disrupt McCain's plans to use this week's Republican Party convention to promote his reputation for independent thinking, reinforce his call for reform and assail his Democratic rival.
The storm bearing down on the Gulf Coast could hardly come at a worse time. Regardless of where it strikes, nature has reminded the country of the greatest domestic failure of George W. Bush's presidency: the tragically hapless federal government response to Hurricane Katrina.
"The original maverick," as McCain's campaign ads brand him, lived up to that moniker Friday when he unexpectedly chose Sarah Palin, an obscure but energetic first-term governor of Alaska, for vice president. He called her part of his plan to "shake up Washington" and its politics of "me first and country second."
By choosing a social conservative, McCain may already have achieved one of his top convention goals: firing up the party base, including Christian conservatives, who were valuable foot soldiers in Bush's 2004 re-election.
One of McCain's biggest political problems has been a lack of enthusiasm among conservative Republicans, many of whom supported other candidates in the primaries and remain unconvinced that McCain shares their beliefs. He was booed at a conference of conservative activists last winter.
"He's shown his independence," said Chris Henick, a Republican strategist. "The question now is, has he refreshed the party?"
Another challenge: the age issue. At 72, McCain would be the oldest man ever to assume the presidency.
Picking the 44-year-old Palin - an avid distance runner and mother of five - instantly gave his ticket a more youthful aspect. Attractive images of a beaming McCain with the photogenic governor, a former beauty queen, graced TV screens and newspaper front pages this weekend.
McCain's and Palin's acceptance speeches are this week's main events. They may have a hard time drawing a TV audience that approaches the 40 million who saw Obama address an outdoor spectacle complete with fireworks.
