Isaac Cancels First Day of Republican National Convention

Actually, Reince Priebus announced the cancellation, on behalf of the National Committee.

At CNN, "BREAKING: GOP delays start of convention until Tuesday."

A lot's at stake. Here's this from The Hill, "Priebus predicts ‘real’ and ‘visible’ bump for Romney after Tampa":

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus looked ahead to next week’s convention in Tampa, predicting a “visible” boost for Mitt Romney and mocking Vice President Joe Biden’s plans for a counter rally, in an interview airing this weekend.

During the interview with Bloomberg’s Al Hunt, Priebus said he expected Romney to receive a “real” and “visible” boost from the GOP convention.

“I think we are going to get a bump; I think we have a better opportunity for the bump as a party, as a challenging party,” said Priebus.

The party chairman said that as “people get to know Mitt Romney and get to know who he is and the decent man he is and his story of the American Dream and his generosity,” he expected that Republicans would gain across the board.

But Priebus refused to peg a specific number. “I can’t give you a scope, but I can tell you I think it’s going to be real and it’s going to be visible, but I don’t know what it will end up being.”

Both parties get a bump, so these tend to wash out. The bigger implication is the media coverage at stake for the Republicans. Next week is the chance for the Romney campaign to break out and define the stakes for November. It's the time when a lot of Americans start tuning in more carefully to campaign messaging. And the GOP ticket is going to be fresh and exuberant, in contrast to the stale, listless lies of the Obama/Biden scandal machine. That's why Mother Nature needs to shine on Tampa Bay this next week. The party can't afford to miss this opportunity.

More at the New York Times, "With Storm Approaching, Republicans Cancel First Day of Convention." And at Memeorandum.