In this photo provided by NASA, Tropical Storm Isaac travels through the Gulf of Mexico on an apparent course for New Orleans.
To hear Republicans talking and media coverage summaries, it may have been better had Tropical Storm Isaac slammed into Tampa instead of taking aim – and strengthening into a likely hurricane – for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
Politico has put together a quote roundup of GOP supporters worried about those to be affected by the storm, but also concerned that the Republican National Convention will have pictures of partying going out to the world while President Obama visits those in Isaac’s path.
Republican strategist Steve Schmidt summed up the “optics” concern in the Sunday New York Times:
Images of revelry by Republicans at a time of suffering by other Americans — no party wants those optics.
As it is, Isaac is forecast to hit near New Orleans on or near the 7th anniversary of the brutal landfall of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Katrina was a much stronger Category 5 storm with winds over 157 miles per hour. Isaac is expected to have top winds of around 90 mph when it hits land.
