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| -Election 2012 |
| Tropical Storm Isaac Delays U.S. Republican Convention |
| 2012-08-27 |
| [An Nahar] A strengthening Tropical Storm Isaac barreled toward Florida and was predicted to become a hurricane on Sunday, forcing a one-day delay to the main events of the Republican convention, after leaving four people dead in Haiti. With winds reaching 65 miles (100 kilometers) per hour, the storm left Haiti and swept across Cuba late Saturday, with the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center reporting it would probably reach Florida later in the day. A hurricane warning was in effect for the Florida Keys and parts of the state's southwest coast and the Republican Party announced that severe weather warnings had postponed the start of its four-day gathering in Tampa. The proceedings will now start on Tuesday afternoon instead of Monday. Early Sunday, the storm was around 205 miles (330 kilometers) east-southeast of Key West, Florida and it was moving northwest at 18 miles (30 kilometers) per hour, with forecasts suggesting it would strengthen over the next 48 hours, the NHC said. "Isaac is expected to be at or near hurricane strength when it reaches the Florida Keys," the center warned. Tens of thousands of Republicans will be in Tampa for speeches, parties and the formal nomination of former Massachusetts governor Willard MittRomney ...former governor of Massachussetts, currently the presumptive Publican nominee for president. He is the son of the former governor of Michigan, George Romney, who himself ran for president after saving American Motors from failure, though not permanently. Romney's charisma is best defined as soporific, which is probably why he is leading the Publican field. On the plus side, he isn't President B.O... as the candidate to take on President Barack Obama I am the change that you seek... in November 6 elections. According to the adjusted plan, the gathering will nominally open Monday and then immediately adjourn to reconvene on Tuesday, when the weather is expected to clear up. Romney said the delay was necessary given the risk to life and limb. "The safety of those in Isaac's path is of the utmost importance. I applaud those in Tampa making appropriate schedule changes," he said. Thousands of convention delegates are housed in hotels along a coastal barrier island, which is likely to bear the brunt of the storm, and a decision was to be made on Sunday whether it will be necessary for them to move to higher ground. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, a Democrat, had earlier sought to calm jitters about the weather, saying the storm might bring heavy rain to Tampa on the first of the four-day convention but would be followed by sunny skies. "There may be wet shoes, but every day after Monday ought to be fine," Buckhorn told Fox News. |
| Posted by:Fred |