From NBC's Andrea Mitchell
On a conference call with reporters this morning, GOP convention planners said that Tuesday's theme would be the "real John McCain."

McCain campaign manager Rick Davis pointed out that yesterday's theme was to be "Service" -- so instead of talking about it, they DID it, raising money for hurricane relief. Davis said after consulting with FEMA, and determining that the levees were holding up, the campaign made a final decision to go forward with the convention. The final "go" was about 5:00 am today.

Given yesterday's cancellation, Davis also "encouraged" media on the conference call to "expand" the traditional hour of coverage to include a tribute to veterans led by Orson Swindle, former fellow POW with McCain, followed by First Lady Laura Bush and a satellite appearance by President Bush. They said Bush's speech runs from 9:51 pm ET to 9:57 pm ET, followed by Laura for two minutes.

In the primetime hour, the speakers are former Tennessee senator and GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson, and the title of his speech will be "The Courage and Service of John McCain."

And he will be followed by Joe Lieberman -- in his first appearance at a GOP convention -- whose speech is entitled "The Original Maverick." They said Thompson will be from 10:10 pm to 10:30 pm ET, and Lieberman from 9:42 pm to 9:57 pm ET.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
ST. PAUL, MN -- NBC's Phil Alongi reports that the Republican convention will go forward tonight, and the theme will be "John McCain: The Person He Is." There will be three major speeches: Fred Thompson will talk about his biography; Joe Lieberman will speak about "the person he knows"; and President Bush will address the convention via remote from the White House. Both Thompson and Lieberman will speak in the 10:00 pm ET hour, while the time of Bush's remarks is still TBD. (Just to give you an idea of what the GOP convention was supposed to look like before the hurricane, Bush and Lieberman were scheduled to speak on Monday, while Thompson and Giuliani, who we guess is now speaking tomorrow, were part of Tuesday's act.) By the way, appearing on "Morning Joe" this morning, Lieberman said this about having found out that he's speaking tonight: "You're sort of like Mariano Rivera in the bullpen." Is he in the VP bullpen, too?

*** The Palin distraction: Judging by conversations we've had various delegates, it's clear Sarah Palin is going to be a big hit inside the Xcel Center. But if there's one thing she's done that's a negative that has nothing to do with the vetting process or her own issues like the revelation of her 17-year-old daughter's pregnancy, it's that she's taken the focus off of Obama. It seems like it's been a month -- though it's been just a few days -- that the RNC or McCain hasn't had a sustained attack on the Illinois Democrat. As we've learned this summer, when this campaign is about Obama, the race is a lot closer than when it's not about him. And right now, thanks to Palin, it's not about him.

*** Looking like an ordinary politician? On Monday, the papers were full of stories about how Palin was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it. Also yesterday, we found out that Palin worked for a 527 group organized by Ted Stevens, who is now facing trial on corruption charges. Then came the news that she has retained an attorney for that Troopergate ethics investigation. And finally is today's Washington Post story noting that Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure earmarks -- which are taboo in McCain World -- for Wasilla while she was its mayor. More than any new revelations about her daughter, the bigger drip-drip danger for the McCain campaign could be more signs that Palin begins to look like your average politician. If you think you've heard that that line before, you have. It's how the Clinton folks tried to brand Obama during the primary season, to no avail. But if the person the McCain camp has branded as a outsider-reformer no longer appears that way, that could be a problem. It doesn't matter how well they explain away each little issue. It's the bigger "she's just another pol" picture that could make all the other issues regarding the pick become a problem.

*** The vetting process: When the campaign decided to surprise the world with Sarah Palin, it had to know it was buying a massive spin job. Our email boxes are now filled with explanations and attachments, and they have nothing to do with Obama or Biden or the Democratic Party. And while Palin's issues are ones the Obama campaign are largely staying away from, it appears the vetting process itself is what's going to continue to get the scrutiny. Was this reactionary pick when Charlie Black and Rick Davis talked McCain out of Lieberman? Did McCain get any true bonding time with Palin where he's comfortable with her in the way he is with the rest of his inner circle? By the way, it depends on your definition of vetting of whether you believe she was fully vetted. No doubt the legal vet was done; the question is whether a political vet was completed. Also, did Obama on CNN last night really attempt to blunt Palin's experience credentials by comparing his management of the presidential campaign to Palin's tenure as Wasilla mayor? That seemed like a stretch and probably only reminds folks of how little executive experience Obama has. Sure, Palin doesn't have a lot of experience, but she's running to be McCain's apprentice. Obama's running for the top spot.

*** Here come the talking points: Speaking of those emails and attachments… Last night, three days after McCain selected Palin as his running mate and also three days after many first learned of the "Troopergate" investigation in Alaska, the McCain camp finally released talking points over the matter to its general press list. The talking points: "Gov. Palin is an open book on this -- she did nothing wrong and has nothing to hide." (Our question: So why did she originally deny that her office had ever contacted former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan about her ex-brother-in-law?) "Gov. Palin dismissed Monegan because of an honest disagreement over budget priorities -- that's it." (She and her husband didn't also disagree with him that her ex-brother-in-law should no longer be employed as a state trooper?) "The allegation that Gov. Palin retaliated against Commissioner Monegan for not firing Trooper Wooten is cut from whole cloth." (So why did Monegan have the impression that the Palins wanted Wooten dismissed?) And "Monegan stated that at no time did Gov. Palin, her husband, or anyone on her staff tell him to fire … Wooten. Monegan told the Anchorage Daily News, 'For the record, no one ever said fire Wooten. Not the governor. Not Todd. Not any of the other staff.'" (But did anyone imply it?) The good news for Palin on this story: The trooper in question may not be of the highest character, and at the end of the day if she is seen as acting in a way that was protective of her family, she might get a pass. But it's never great for any national nominee to be dealing with any official investigation.

*** So no New Year's Eve in Iowa in 2012? Little noticed yesterday given the Gustav coverage and the Palin kid's pregnancy, but Republicans decided to take a step that will give candidates -- and everyone else, it seems -- a breather in 2012 and also perhaps increase the significance of the earliest primary states. "Delegates to the Republican National Convention cemented Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina yesterday as the first three nomination contests in 2012. The adopted rule declares that no state can hold its primary or caucus before the first Tuesday in March, except for those three states. They, in turn, cannot hold their votes before the first Tuesday in February, a stark contrast to this year, when Iowa held its caucuses on Jan. 3, New Hampshire its primary on Jan. 8, and South Carolina its contest on Jan. 19." The remaining question is whether Democrats follow suit. (Of course, they're hoping that an Obama win will make calendar discussion re: 2012 moot.)

*** Also in the Twin Cities: The GOP convention hosts a conference call for reporters at 11:00 am ET. And Cindy McCain and members of her family participate in a ONE campaign event at the Minneapolis convention center at 3:15 pm ET.

*** On the trail: McCain is in Philadelphia, PA and Cleveland, OH. Obama is down in Chicago. Joe Biden is in Florida, where he holds town halls in Deerfield Beach and West Palm Beach.
 
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The Washington Post says the news that Palin's 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, "Palin's revelation continued to reshape what Republicans had hoped would be a boisterous send-off for the McCain-Palin ticket. It also left some Republicans privately voicing concern that the campaign may have missed other potentially damaging background information about McCain's little-known pick… McCain aides pushed back hard Monday night against any suggestion that they had mishandled the selection process. 'Nothing that has come out did not come out in the vet -- she was fully vetted,' said a senior campaign adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations." 

The New York Times: "A series of disclosures about Gov. Sarah Palin, Senator John McCain's choice as running mate, called into question on Monday how thoroughly Mr. McCain had examined her background before putting her on the Republican presidential ticket." In addition to the news that Palin's 17-year-old daughter in pregnant, "it was learned that Ms. Palin now has a private lawyer in a legislative ethics investigation in Alaska into whether she abused her power in dismissing the state's public safety commissioner; that she was a member for two years in the 1990s of the Alaska Independence Party, which has at times sought a vote on whether the state should secede; and that Mr. Palin was arrested 22 years ago on a drunken-driving charge."

"At the least, Republicans close to the campaign said it was increasingly apparent that Ms. Palin had been selected as Mr. McCain's running mate with more haste than McCain advisers initially described… "'They didn't seriously consider her until four or five days from the time she was picked, before she was asked, maybe the Thursday or Friday before,' said a Republican close to the campaign. 'This was really kind of rushed at the end, because John didn't get what he wanted. He wanted to do Joe or Ridge.'" 

Two sources tell NBC's Mike Levine that -- as of Friday when Gov. Sarah Palin was announced as McCain's running mate -- no one had been sent to Wasilla, Alaska, to look through the archives of Palin's hometown newspaper, the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. And, according to one source, no extensive research into the city council records from her 10 years on the council and then as mayor of Wasilla has been completed. Aides were sent to pour over that newspaper AFTER Palin was picked.

Some more drip-drip via the Washington Post: "Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure almost $27 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor, according to an analysis by an independent government watchdog group."

From the vetter himself: "Sarah Palin voluntarily told John McCain's campaign about her pregnant teenage daughter and her husband's 2-decade-old DUI arrest during questioning as part of the Republican's vice presidential search, the lawyer who conducted the background review said," the AP writes. "The Alaska governor also greatly detailed the dismissal of the state's public safety commissioner that has touched off a legislative investigation, Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr. told The Associated Press in an interview Monday. Palin underwent a 'full and complete' background examination before McCain chose her as his running mate, Culvahouse said. Asked whether everything that came up as a possible red flag during the review already has been made public, he said: 'I think so. Yah, I think so. Correct.'"

But: "Shortly after Palin was named to the ticket, McCain's campaign dispatched a team of a dozen communications operatives and lawyers to Alaska. That fueled speculation that a comprehensive examination of Palin's record and past was incomplete and being done only after she was placed on the ticket."

The Boston Globe: "Republicans quickly closed ranks around the Palin family, praising the teenager, Bristol Palin, for deciding to have the child and marry the father. At the same time, the revelation focused attention on the GOP's call, in the party platform adopted yesterday, for unwed teenagers to abstain from sex." And it went there… "Her story follows debates over whether the movie 'Juno' glamorized teenage pregnancy and whether the real-life pregnancy of 16-year-old actress Jamie Lynn Spears provided the wrong role model for teenage viewers."

David Brooks praises Palin -- but not as McCain's No.2. "[McCain] really needs someone to impose a policy structure on his moral intuitions. He needs a very senior person who can organize a vast administration and insist that he tame his lone-pilot tendencies and work through the established corridors - the National Security Council, the Domestic Policy Council. He needs a near-equal who can turn his instincts, which are great, into a doctrine that everybody else can predict and understand. Rob Portman or Bob Gates wouldn't have been politically exciting, but they are capable of performing those tasks. Palin, for all her gifts, is not. She underlines McCain's strength without compensating for his weaknesses. The real second fiddle job is still unfilled." 

The New York Post cover: "Palin teen baby shock." The story: "Palin teen has baby on board."

And the Post goes there curtain raising who it says is the father… "Levi Johnston." Johnston, 17, who is entering his senior year at Wasilla HS, plays on the school hockey team and was once teammates on a youth squad with Palin's older brother, Track, 19, now in the Army. Despite suffering a cracked bone in his shin last season, Johnston scored 24 goals in 24 games.

" 'We don't want to talk about this,' said a woman who answered the phone at the Johnston home. On a MySpace page subsequently taken down, Johnston boasts, 'I'm a f - - -in' redneck' who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes. 'But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s- - - and just f - - -in' chillin' I guess.' 'Ya f - - - with me I'll kick [your] ass,' he added. He also claims to be 'in a relationship,' but states, 'I don't want kids.'"

The New York Daily News cover: "Gran' old party." It also identifies Johnston as the father.

"Rather than a keynote address or other political oratory, the convention programmers gave Cindy McCain and Laura Bush top billing to make televised appeals for help, and drastically shortened the schedule."

Primary Calendar: "Delegates to the Republican National Convention cemented Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina yesterday as the first three nomination contests in 2012. The adopted rule declares that no state can hold its primary or caucus before the first Tuesday in March, except for those three states. They, in turn, cannot hold their votes before the first Tuesday in February, a stark contrast to this year, when Iowa held its caucuses on Jan. 3, New Hampshire its primary on Jan. 8, and South Carolina its contest on Jan. 19."

Has the GOP lost some of its edge? "Day One wasn't going to look at the Bush-Cheney record in total, but rather at the administration's one big talking point: its record of protecting the country from another major terrorist attack. This is not only the one aspect of the Bush record that McCain enthusiastically embraces, but it's a key part of the party's argument against Barack Obama.

Also lost in the shuffle yesterday -- the big fundraising numbers posted by the McCain camp. McCain raised at least $47 million in August, his biggest haul so far and a sign that he is dispelling doubts about his campaign among conservative donors." The number comes pretty close to Obama's July haul of $51 million. No word on Obama's camp's August.

Appearing on "Morning Joe," Joe Lieberman provided some other little-known details of the behind-the-scenes on him being on the VP short list: "When Rick Davis called me a while back and said John wanted to put me on the short list, I was very surprised. I said he doesn't have to do that to thank me. And he said, no no, no, he is very serious."

Lieberman said he "didn't talk to John about it." He said he thanked him, and told him he was "honored." Lieberman, who talked a little of being vetted and talking to lawyers, said as of Thursday, he still didn't know if he would be picked. He said McCain called him Thursday night and didn't explicitly tell him it wasn't him, but he could read the "tea leaves." He heard Friday morning that it was Palin.

He praised Palin, saying she held some views he disagreed with but called her "fresh" and lauded her reformer image. Asked if she would have been selected if she weren't a woman, Lieberman said, "I don't know." He called her an "independent" and "a political power broker." "Obviously, the fact that she's a woman, I consider it a bonus. … John was obviously considering people with great records, but wanted to pick someone different; he really is the change candidate."

As far as his role in the Democratic caucus and if he was bothered by Democrats' reactions to his role in McCain's campaign, he said, "You gotta be a little bothered. But I understand. I feel really strongly that this is a crossroads election… We need the right president. I'll take whatever lumps, happy to come with it… Senators being senators they're still pretty cordial."

A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows Obama with a 50%-43% lead "among registered voters. In the USA TODAY Poll taken Aug. 21-23, the Illinois senator held a 4-percentage-point lead." More: "Obama eliminated McCain's advantage as 'a strong and decisive leader.' By 46%-44%, those surveyed says that characteristic applies more to Obama than McCain. Before the convention, McCain held an 8-point advantage. Obama has a 13-point advantage as someone who 'shares your values,' almost double the edge he held before. He has an 8-point advantage as someone who is 'honest and trustworthy'; pre-convention, they were equal."

Also: "McCain's favorable-unfavorable rating was 54%-38%, a healthy mark but his highest unfavorable this year. Obama's rating was 61%-32%."

Meanwhile, a new CBS poll has Obama up eight points, 48%-40%. 

From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum
When the Democratic Party picked Ned Lamont over Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut senator's wife felt "hurt." Soon after, she changed her registration from Democrat to Independent, which is what she was before marrying Lieberman.

Earlier today, she spoke at a Republican Jewish Coalition luncheon. But Hadassah Lieberman is quick to tell you she's not there necessarily to support the Republican Party.

"I really don't know what I plan to do," she said when asked if she will now be working with the Republican Jewish Coalition and not the National Jewish Democratic Council.

Lieberman has only attended one other convention -- in 2000 when her husband was the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Today, her purpose at the luncheon was with Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for breast cancer research, a financial beneficiary of the event.

"Our presence here on the eve of a political convention illustrates that efforts for breast cancer extend way beyond religions, races, parties," Lieberman said. "We as women and men, who have honored us with their presence, gather with unity to fight for this important cause."

In light of Hurricane Gustav, RJC's National Women's Council, which sponsored the luncheon, fashion show and silent auction in a Minneapolis Nieman Marcus, decided the money raised from the silent auction should help hurricane victims instead of Komen.

"Our intention was always to be helping people," Nikki Shapiro, Southern California chair of National Women's Committee, said. "Now we're going to simply be shifting our focus."

Congresswoman Virginia Fox was one of 237 who attended the event as well as breast cancer survivor Hala Moddelmog, who urged those in attendance to also help Komen. "Since I've been talking, about 43 people have died from cancer," Moddelmog said, illustrating the importance of her message.

Between $30,000 and $40,000 was raised for the Red Cross for Hurricane Relief. A couple at the luncheon pledged to match that amount of money to donate to Komen so that organization would still benefit from the event. 

Lieberman also thanked the women for helping her husband in the 2006 senate race. "A lot of you help him redeem it, so thanks a lot," she said. "When he decided to run as an independent, a lot of you were out there and he did not forget that."

According to Lieberman, her husband is now slated to speak on Tuesday night at the Republican convention.

When asked if she is endorsing McCain, Lieberman declined. "I love John. I hope he wins, but I'm not officially endorsing him because I'm not official."

From NBC's Mike Taibbi
After a largely peaceful protest by upwards of 5,000, including many families with children, smaller groups of protestors broke off -- apparently by design -- as many formed ranks by linking arms.

Riot-equipped police had massed along the perimeter of the pre-approved march and assembly areas, but soon found it impossible to follow and control the smaller splinter groups. 

Some broke windows in storefronts and vehicles; some hurled objects at the police who responded with tear gas and a few quick arrests.

By 4 p.m. local time, an officer at the joint information center told me there had been 13 arrests at that point, but within minutes, a St. Paul Police sergeant said there had just been "dozens of additional arrests...maybe 60," where a large group had been contained at Jackson and Sibley streets. 

At that moment, I was on Kellog, which runs along the Mississippi, and I heard two loud sounds, then a dozen or more in a burst. 

Tear gas (pepper grenades) fired by an anti-riot squad trailing around 50 protestors on the bicycle footpath on the north bank of the river. 

Unfortunately, given the brisk southwest wind, all of us overlooking the scene (including the police sergeant I'd been talking to) got a face full of it, as we were unable to maneuver our way upwind in time.

At 5 p.m., the foot squad of police was supplemented by a mounted unit on horseback, a bike squad and perhaps 60 additional personnel and had moved the group of protestors about a mile west of the Wabasha Avenue Bridge. I see a few of the protestors talking to one of the cops, but it still seems to be something of a standoff.

So far no reports of injuries.

From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann
BACON-ON-A-STICK TENT, Minnesota State Fairgrounds -- For nostalgic journalists and forlorn Republicans who hoped for a different outcome from the Republican primary,  here's a little stroll down Memory Lane -- or at least the lane down the middle of the Minneapolis State Fair.

Campaigning on a 90-degree Midwestern day, with the smell in the air of various on-a-stick delicacies (shrimp, chocolate covered fruit, chocolate-covered bacon, eggrolls, Spam, Snickers, pork chops, waffles, or pickles) it almost felt like summer of 2007, when Mitt Romney was considered the inevitable winner of the Iowa caucuses.

Instead, a year later, under banners advertising fried hot dogs (on a stick, of course), Governor Romney was following the lead of a different face of the Republican Party, Campaigning with Minnesota Rep. Michelle Bachmann, an incumbent optimistic about the possibilities for female GOP candidates afforded by new veep pick Sarah Palin, Romney roared his support for his former rival John McCain from a tent at the Minnesota State Fair.

"We're going to stand together, we're going to fight together!" he declared, laying out the case for a man considered all but out of the running during Romney's heyday.

Later, he obliged reporters asking him to sing the praises of dark-horse-turned-veep-pick Sarah Palin.  "I think she draws the attention of independent voters and Democratic voters," he explained, "many of whom may have been thinking about Hillary Clinton."

As the former governor weaved his way out of the fair, following in the wake of Bachmann's chatty Midwestern campaign style, television cameras fell behind, off to gather man-on-the-street reaction about the Palin pick.

From underneath the lid of a too-big  baseball cap, a watching boy tugged on his mother's sleeve.  "What's he running for?" he asked, pointing after Romney's impeccably coiffed hair.

"They thought he was going to be vice president," explained Mom. "But they picked someone else."

Nodding sagely, the youngster replied. 

"Oh."

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Two new polls of note out today… CBS/New York Times has Obama with a slight bounce, up 48%-40%. An earlier poll, showed Obama up 45%-42%. CNN/Opinion Research, however, has Obama up just one point, 49%-48%

Both surveys were conducted Aug. 29-31. Obama's convention speech was made on Thursday, Aug. 28th; Palin was picked the next morning, Friday, Aug. 29th.

The five-point post-convention jump is the biggest for a Democrat in the CBS poll since 1996 when Bill Clinton also saw a 5-point increase. It shows a big swing in independents. McCain had led with the group in the last poll by 12 percentage points, but now Obama leads with them by 7.

It also finds Obama beats McCain, 63%-41%, on who most "understands the needs and problems of people like you." And Obama got a boost on toughness after the convention. On, "Is he tough enough?" just 48% said he was in early August, but now 58% say so. Though Obama saw an increase in the commander-in-chief question, McCain still beats him by plenty -- 45%-29% say McCain is very likely to be an effective commander in chief. 19% say McCain's not likely to be effective; 34% say the same of Obama.

Men seemed most affected by McCain's selection of Palin as VP -- 17% of men said they'd be more likely to vote for McCain now versus just 10% of women. Michelle Obama apparently helped herself last week. In this poll, her favorables went from 28% fav/18% unfav/53% undecided in early August to 41% fav/21% unfav/38% undecided.

The CNN poll, with one of the lowest undecided numbers of any poll out there, showed the candidates tied a week earlier, 47%-47%.

With regard to McCain's pick of Palin, men viewed her more favorably than women did -- 41% of men had a favorable opinion; just 36% of women felt the same. Just 45% thought she was ready to president; 52% said she wasn't. Those are the lowest confidence numbers for a VP since Dan Quayle.

And, interestingly, "Three quarters of all voters think McCain chose a female running mate specifically because he thought adding a woman to the Republican ticket would help him win in November."

From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
SCRANTON, PA -- This morning, Joe Biden said today was not a day for national politics. He said it again during a roundtable discussion outside his childhood home here this afternoon. But before long, he couldn't help himself, criticizing McCain for his views on offshore drilling and questioning his foreign policy judgment.

"The only guy in America in a position of some authority who is out of sync with the whole rest of the world is John McCain," he told a small group of relatives and old family friends. "This Administration, the Iraqis, NATO, the Europeans, our friends around the world, the vast majority of the American people, the Democratic-controlled Congress, Republicans in Congress -- they all agree. Barack Obama was right, and John McCain was wrong."

Biden was referring to Obama's call for a timeline for withdrawal, something he said he's now preparing to see through as an agreement between the Bush Administration and the Iraqi government comes to his desk as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee. He compared that to McCain's claim that a timeline would be tantamount to surrender.

He also said the Republican nominee's statement that Obama would lose a war to win an election is embarrassing. "Barack Obama was ahead of the curve; John McCain is still way behind the curb," he said. "I promise you. I promise you. We will secure America."

The Delaware senator called the return to the Green Ridge neighborhood an emotional one. And he offered personal testimony as to Obama's readiness to be president, and perhaps as importantly, his personal qualities. "I promise you, my word as a Biden -- if Barack grew up in our neighborhood like he did in Kansas [sic] being raised by his grandparents, if he grew up here being raised by his grandparents, he'd have been our friend," he said. "He'd cover your back."

Biden was joined by his brother, Jimmy, two cousins, and his mother, Jean. And he joked that those who think he's a bit verbose ought to spend some time with mom.

"They ain't been around my house," he said.

And before the roundtable, he toured his old home, now owned by Anne Kearns. He even signed the staircase, writing in Sharpee, "I am home. Joe Biden. 9.1.08."

"If my father were here he'd smack me," he said.

*** UPDATE *** McCain spokesman Ben Porritt responds: "While John McCain has called upon Americans to serve and assist our fellow citizens in the gulf states, Barack Obama's own running mate, Joe Biden, clearly has no limits when it comes to political attacks. Either Barack Obama's claims of bipartisanship are empty or he is unable to control his running mate."

*** UPDATE II *** The Obama camp fires back that McCain aide Steve Schmidt and Karl Rove criticized Obama on this supposed day off of politics.

From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger, NBC's Mark Murray and Lauren Appelbaum
The McCain and Obama campaigns are organizing separate fundraising efforts to help with relief funds for Hurricane Gustav.

The McCain campaign says it has raised $1.13 million in the first hour and received a $25,000 donation from the McCain family. Supporters have been calling friends and families from a hotel ballroom to raise money for hurricane relief.

Obama sent out fundraising e-mail and text message appeals urging supporters to donate to the Red Cross.

"Barack asks that you give to the Red Cross: give 5 dollars by texting GIVE to 24357 or give more by calling 1-800-435-7669 or at redcross.org/donate. Please fwd," the text reads.

Cindy McCain and her son, Jack, visited the phone bank and pledged to personally donate $5,000 to each of five charities governors of affected states have selected.

"Keep dialing," she said before a quick walk around to talk with the callers.

The vast majority of the money raised by the McCain campaign came from a $1 million in individual donations and two corporations that donated $50,000 each. The donors' names have not been released.

"People are just coming through the door," said Elizabeth Tobias, a finance campaign staffer. "Everyone thinks its the best idea and they're doing what they can to help."

About 90 supporters manned phones that had been set up in the last 24 hours. Campaign staffers, using a manual calculator and whiteboard, kept a rudimentary tally and periodically announced updates.

Delegates and others attending the convention have been asked to call their friends and families as well.

The Obama e-mail:
"Today, the thoughts and prayers of all Americans are with those in the path of Hurricane Gustav -- and many of you are asking what you can do to help. We do not yet know what the impact of Hurricane Gustav will be, and we hope with all our hearts that the damage will not be as great as it was three years ago. But we know there will be damage, and there is something you can do right now. Your financial support will strengthen organizations like the American Red Cross that are evacuating Gulf Coast residents and planning to help communities get back on their feet. Make a donation to support the American Red Cross today.

"At times like this, it is our compassion and resilience that define who we are as a nation. Please give whatever you can afford, even $10, to make sure the American Red Cross has the resources to help those in the path of this storm.

"Thank you for your generosity, and I hope you will join Michelle and me in praying for the safety of those in the path of the storm and the first responders who are doing all they can to ensure the safety of their communities. Barack"

From NBC's Mike Levine
ST. PAUL, MN -- Three days ago, the area across from "Divanni's Pizza" on the ground-floor of the XCel Center here was just a shiny floor for convention-goers to walk on. But now it's a "Hurricane Information Center," where delegates and volunteers can keep track of Hurricane Gustav and keep in touch with their families from the Gulf Coast.

"Sen. McCain wanted to get it set up immediately," said Emily Roberts, a "professional volunteer" now in charge of the information center. "There are a lot of people in the building who couldn't get home."

The space looks like an over-sized office cubicle, but it has all the essentials: three flat-screen TVs set to different cable news channels; two phones with free long-distance; informational pamphlets from the Red Cross; and seven laptops with full e-mail and Internet access. Also, every hour the center's staff will be printing out updates from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which are sprawled out on a small table at the front of the center.

Volunteers began erecting the center on Friday, two days before McCain announced a halt to most of Monday's events at the Republican National Convention. As of Monday afternoon, volunteers were still adding the finishing touches. Two men from The Freeman Group -- an event planner of sorts -- were hanging a "Hurricane Information Center" sign from the ceiling, while several volunteers were pecking away at the laptops, trying to get the Internet service fully updated.

There used to be eight laptops. "As you'll see the computers are not top of the line, so sometimes we are losing them to crashing," Roberts said.

As for whether the center has been crowded, Roberts said, "Not so far." In fact, in the time NBC News was there on Monday, no one was using the computers to email family or use the Internet. But Roberts insists people have been using the center, many of them from The Freeman Group. "I'm happy to have them here. Some of them tried to get home on Saturday, but they couldn't," she said. And, she insists, "We've definitely had more since the [McCain] announcement yesterday."

Roberts herself is from Mississippi, in the northern part of the state near Memphis, TN. She says she has extended family on the coast, but only some of them have left for safer ground. "The wives and children have evacuated. The men are manning the forts," she said.

She's already used the center's computers to check in on her extended family.

From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Top McCain campaign official Steve Schmidt told a scrum of reporters in St. Paul that McCain was aware of Bristol Palin's pregnancy "last week," though he would not say specifically which day last week.

"Senator McCain was aware of this private family matter last week," he said, adding that the senator and governor "had a private conversation" where McCain "became aware" that Palin's daughter was pregnant. Schmidt was repeatedly asked whether McCain knew of the daughter's condition before the announcement on Friday, and each time he used a variation of, "He became aware last week in a private conversation."

Schmidt asserted several times that the Palin family deserves a measure of privacy in this matter. "Leave the kids alone. Leave the kids alone," he said.

He characterized the vetting process as "a thorough search," adding, "she (Palin) is going to help him (McCain) reform America."

"The American have good wishes for this young lady," Schmidt said, adding moments later: "The American people are not focused on nonsense, they are concerned with the well being of their fellow citizens" on the Gulf Coast.

From NBC's Savannah Guthrie
In his media avail, Obama just responded to reporters' questions about the Bristol Palin story. Noting that his mother had him when she was 18 years old, Obama said families are "off limits" in campaigns. He was very impassioned.

"I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people's families are off limits, and people's children are especially off limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics, it has no relevance to governor Palin's performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. And so I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories," Obama said. "And so I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories. You know, my mother had me when she was 18. And how family deals with issues and teenage children that shouldn't be the topic of our politics, and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that is off limits."

Regarding to the accusation from the McCain camp that rumors of Bristol Palin were being spread by liberal bloggers, some with connections to the Obama campaign, the Illinois senator replied: "I am offended by that statement.Tthere is no evidence at all that any of this involved us. I hope I am as clear as I can be. So in case I am not, let me repeat: We don't go after people's families; we don't get them involved in the politics. It is not appropriate and it is not relevant. Our people were not involved in any way in this and they will not be. And if I ever thought it was somebody in the campaign that was involved in something like that they would be fired."

From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
DETROIT -- Hurricane Gustav has not only forced the Republican Party to adjust its convention plans. It also led Obama to shift his focus at a Labor Day rally here this morning away from politics to asking his supporters to donate not to a political campaign -- but to disaster relief.

"Although we are prayerful that this will not be the same kind of situation that we saw three years ago, today is not a day for political speeches," Obama told a crowd gathered in a riverside plaza here. "Today is a day for all of us to come together as Americans and send our thoughts and prayers to our brothers and sisters who are worrying at this very hour about their homes and their loved ones."

The senator spoke for just 10 minutes, leading the audience in a silent prayer for those who may be affected by the storm and saying his campaign was monitoring the situation in the Gulf and calling on people to help by donating to the American Red Cross and other relief organizations. The campaign sent text messages and emails to supporters asking that they give to the Red Cross, either by texting or by calling a number they provided. The campaign would not say how many people it contacted, but Obama spoke yesterday of a network of a "couple million."

Obama mentioned his Republican rival just once in his remarks. "I want everybody to remember there's a time for us to argue politics and there's a time for us to come together as Americans," he said. "I know John McCain wants what's best for the people who have been evacuated. I know George Bush wants what's best for them and so do I. And so I want all of us to come together."
 
After the silent prayer, Obama touched on one of his campaign themes of unity, talking about what he called the "quiet storms" of joblessness, under-funded schools, lost pensions and inadequate health care that people face each day. He also said people must come together across party, ethnic and cultural lines to address these issues.

The senator plans to a BBQ in Monroe, MI followed by a rally in Milwaukee, WI this evening. But the campaign has canceled plans to overnight in Milwaukee and will instead return to Chicago tonight so that he can "closely monitor the hurricane." The rest of the week's schedule is still being discussed.

The event, which had been intended as a rally to celebrate organized labor, was not totally solemn. At one point Obama recognized the "Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin" in the audience and briefly broke into song, singing "Chain, chain, chain….chain of fools."

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
The McCain campaign raised $4.5 million between 1 p.m. and midnight on the day Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was announced as McCain's vice presidential selection, aides tell NBC News.

The campaign raised an additional $3.5 million in the two days following the Palin announcment for a three-day total of $8 million, aides said.

It is important to note, however, that after McCain makes his acceptance speech Thursday, he can no longer use any money raised previously. This is referred to as "primary" money. After Thursday, McCain will then be operating with public funds of $84.1 million.

Obama can raise unlimited funds, as he opted out of the public finance system.

From NBC's Katie Primm and Mark Murray
By the way, as has been pointed out, Palin backed abstinence-only education during her 2006 gubernatorial race. In an Eagle Forum Alaska questionnaire, Palin gave this response to the following question:

Will you support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of for explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics, and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?

Palin: Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.

*** UPDATE *** NBC's Abby Livingston adds that a McCain spokesperson in May 2007 said the Arizona Republican supported abstinence-only education, too. "Sen. McCain believes the correct policy for educating young children on this subject is to promote abstinence as the only safe and responsible alternative. To do otherwise is to send a mixed signal to children that, on the one hand they should not be sexually active, but on the other here is the way to go about it. As any parent knows, ambiguity and equivocation leads to problems when it comes to teaching children right from wrong. Sen. McCain believes that there are many negative forces in today's society that promote irresponsible and dangerous behavior to our children. The public education system should not join this chorus of moral equivocation and ambiguity."

From NBC's Mark Murray
Just asking, but with everyone focused on other news today, is the McCain camp trying to dump a lot of negative Palin news? Here's an exclusive from the Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody:

"Sources close to Sarah Palin tell The Brody File that the husband of the GOP Vice-presidential choice, Todd Palin, was arrested and charged with Driving under the Influence of alcohol back in 1986. He was 22 years old at the time. He was driving in a truck with some friends in the small southwestern Alaska town of Dillingham when he was pulled over for the DUI. As is customary, he was taken to jail briefly. Sarah and Todd Palin were high school sweethearts so they were dating at the time. The Brody File can also report that there was no accident or injuries."

"Sources close to Sarah Palin also tell The Brody File that Todd Palin has been 'forthcoming about the situation and has indicated that it was a lesson learned from when he was younger.'"

From NBC's Mark Murray
Reuters: "The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.
   
Bristol Palin, one of Alaska Gov. Palin's five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Bristol Palin made the decision on her own to keep the baby, McCain aides said. 'We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us,' the Palins' statement said. 'Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support,' the Palins said."

*** UPDATE *** Here's a statement the McCain camp released from Todd and Sarah Palin, which is identical to the quote in the Reuters story: "We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support."

"Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."

From NBC's Andrea Mitchell and Mark Murray
Yesterday, the McCain campaign and convention planners said that due to Hurricane Gustav, all convention activities would be canceled for Monday except for essential business.

But Republican National Committee chairman Mike Duncan and McCain campaign manager Rick Davis announced on a conference call this morning that Cindy McCain and Laura Bush would speak tonight after that business, from 5:50 pm to 6:10 pm ET. Also, there would be a video from Gulf Coast governors sans Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who's pretty busy at the moment.

Davis said that Monday was a day when politics should be put aside, and that they were not trying to politicize today's speeches by Cindy McCain and Laura Bush. But he noted that it would be the best way to urge GOP delegates to donate money to hurricane relief efforts. 

Also on the call, Davis said there were no contingency plans for McCain to accept his nomination outside of St. Paul.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
ST. PAUL, MN -- McCain is getting his Bush night after all; it's just different (and a bit more positive for him) than we thought it would be. For the last couple of weeks, we believed that McCain actually would be better off having no convention at all. Why? For someone who wants to prove to voters than he's not Bush and not your typical Republican, four days of speeches by the president, Cheney, and other GOPers weren't going to be a positive development for his campaign. But now due to Hurricane Gustav barreling down the Gulf Coast, not only are Bush and Cheney skipping the event, but today's entire slate of events is canceled. What's more, McCain -- by traveling yesterday to Mississippi, expressing concern about the hurricane, and even canceling the first day of events -- is able to demonstrate he's no George Bush, or at least not the Bush of August 2005. Indeed, we've come full circle in a way: More than any other event, Hurricane Katrina wrecked the GOP's image and brand. Now with Gustav, it's trying to do everything it can to get it right. On the other hand, we can't stress enough how canceling at least part of the GOP convention is going to cost McCain and the Republican Party. They were counting on four days of clear frontal assaults on Obama after the Democrat's own tough speech on Thursday. Now, at the most, they get three days. Maybe two.

*** McCain's Gulf Coast advantage: Some Democrats we heard from cried foul that McCain and Palin briefly traveled to Mississippi yesterday at the request of Gov. Haley Barbour (R), while Obama and Biden chose to stay away. "The thing that I always am concerned about in the middle of a storm is whether we're drawing resources away from folks on the ground," Obama said, "because the Secret Service and various security requirements sometimes it pulls police, fire, and other departments away from concentrating on the job." Yet do realize that McCain has a political advantage here: All the governors along the Gulf Coast -- Barbour, Jindal, Perry, and Riley -- are Republicans. Then again, if disaster strikes and the response to the hurricane is poor, that advantage could quickly turn into a disadvantage.

*** The Dynamic Duo: By the way, the most amusing thing about last night's "60 Minutes" Obama-Biden interview was how easily Biden jumped in to answer questions. He seemed to walk the line of being the No.2 who still had designs on being the No.1. That said, the papers are full of pieces today noting the easy chemistry between Obama and Biden. Will we see similar articles about McCain and Palin next week?

*** Today's convention schedule: While today's slate of convention speeches is canceled, some essential convention business will occur between 4:00 pm and 6:30 pm ET. That includes the call to order, receiving the report from the credentials committee, adopting the rules, electing the officers, and adopting the party platform. All else -- what happens on Tues, Wed., Thurs; whether McCain and Palin will be present to accept their nominations; who might speak on the remaining days -- is to be determined, said McCain campaign manager Rick Davis yesterday.

*** Also in the Twin Cities: Cindy McCain attends a breakfast with the Louisiana delegation in Minneapolis. And the GOP holds a conference call with reporters at 11:00 am ET to update them on the convention.

*** On the trail: Obama remains in Michigan, where he attends a Labor Day rally for workers in Detroit and then hits a BBQ at the Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 671 in Monroe.
 
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The Minneapolis Star Tribune front-pages: "The Republican National Convention was thrown into turmoil Sunday as Hurricane Gustav approached the Gulf Coast, threatening a disaster that forced party organizers to rewrite long-held plans on the fly and all but cancel political speechmaking and celebrations. Facing a potential reprise of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and severely damaged an unprepared Bush White House, Republicans scrambled to develop the appropriate response to the potential destruction looming again."

"Ariz. Sen. John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, visited the Gulf briefly and instructed convention organizers to suspend all but essential business on the opening day of the convention and turn many of the gathering's planned festivities into fundraisers for potential victims of the storm. 'Ahead of time, I want to thank all my fellow Republicans as we take off our Republican hats and put on our American hats,' McCain said via live video feed from St. Louis, where he had just returned from a briefing with Gulf State governors hosted by Mississippi's Gov. Haley Barbour."

The New York Times writes about the political risks and rewards of canceling the first night of the convention. 'In some ways, it was a nightmare moment for Republicans. The hurricane's approach put front and center once more some of the worst failings of the Bush presidency at the very moment Mr. McCain was to begin presenting a vision of the post-Bush Republican Party to the nation. With television tracking the storm's approach and showing images of an emptying New Orleans, it was hard for voters to escape reminders of how Mr. Bush had emerged from Hurricane Katrina severely wounded by judgments of incompetence and lack of empathy."

"But rather than run away from the hurricane and its political risks, Mr. McCain ran toward it. He hustled on Sunday to Mississippi to make an appearance there, an unmistakable contrast to Mr. Bush, who flew over New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina but did not set foot in the region until four days after landfall. And Mr. McCain appeared on television with a semi-presidential bearing, briefing Americans on emergency preparations and calling on the nation to put aside partisanship."

The Washington Post's Dan Balz: "Gustav has disrupted McCain's convention, but the storm also presents the candidate with an opportunity to show that he would be a different kind of president than Bush. His decisions to fly to Mississippi on Sunday for a pre-storm assessment and then to radically redraw the agenda for the convention's opening night until it is clear what might happen with the storm send a message that some top Republicans believe will serve him well in the campaign ahead against Obama."

The New York Daily News: "For the Bush White House and Republicans in general, Gustav serves as a bitter reminder of its catastrophically incompetent response to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and a swath of the Gulf Coast three years ago."

The Boston Globe adds, "The sudden change appears to be without parallel in American politics. While it may deprive the Republicans a major showcase for the party's nominees in the November, it also provides McCain an opportunity to lead his party during a national humanitarian effort."

A New York Times/CBS poll finds nearly nine in 10 Republican delegates support McCain. "The delegates' unanimity comes in spite of their description of themselves as more conservative than Mr. McCain, whose maverick image has long made him controversial in his party. The delegates' confidence - fewer than 2 in 10 fear Mr. McCain may lose - belies the election-year climate for the party and its other candidates."

Also: "In mid-August, only 20 percent of voters said the economy was in good shape, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll of the nation. The Republican delegates see the economy very differently. While they, too, say it is the country's most pressing problem, they say it is largely in good shape. Ninety percent of the Democratic delegates said the nation was in a recession, while 72 percent of the Republican delegates say it is not."

"At the state AFL-CIO pavilion at the enormous state fair that closes tonight in St. Paul, some union activists were peeved that the GOP was kicking off its convention on a holiday won by organized labor. 'I think it's a slap in the face to me as a labor person. . . . They could've waited one more day,' said Mary Ransom, a 35-year member of the machinists' union from Newport, a suburb of St. Paul. Ransom, a baggage handler for Northwest Airlines, was distributing information about the union's opposition to the proposed merger of Northwest and nonunion Delta Airlines, which could jeopardize union jobs. 'Republicans don't care about labor,' she said."

In a Washington Post op-ed, Wolfson writes, "For 18 months, I listened to Obama on television, sometimes intently, often just barely -- background noise to a running series of conference calls and meetings and e-mails. In person, my attention undivided, I saw something of what so many others had seen for so long."

"Progress in America is never cheap, and even today history exacts a price for Obama's victory -- the dreams of electing the first female president, the dreams of so many who rushed toward Hillary Clinton on rope lines across America and refused to give up her hand and their hopes. Today these dreams are giving way to another kind of progress. For me, the presidential campaign began in a crowded Iowa hall, where I saw a man my age lift up a daughter around my daughter's age and tell her that one day she could be president. Last week things came nearly full circle, when I saw another man my age lift up another child and say the very same thing."

The New York Times looks at how Obama and Biden are adjusting to life as a political couple. "In their first weekend on the road together, with the Democratic convention behind them, Mr. Biden seemed to be easily adapting to opening his sentences with 'One of the things Barack talked about,' before finishing his thought with an answer he might have given when he was challenging Mr. Obama in the primary only a year ago."

The Washington Post adds, "Obama picked Biden as his running mate in part because his colleague from Delaware brings foreign policy heft and a working-class Catholic pedigree to the Democratic ticket. But as the two barnstormed through the Rust Belt on their first campaign swing together over the holiday weekend, it was clear that they also possessed a more elusive political quality: chemistry."