Gustav has brought out what little the gops have to offer in the way of playacting talent. It falls handily into three acts: 1) pretending outwardly to be sorry that Bush and Cheney won't appear at the convention; 2) striving to look masterfully in control of the storm crisis; 3) feigning concern for the evacuees and the disadvantaged at large.

So far, not so convincing. Nobody in his right mind believes the first one. Bush, shown sitting at the head of a FEMA crisis meeting, is working so hard to look commanding that his eyes cross with the effort. McCain, trying to appear supportive in revealing ECU from Mississippi on all the news shows, looks and sounds merely befuddled.

I'm waiting for Anne Colture to say that Gustave was caused by Southern Decadence.