Gustav vs. RNC: Walking the tightrope in Minnesota

Sunday night, at their beautiful riverfront place in Minneapolis, Sam and Sylvia Kaplan, Minnesota’s political power couple, hosted a cocktail party billed as a bi-partisan welcome to politicians and journalists in town for the RNC.

The Kaplans’ airy, 10,000-square-foot house was filled with folks wanting to be in a festive mood, but having a hard time –- feeling conflicted. There was a strange feeling all around, a subdued party atmosphere I’ve felt before at family funerals -– you know those funerals where, yes, of course we’re sad that Grandma or uncle so-and-so has died, but it’s sure great to see the cousins from New York we hardly ever get to see but love it when we do.

St. Paul and Minneapolis (and Bloomington) have been primping for two years in preparation for the Republican National Convention -– a truly huge event for a metro area of our size -– and now the threat of Hurricane Gustav may well ruin the Twin Cities’ moment in the sun. What luck. As the old blues song goes, “If I didn’t have bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.”

Now, I’m from Chicago, and so I can’t claim that particular Minnesota-Scandinavian “What else can go wrong?” attitude I’ve encountered many times since moving up here five and a half years ago, but I must say this convergence of events seems to mimic that feeling dead-on. I don’t often feel sorry for politicians, but I did tonight. The gathering featured two “honored guests,” U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad; two others were elevated to somewhat special status, the twin mayors, Chris Coleman and R.T. Rybak.Each gave a short talk, after an elegant introduction from Sam Kaplan.

Now, just for a second, put yourself in the politicians’ shoes: How do you appropriately celebrate a once-in-a-lifetime event like the RNC when Gustav is looming along the Gulf Coast?

The last time a storm as big as this hit shore, New Orleans was wiped out. And the poor folks in New Orleans have to leave home again, wondering what they’ll come back to. That’s a tough tightrope to walk, even for seasoned politicians. And I must say that Klobuchar, Ramstad, Coleman and Rybak handled the hot potato pretty well –- each came off as excited but somber. Not easy.

I even felt the tension when I asked a couple of politicians whether Gustav means God loves Republicans or Democrats better and then sort of chuckled –- for a second, I thought, “Jeez, was that too irreverent?” Fortunately, the two state pols I was talking to didn’t seem offended, though I will add that they didn’t answer the question.

But seriously, is Gustav good for the GOP or the Dems? Folks I asked at the “off-the-record” party were mixed. On one hand, Republicans will have a hard time matching the enthusiasm and momentum of the DNC; on the other, they don’t have to worry about dealing with the appearance of a very unpopular president and his even more unpopular vice president. Either way, Gustav’s potential tragedy has tarnished the RNC and the golden glow that St. Paul and Minneapolis and Bloomington -– that Minnesota –- wanted to benefit from for hosting the huge four-day party. Just our luck.

I don’t know if she was referencing this Minnesota attitude, but when Klobuchar addressed the crowd, with non-Minnesotan visitors at the party in mind, she joked, “Minnesota is the kind of place where mothers bounce their newborn babies on their knees and whisper, ‘Someday you might grow up to be vice president.’” Of course, this year, in Minnesota, not even that.