For a while on Monday, the buzz and spin at the Republican convention in St. Paul was swirling so fast around the simultaneous news of Bristol Palin's unwed pregnancy and the progress of Hurricane Gustav that it felt like we were all plopped down in front of the television as the dog was sitting on the remote control and the screen was spinning around among the Weather Channel, C-SPAN and ''Desperate Housewives'' -- the official hurricane-convention-teen pregnancy channel.

After this, a test pattern will look restful.

Photo of Cindy McCain and Laura Bush at the Republican National Convention Sept. 1 courtesy of AP Photo/Ron Edmonds