Leslie Jorgensen's Notebook

The first sign of “stops and starts” flashed when delegates checked into the Four Points by Sheraton in Minneapolis, and then waited hours for an available hotel room, Sunday. That was an omen of the stops and starts of the Republican National Convention at the Xcel Center.

As Hurricane Gustav roared across the Gulf of Mexico toward New Orleans, the John McCain campaign and Republican strategists sought solutions to a public relations nightmare — television images of Republican revelers versus victims of Gustav’s destruction.