The Politics Of Putting Aside Politics

McCain, speaking to some delegations tonight via satellite:

So ahead of time I wanna thank all of my fellow Republicans as we take off our Republican hats and put on our American hats and we say "America, we're with you. America, we're going to care for these people in their time of need" and we're gonna display it in every possible way as Americans always have and Americans always will.

Everyone's first thoughts are with those who are evacuating, and the Democrats would probably have done much the same thing, but it would be a little myopic to lose sight of the fact that McCain and the Republicans have ALL the incentive in the world to do exactly what they are doing. McCain says that he's putting people before politics. In this case, what is the most politically astute is also, it turns out, what helps the most people. The politics of putting aside politics ... is still politics.