Sidney Blumenthal says President Bush was "furious" at being bumped from speaking at the Republican National Convention.
"The McCain campaign and the Bush White House negotiated terms that
unfolded as a script over the past several days, several sources told
me. First, Bush announced he must oversee the preparations for dealing
with the hurricane. He would not be able to attend the convention.
Cheney, too, would drop out. In order that Bush and Cheney not seem to
have been humiliated, McCain cancelled the entire proceedings for the
first evening."