McCain Calls for Changing GOP Convention as Storm Approaches. August 31, 2008, 1:50 pm.John McCain called for dramatic changes to the Republican National Convention during a visit to a hurricane command center in Jackson, Miss.?We must redirect our efforts from the really celebratory event of the nomination of president and vice president of our party to acting as all Americans,? the Republican presidential candidate said standing alongside his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.The details will be announced later Sunday, McCain said, ?but there?s very little doubt that we have to go from a party event to a call to the nation for action, action to help our fellow citizens in this time of tragedy and disaster, action in the form of volunteering, donations, reaching out our hands and our hearts and our wallets to the people who are under such great threat from this great natural disaster.?Among the possibilities being discussed: curtailing some days or events, asking sponsors to cancel parties, or turning the event into a fund-raiser for hurricane relief efforts.McCain also made clear that Monday evening, the opening of the convention, would be a nonpartisan event ?because America needs us now no matter whether we are Republican or Democrat.? Hurricane Gustav is expected to make landfall mid-day Monday, and if it stays on its current path will strike the Louisiana coast near New Orleans.McCain and Palin, and their spouses, were in Jackson to tour the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Emergency Operation Center and receive a briefing on the storm preparation.