“Nothing is more important than politics right now. The fate of this country is at stake. We are talking about the future of our children and grandchildren. I think that trumps weather conditions, reports and updates!”

That was a very agitated but deadly serious Chris Matthews, reporting briefly from the Republican Convention on Monday night. This was well after Hurricane Gustav had been downgraded to a tropical storm. It was obvious that despite some damage and about seven deaths, Gustav was not another Katrina. 

Matthews was delivering his comment to his not-so-good friend Keith Olbermann in New York. Olbermann  appeared to have drunk the Gustav Kool-Aid and was busy reporting on the storm with the intensity he usually reserves for his embarrassing and infamous “Special Comments.”

With a pared-down convention starting up after the  Republicans were momentarily sidelined by a serious-not-devastating storm — which I believe will prove eventually to have been good for them … and with McCain’s veep pick Sarah Palin descending into Peyton Place territory …  and Barack Obama’s small bounce obliterated by the Palin surprise, Matthews was clearly hot to get to the meat of things political. (And so was I!)

Mr. Olbermann, who always seems to relish any discomfiture on Matthews’s part, was unwaveringly bombastic in sticking to his weather-tracking.

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I have to hand it to Fox. As soon as Gustav was downgraded, and it looked as if New Orleans had been spared another knock-out punch, that network began covering other news. Of course, it was mostly news designed to defend Sarah Palin, criticize Democrats and excoriate the Daily Kos website for printing scandalous rumors about Palin and her daughter. But still, Fox went on with business. CNN and MSNBC Gustav-ed all through the night. (You’d think the ark was picking up family pets along the way.) Fox did return to “dramatic” coverage of Shepard Smith and Geraldo Rivera, brave and wind-blown, but at least they’d gotten their political shots in on a day the rest of cable was all wet.

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For my money, the very best of TV Monday night was Charlie Rose talking to an eclectic panel comprised of Cokie Roberts, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Al Hunt, Mark Halperin, Walter Isaacson, Charlie Cook, Ed Rogers and Ed Rollins. They called Palin’s appointment by every adjective from “brilliant” to “insane.” It was just great to see these great minds ruminate and run all over the place. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. 

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I personally think the choice of Palin was a shockingly cynical political maneuver from a guy who likes to shoot from the hip and follow his gut instincts. But McCain’s  choosing Palin is very likely to be successful.

And yet, for all of Palin’s lip service to Hillary Clinton, this is not really about those “disaffected” Hillary women. This is a direct appeal to the ultra-conservative base that has always eluded McCain, a base he once disparaged. Palin was a strong supporter of Pat Buchanan, back in the day. Does she still share his super-conservative ideals? For instance, his attitude toward Israel? And things of that ilk. I not only think she does but I think  inquiring American minds need to know. (It will be fascinating to see what Pat’s little American Conservative magazine now has to say; it has been ruthless in attacking the Bush administration.) Buchanan himself, excitable on a normal day, almost exploded with joy the morning Palin’s name was announced. As far as he and many in the GOP are concerned, she will — one way or another — be the next president of the United States.

Still, maybe this is all a wild and crazy joke, a “Saturday Night Live” skit taken to extremes. Because every time you see the attractive Gov. Palin, you think — Tina Fey! And these two women are only a few years apart in age.

Click here to read my New York Post column.