But he's still staying in the sunny southwest:After a weekend in which the countryside near his ranch was dominated by demonstrations both in favor of the Iraq war and against it, President Bush travels to Arizona and California today on domestic business: promoting the new Medicare prescription-drug benefit for seniors.

Events in Glendale, Ariz., and Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., will change the subject from the war and the protests that have surrounded the president's five-week vacation.

Is it just me, or was the subject already thoroughly changed from the war to the hurricane? The news seems to have changed dramatically over the past two days, and I am having difficulty finding things to write that are related to politics.

Also, the event in Arizona is taking place on a golf course:

He will be here today, at the Pueblo El Mirage RV and Golf Resort in El Mirage, to discuss the new drug-benefit plan in round-table style with about 400 invitees. I know that these message calendars are made out weeks in advance, but it is particularly telling that Bush has not decided to alter his schedule in any way because of the hurricane.