WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney will not attend the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, because of Hurricane Gustav, White House press secretary Dana Perino said Sunday. The Republican National Convention was set to kick off Monday in Minneapolis-St.Paul, Minnesota.

In addition, "substantial" changes to the Republican National Convention program will be announced Sunday because of the storm, two Republican officials said.

Sen. John McCain said Sunday it wouldn't be appropriate to hold a political celebration during the storm. He said there would be significant changes, but did not elaborate.

The campaign will release a statement with updates later Sunday, said McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

One option is delaying the planned Monday opening of the convention, Republican sources said, though one of the officials said "that has not been decided. We need a few more hours to look at all of the contingencies. But there will be some substantial adjustments."

Instead of attending, Bush is likely to address the convention's Monday session, if there is one, via satellite, other officials said. First lady Laura Bush is scheduled to attend.

The last time an incumbent president skipped his party's convention was in 1968, when President Lyndon Johnson stayed at his Texas ranch while Democrats met in Chicago.

The final decisions will be made after Rick Davis, a top campaign aide to McCain, meets Sunday with convention planners in St. Paul.

Shaping those decisions will be briefings that McCain has received in the past 24 hours from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Federal Emergency Management Agency Director David Paulison and several Gulf Coast governors.

"It's a dire outlook, and we need to make some changes," one McCain campaign official said. "But this has never happened before to anyone's convention, so we need some time to touch all the bases."

A senior McCain source said Saturday that officials were considering turning the convention into a massive telethon to raise money for the Red Cross and other agencies to help with hurricane aid.

"He wants to do something service oriented if and when the storm hits and it's as bad as it's expected to be now," the McCain source said.

They are also hoping to get McCain himself to a storm-affected area as soon as possible.

McCain had suggested to a Fox News interviewer that the convention could be suspended if it seemed that a festive gathering was inappropriate in light of the destruction the storm may bring. Video Watch as the Gulf Coast prepares for Gustav »

Republican Govs. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Charlie Crist of Florida, Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Rick Perry of Texas -- whose states lie in the path of the Category 3 Gustav -- will skip the GOP convention because of the storm.

The storm has forced last-minute changes in the convention's announced schedule: If the convention -- originally scheduled to start Monday -- commences by Tuesday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's speech will probably move to that night from Wednesday.

The hardest decisions, like whether to cancel a day or two of the four-day gathering or to condense days, will be made at the last second, GOP officials said, but the logistics are being discussed. advertisement

On Saturday, Bush declared a state of emergency in Mississippi, following similar declarations in Louisiana and Texas.

The president ordered federal aid to supplement state and local efforts in the areas in the forecast path of Hurricane Gustav. Bush and his administration were heavily criticized in 2005 for not moving fast enough to send federal help to the Gulf Coast when Hurricane Katrina

Who should I vote for for president in 2008?

You match up well with...

	Barack Obama - 81 match You must be ambitious and idealistic, like Barack Obama. Obama is a liberal democrat who, unlike his rivals, opposed the Iraq war from the start. With only 3 years in the Senate, his inexperience worries some and sometimes reveals itself in the debates, but he also has the charisma and popular support that the others lack.
	Bill Richardson - 80 match You must be looking for a moderate liberal with impressive credentials. If you live in Iowa or New Hampshire, you could have voted for Bill Richardson. Otherwise, you're out of luck. After finishing 4th in both states, Richardson dropped out of the presidential race. Experienced in state, national, and international politics, Richardson has been a Congressman, an ambassador to the United Nations Security Council, and is now the governor of New Mexico. He is pro-choice, strongly favors rights for the LGBT population, advocates for affirmative action in government contracts, and even championed the idea that Congress should revoke the original authority it gave to go to war with Iraq. Richardson also supports the death penalty and gun ownership rights.
	Hillary Clinton - 75 match Hillary Clinton is a liberal democrat who is unpopular among conservatives for advocating universal health care, abortion rights, and civil unions. She is resented in the anti-war crowd for having authorized a military strike in Iraq and not apologizing since. People see her as power-hungry and willing to do anything to get to the top, even stay with her unfaithful husband. However, Clinton has 8 years of experience in the White House, 25 years in national politics and is currently serving her second term as a popular New York senator. She knows how to make and deliver policy which puts her ahead of the inexperienced presidential hopefuls.

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