Should conventions be held in Gulf-coast cities?

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

One of the reasons people have cited for not holding the 2008 Democratic National Convention in New Orleans is "What happens if a hurricane hits"? Well, with Tampa Bay being a major contender for the GOP convention, lets not forget that the following cities have hosted conventions in the past: Houston - 1992, New Orleans - 1988, Miami Beach: 1968 and 1972 (both Dem and Rep). The fact is, the odds of a specific city being hit with a hurricane during a specific week is fairly low, and I don't think we can expect all Gulf Coast cities to just shut down their tourism business during hurricane season. The Tampa Bay bid for the 2008 GOP convention says:

the chance of a hurricane directly hitting the area while the convention is in town in early September 2008 is too small to affect the decision.

There are good reasons for the Democrats to pick a site other than New Orleans in 2008, but chances of a hurricane should not be one of them. (And neither is the state of New Orlean's tourism infrastructure, a point I will re-address in the future).