As the Republicans gear up for their national convention, slated to start Monday in an abbreviated format, Hurricane Gustav has compelled both parties to drop partisan walls for the time being and focus on the well-being of the Gulf Coast states.

Will the storm also prompt the campaigns to suspend or modify their ad attack strategy? John McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, addressed the issue in a press conference Sunday. "Right now, we had some ads that were being purchased as a course of normal activities during this week," Davis said. "And we're evaluating whether or not we have those go up or whether we can even get them down. So, we are looking at that as a campaign."

A spokesman for Barack Obama said the Democrat's campaign is monitoring the situation but has not changed its ad strategy yet.

If the hurricane does trigger a cease-fire between the campaigns, it will certainly be a change of pace after both released a flurry of ads within the last week. The McCain camp released an ad every day of the Democrats' convention in Denver, hitting Obama on everything from national security to harsh criticism from Hillary Rodham Clinton. The Obama campaign didn't waste any time leading up to the Republicans' events in the Twin Cities, releasing three spots on Saturday, including a hard-hitting one responding to McCain's newly picked running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.