ST. PAUL, United States, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- The cancellation of President George W. Bush's attendance at the Republican National Convention (RNC) here Monday could help shore up Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, some Republican insiders said.

    Republican strategists have worried all year about the possible impact of Bush's attendance at the RNC, which will begin here later Monday, as the president's supporting rate lies at a near-record low.

U.S. President George W. Bush makes a statement on preparations for Hurricane Gustav at the operation center at FEMA headquarters in Washington August 31, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    So, when Bush canceled his planned appearance at Monday night's opening session to focus on preparations for Hurricane Gustav, there were more than a few sighs of relief among the Republicans.

    "It's a good thing," said former Representative Dick Zimmer, the Republican candidate for Senate in New Jersey, where Bush is not especially popular.

    "The first thing I was asked when I won the primary was whether I planned to ask President Bush to come to New Jersey to campaign for me. The answer was no," he said.

    Dan Schnur, a former aide to John McCain, agreed. If Bush's speech had been Monday's main event as originally planned, he said, then media coverage of the convention might have turned into "one long Bush vs. McCain soap opera" focusing on tension between the two, he said.

    Conflicting views of Bush among the Republicans have been mounting since the president's popularity plummeted during his second term.

    Even before Hurricane Gustav forced Bush's decision Sunday, some Republicans said the president could help his party best by staying home this week.

    "President Bush is history, and what we're trying to do is build a party and win an election based on what we're going to do in the future," said Republican Representative Dana Rohrabacher, who for months has been urging the president to stay away.

    However, Bush remains popular among the conservative activists who are well-represented among Republican convention delegates.

    Many were crestfallen that they wouldn't see the president in person. McCain aides have seen the convention not as a chance to show how close Bush and McCain are (they're not), but as an opportunity to tell voters how their candidate's brand of conservative government would differ from the sitting president's.

    McCain and Bush have had a prickly relationship ever since they collided in a series of bitter Republican presidential primaries in 2000.

    They have appeared on camera together only twice during this campaign, and the two have reportedly not spoken to each other since their last meeting at a Phoenix fundraiser in May.

    Democratic candidate Senator Barack Obama of Illinois has sought to portray McCain as both personally and politically entwined with Bush, a notion McCain has pushed back continuously.

    In McCain's nomination acceptance speech, currently scheduled to be delivered at the convention Thursday, the Republican presidential hopeful is likely to salute Bush for his conduct of the battle against international terrorism.

    But the main focus of his speech will be an explanation of how McCain would chart a new course on the economy and other issues after the Bush administration if he had a chance to take office, experts say.