By Steve Holland

ST. PAUL (Reuters) - Republican John McCain on Sunday ordered political speeches cancelled for his Republican nominating convention on Monday to avoid a festive atmosphere while Americans cope with Hurricane Gustav.

McCain and other Republicans moved quickly to try to avoid a repeat of 2005 when President George W. Bush was seen as out of touch as Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.

"Of course this is a time when we have to do away with most of our party politics," said McCain, who has been harshly critical of Bush's performance during Katrina.

Republican leaders, including McCain himself, say it would be unseemly to be seen celebrating while a natural disaster unfolded on the Gulf coast 1,100 miles (1,700 kms) away. Organizers said they would plan day to day based on the impact of the hurricane.

McCain, speaking by video hookup from St. Louis after visiting an emergency command centre in Jackson, Mississippi, said it was time that "we take off our Republican hats and put on our American hats and say 'America, we're with you.'"

Republicans were in St. Paul for their four-day convention to formally nominate McCain as their candidate to face Democrat Barack Obama in the November 4 election.

Whether McCain himself would appear in St. Paul, Minnesota, was up in the air. McCain was scheduled to close the convention with his nomination acceptance speech on Thursday.

He told NBC News it was possible that he would deliver his acceptance speech by satellite from the Gulf region, saying "all possibilities and all scenarios" were open.