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WASHINGTON-President Bush, confronted with the prospect of a second monster hurricane striking the still-battered Gulf Coast, checked in with governors and federal officials Saturday to make sure Washington was doing all it can.The president called state leaders in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas in the early morning from the White House before heading out for a 90-minute bike ride, spokesman Scott Stanzel said. Those states are in the potential path of Hurricane Gustav, which has been cutting a deadly route through the Caribbean and swelled into a fearsome Category 4 hurricane Saturday.It was expected to cross Cuba's cigar country before moving into the Gulf of Mexico, where it could gather even more strength. Gustav could reach the U.S. by early Tuesday, anywhere from the Florida Panhandle to Texas. But just three years after Hurricane Katrina drowned New Orleans, a calamity from which the city still is not nearly recovered, it appears very likely to get slammed again, by at least tropical-storm-force winds if not worse.Bush also received regular updates from aides about the storm's path and the government's preparations.The president asked each governor what was needed from the federal government, Stanzel said. Bush praised them for mobilizing their states so effectively to get ready."He told each of the governors that federal officials were monitoring Hurricane Gustav very closely," Stanzel said. "President Bush pledged the full support of the federal government."As in the days of Noah...
