Bush Heads to Texas, Scrapping Convention Speech, as Gustav Menaces

CRAWFORD, Texas - Determined not to repeat the mistakes of Katrina, President Bush skipped his own party's convention Monday and headed to Texas to monitor Hurricane Gustav, declaring that the government was far better prepared than three years ago.

The president had been scheduled to deliver a prime-time address in St. Paul on the convention's opening night. Instead, he flew to an emergency operations center in Austin to be briefed alongside state and federal officials.

"The Army Corps of Engineers informs me that while the levees are stronger than they've ever been, people across the Gulf Coast need to understand this is a serious storm," Mr. Bush said.

The memory of 2005 hangs over every decision. The government's response to Katrina — the president's flyover photo, the stranded thousands at the Superdome, the "heck of a job" remark — became a turning point in his presidency from which his approval ratings never recovered.

This time, the machinery moved early: FEMA pre-positioned millions of meals, thousands of National Guard troops stood ready, and the White House released footage of the president receiving daily briefings at his ranch over the weekend.

Vice President Dick Cheney also canceled his convention appearance. In their place, the first lady and Cindy McCain were to lead a relief appeal from the podium in St. Paul.

Democrats, treading carefully, praised the evacuation effort while noting that levee reconstruction remains unfinished. "The test of government is in the response," said Sen. Barack Obama. "We pray it passes this time."

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Associated Press writers contributed to this report.

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