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CNN Saturday Morning News

Hurricane Gustav Heading for Gulf Coast; Governor Sarah Palin: Can She Do the Job as Vice President?

Aired August 30, 2008 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, welcome to CNN SATURDAY MORNING on this August 30th. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.

You know, it's no holiday weekend if you're living along the Gulf Coast. They are bracing themselves. In fact, many of them are actually packing up and heading north, at least out of harm's way. We have CNN crews, affiliates, even traffic cameras. We have you covered this morning as we wait for Gustav to make landfall.

HOLMES: And Gustav, as it moves along, is certainly packing the punch. And it is building some steam here. We got word this morning, actually just a short time ago, an hour or so that actually it has been upgraded to a category three storm, winds of at least 115 miles an hour. We'll get the very latest from our Reynolds Wolf who is standing by tracking this storm for us.

NGUYEN: Also, take a look. This woman right there -- Sarah Palin is her name and she is the vice presidential choice for the GOP. So the question this morning, though, is: who exactly is she and can she do the job? We'll delve into that.

Back to this killer storm, it's getting stronger and on a collision course with the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Gustav is now a category three storm and it's being blamed for 71 deaths in the Caribbean.

HOLMES: It is making its way to us, U.S. landfall expected sometime late Monday, maybe early on Tuesday. Now, this cone of uncertainty you always hear about -- certainly, we don't know exactly where these storms are going to go but this cone is a pretty big cone and it pretty much covers the entire Gulf Coast of the U.S. really, anywhere from the Florida Panhandle over to Texas could hit. Mandatory New Orleans evacuations could come as early as tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: I'm encouraging all citizens to start to make plans, to evacuate the city within the next couple of days. We are not in a mandatory evacuation state at this point, but we continue to monitor the storm as it goes forward. But we are now strongly encouraging people to start planning and we will be implementing the series (ph) of evacuation plan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, as he said, they are encouraging people and some people don't need that much encouragement. They know better. Certainly, at this point, they're not waiting to be told they have to get out, they are gassing up now and they are getting out of town.

NGUYEN: Yes. CNN's Chris Lawrence joins us now live from Belle Chasse, Louisiana, with the look at the coastal evacuations. We've been watching ever since yesterday. It seems like a lot of people are packing up. But what about those, Chris, who just haven't done it yet?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, asked that same question to some of the officials here, Betty. This is the first mandatory evacuation in the state of Louisiana right here. Let me step away and tell you, in just a couple of hours, people are going to start flowing through here. They've got all the stations set up to try to get people out.

And I asked that question: what about the folks who just want to leave but maybe they don't have the money for gas, they don't have the money for the hotel? And she said, if they have to, some of the sheriffs will actually go back down to their homes. They know who some of these people are, they will get them, they will bring them here, and then they will get them on a bus and get them to a shelter away from here.

She said basically there is really no safe place in this county. The reason this is going first (ph) is because with the state's plan, they get the low-lying areas, the lower areas out first. Once they're safely out, then they institute contra-flow, which is when you redirect traffic patterns all in one direction and then the areas above them will follow after that.

This area has about up 25,000 people, a third of which have already left. And we talked with, you know, some of the officials here about what that means. You know we say it all the time, you know -- leave it your house, evacuate, but just the emotional toll of leaving behind what you own and not really understanding when or if you're going to be able to get back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY NUNGESSER, PLAQUEMINES PARISH PRESIDENT: I know this is a very emotional thing. I had a lady called who just finished her garden in six weeks and rebuilt her home. And she seemed to be seriously worried about her garden. And emotionally, I can see it's taking a toll on -- as it is on a lot of people. But we can replace those things. We can't replace lives.

And we just need to keep focused on that and we can come back and with a little luck and a little -- a lot of praying, hopefully, it will move west and it won't top our levees. But if it does, we'll bond together and rebuild like we did before.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LAWRENCE: In just a couple of hours, there's going to be a helicopter flying overhead, announcing to people that this is a mandatory evacuation. The deputies are even going to be going door to door in certain areas, evacuating some of the nursing homes.

And coming up in the next hour, we're going to talk with an official here who's going to tell us a little bit about why there is some real concern about the levees here and why some money was not allocated to try to shore up those levees and what that could mean to the two oil refineries that are covered by this area -- Betty.

NGUYEN: A lot of possibilities ahead and a lot of them don't look very good at all. Let me ask you this though, very quickly, Chris. When we talk about going door to door and trying to get some of these people out of their homes, are they worried at all that they're obviously not going to be able to know where every single person is? I mean, is there a reverse 911 system where people can call and say, hey, I really need help getting out in order to evacuate?

LAWRENCE: Well, it's a little bit easier in a parish like this one which is obviously much smaller, you know, than something like the city of New Orleans. What they're doing is they're using a lot of what they learned last time in Katrina. They've already identified, as you would say, and some of the folks who they know have had problems in the past. They're keeping a special eye on some of these folks.

And when they get here, everybody will register. And that allows them to kind of build a list, so to speak. So you know exactly where people are going.

NGUYEN: Oh, that's some good information there. OK. Chris Lawrence, joining us live. And we'll be talking to you a little bit later on in the show. Thank you, Chris.

HOLMES: And just like Louisiana, a state of emergency also has been called in Alabama. The governor there, Bob Riley, is telling people to take precaution. They are complying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I live in (INAUDIBLE). So, I don't want to (INAUDIBLE). And I can't stay home for the storm. I got to work at the fire department. So, I can't stay home. So, check the house (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). I'd be buying the plywood, but I moved some -- twice so I have to, that's a new house and different windows. So, I have to get different plywood, more plywood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: No evacuations are ordered thus far in Alabama. Shelters are also not yet open. NGUYEN: Well, Texas governor, Rick Perry, has already issued a disaster declaration for 61 counties in case Gustav makes landfall there. Apparently, 5,000 National Guard troops have been activated as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPTAIN ADAM COLLETT, NATIONAL GUARD: We've provided support for search and rescue missions. We've been able to help others civilian agencies, first responders, get into those effected high water areas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Emergency shelters are being prepared in order to get folks ready for possible evacuations. And many seem to be taking all of this very seriously. The state has agreed to take up 10,000 Louisiana evacuees if necessary.

HOLMES: All right. Let's turn it over to our meteorologist Reynolds Wolf, who's keeping an eye on Gustav, where this thing is heading and we're talking about this cone of uncertainty. It seems like this cone almost covers the entire Gulf Coast of the U.S. It could hit anywhere from Florida to Texas.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's possible. And I mean, remember Hurricane Dolly back in 2004, all old models are pointing that that storm was going to go right into Tampa Bay and it made a quick turn and veer right across the peninsula of Florida. And no one expected that to happen. It did.

These storms are highly unpredictable. There is a spinning storm and a rotating planet, it's a big mess. It's going over a fluid environment, talking about that warm water. And there's plenty of it. A lot of warm water for it to feed off of and a lot of warm water that's dumping some heavy rain across much of the Caribbean.

Take a look at Jamaica just yesterday. We've got some video for you. The rain just coming down, the heavy surf, they've dealt with the wind. Goodness gracious. Winds are topping 100 miles per hour. We've got the video for you, again, the video in Jamaica shows again that the heavy surf action, the rain continues to come down, there's some of the flooding we had.

This is a scene that also played out over towards Haiti and Port- au-Prince, also in parts of the Dominican Republic. And now moving closer to the Caymans, they're going to be dealing with the same situation.

Let's go back to the weather computer for just a moment, take the next minute and show you where we expect this storm, at least, what the National Hurricane Center brings it. The latest that they have as the storm is still going to the northwest around 12 miles per hour, and then as it gets right to the tip in Cuba, then the winds will intensify to about 125 miles per hour by 2:00 a.m. on Sunday.

This is a scary thing because once it passes Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula, there's a wide expanse of warm water, mineral shear environment, where the storm could continue to intensify. Right now, the forecast has it as a category three storm, but there's every reason to believe that the storm could become even stronger. A cat four possibly, maybe even a category five storm as it gets closer to the Louisiana coast.

And, T.J., as you were talking moments ago, it's that cone of uncertainty right now showing there's the potential the storm could hit say, somewhere, I'd say, near Laurel, Alabama and back into Mississippi and perhaps even closer to Galveston into Texas. But the thing is, this storm certainly could veer a little bit more to the east, possibly more to the west. I guarantee you there will be some change that will take place in this forecast between now and Sunday and of course Monday, and by Tuesday, the same deal.

Let's send it back to you. And as soon as we get more information, we'll bring it live.

HOLMES: Reynolds, is anything in particular needs to happen or any kind of conditions that take place that make it turn one way or another? This thing just does, and these hurricanes just do what they want to do?

WOLF: Well, basically what we look for, high loft, these things called steering winds. You have an area of high pressure that is now settling over the United States. Parts of the south eastern U.S., those steering winds, winds that's been around the area of high pressure working in a clock wise rotation.

These storms, the hurricanes are, say, tropical storms and tropical systems roll in an area of low pressure counterclockwise. So, with high pressure, the high pressure being the main feature, what it's going to do is try to push this storm a little bit more to the west. Now, this storm, because there are rotations here, one could veer it a little bit to the right. So, you have high pressure battling this area of low pressure.

If that's not geeky enough for you, basically, what we have to do is watch and see these systems play (ph), you've get two forces that are fighting against each other and the happy medium between the two, not happy at all, going to Louisiana.

HOLMES: Steering winds -- all right, we will keep an eye. Well, you will keep an eye on it for us. We appreciate you, Reynolds.

WOLF: Anytime.

HOLMES: We'll be checking in with you a lot this morning.

And as we continue to watch for Hurricane Gustav arrival, we're watching and getting help from our affiliates, getting reports, getting videos from them all over the Gulf Coast region. Several of them have recorders out in the area, keeping an eye on things. We'll monitor many of those live pictures as you see there and also monitoring those affiliates for the very latest. NGUYEN: You know, the irony here is not lost because of the ominous anniversary of Gustav moving closer to New Orleans. As you well know, Friday marked the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's destruction of the city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ring these bells in memory of everyone who has passed as it relates to Hurricane Katrina.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Nearly 1,000 people died in Louisiana alone and most of those in New Orleans. Overall, though, more than 1,600 died in the storm. The recovery has been slow for many and thousands of the people in Louisiana and well as Mississippi are still living in temporary housing.

We wanted to take a moment now to show you graphically what happened three years ago. So, here's a look at New Orleans before Katrina hit. There's the Lower Ninth Ward, the Lakeview area, East New Orleans, St. Bernard Parish.

All right, take a look at this. This is how it looked right after the storm. So much of the city just covered with water.

HOLMES: All right. We've got two tickets now. O-Biden is one and the other is McCain/Palin.

NGUYEN: How are you going to make that one, put it together? We'll work on it.

HOLMES: I don't know. We'll come up with something by the end of the morning, but yes.

NGUYEN: McPalin, maybe. I don't know.

HOLMES: McPalin?

NGUYEN: Yes, I don't know.

HOLMES: That will work. But, Republicans, yes, have their ticket. They hope it's a wining ticket for the presidential race.

NGUYEN: And we'll have reaction to John McCain's unexpected choice of a running mate, a first-term governor from Alaska.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We'll get to some presidential politics right now because Republican John McCain shook things up with his surprise V.P. choice. Cindy McCain holds a rally with running mate Sarah Palin, the first-term governor of Alaska.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To serve as vice president beside such a man would be the privilege of a lifetime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Spokeswoman for Barack Obama's campaign issued a statement criticizing Palin's lack of experience. Obama himself praised Palin for her accomplishments, but said she does not represent change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I haven't met her before. She seems like a compelling person -- obviously, a terrific story, personal story. And you know, I'm sure that she will help make the case for the Republicans. Unfortunately, the case is more of the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. Palin is certainly drawing praise from many Republicans and Democrats are criticizing her -- shocker there. But to some outside political observers, they are just simply scratching their heads.

CNN's deputy political producer or director, Paul Steinhauser, joins us now from St. Paul, Minnesota where the Republican convention kicks off. Yes, I get confused about your title sometimes. But, Paul is what we call him around here.

Let's talk about this experience thing. A lot of people are just saying, you kidding me? She was a mayor of a town of less than 10,000, a governor of a state of 600,000 for two years, and all of a sudden she's ready to be president -- what?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, you know, T.J., you've got to go back almost 40 years to have a running mate who's had this little foreign policy experience when named. Democrats are all over this. They're criticizing her and just criticizing John McCain for this choice, saying, "Listen, John McCain is 72-years-old. You know, this woman is a heartbeat away from the presidency if he's elected and she has no experience whatsoever."

Remember, John McCain and Republicans have been going after Obama for months now for lack of experience. They're saying Sarah Palin kind of takes that argument away.

Our Dana Bash caught up with Sarah Palin yesterday on the campaign trail in Ohio and she asked her about experience. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Governor, what do you say to critics who are saying that you don't have enough experience for this job?

PALIN: Well, I appreciate (INAUDIBLE) the office that I've had to give me some good experience to get ready for this job. It's been good experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: T.J., there is a flip side from the experience. She's a social conservative, abortion, gay rights -- these are issues where she will be well with the party faithful. She's known as a reformer as well. And I think there are a lot of plusses besides the minuses on foreign policy experience, T.J.

HOLMES: But on this experience thing, is in there anyway that the McCain camp is trying to bait Obama into this argument if you want to criticize our V.P. and say she doesn't have much experience, you bring up the experience question and the guy at the top of your ticket doesn't have the experience?

STEINHAUSER: Right, exactly. And, you know, for months now, they've been going after Obama for this. And you just saw in the last week, commercial after commercial, criticizing Barack Obama for lack of experience.

What I think it may do though while the Democrats may not go after her, this may prevent now the Republicans from going after Obama for his lack of experience. So maybe this issue that we've heard so much about in the last couple of weeks, maybe it will go away for a while, T.J.

HOLMES: Do we have any sense, any idea what was happening behind the scenes? There were reports certainly that John McCain is his own guy, he's going to do what he wants to do and this was his decision. Do we know if there was any rift behind the scenes, anybody trying to encourage him -- hey, do not do this, you're asking for trouble here and trying to move more towards the traditional, I guess, an easier pick -- a Romney, a Huckabee, a Governor Pawlenty?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, talking about Governor Pawlenty, remember he left Denver a day early to go back to Minnesota. There was a thought that he was getting ready for the announcement and then this change at the last minute.

No, I don't think anybody's gotten in John McCain's mind. But we do know this -- he makes his own decisions, he dances to his own tune. And this is very much a John McCain surprise. Remember, yesterday was his 72nd birthday. Usually you get surprised on your birthday -- well, he surprised all of us on his birthday, T.J.

HOLMES: Yes, that was a pretty big one.

Our Paul Steinhauser, again, our deputy political director, there in St. Paul where RNC kicks off their convention on Monday. We're going to be chatting with you more this morning; we'll talk about more of what's happening there in St. Paul.

Paul, good to see you, sir. We'll see you again here shortly.

And, of course, join the best political team on television for complete coverage of the Republican National Convention live from St. Paul, Minnesota. That coverage starts Monday afternoon, 4:00 o'clock Eastern, right here on your home for politics.

NGUYEN: Well, another big story is on the radar and that, of course, is Hurricane Gustav which is gaining strength this morning.

Our Reynolds Wolf is keeping a close eye on the storm from the severe weather center as Gustav moves closer to the Gulf Coast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We are definitely tracking Hurricane Gustav all day right here on CNN, as well as those preparations which are being made right now along the Gulf Coast. All of the Louisiana's National Guard members -- more than 7,000 of them -- have been activated. Some 1,500 of them arrived in New Orleans Friday just to secure the city as evacuations occur and New Orleans police officers, they will also be assigned to protect against possible looting or other crimes. Louisiana National Guard has asked other states for loaner (ph) helicopters to replace the fleet which is actually serving in Iraq.

States, they are stepping in other ways to support the Gulf Coast. New York City ambulance companies are sending trucks and crews. One company spokesman says his crews are expected to reach the area by midday today. So, a lot of people are not taking any chances on this powerful storm.

HOLMES: And a lot of people certainly are getting ready. Reynolds is here to tell us about Gustav. And nobody in particular knows whether this thing is going to hit. So, just pretty much everybody in the Gulf Coast needs to be ready.

WOLF: Yes. So, you're basically much of the Gulf Coast, it's like staring down the barrel of the gun and the gun is called Gustav. And speaking of this storm, to give you an idea of just how big it is, you can see parts of Cuba. You also see a little bit of a blue stripe that is extending down to the parts of the storm.

You see the outline of a C-130 aircraft. That is actually the flight path of a hurricane track and it took off out of Homestead, Florida, and went down and investigated the core of this. It dropped some weather instrumentation. They refer to it as a drop sign, and got some information with -- they letting us know that Gustav now has maximum sustained winds of 115 miles an hour. That makes this storm a category three storm.

The storm continues to move off toward the west and northwest around 12 miles per hour. Now, we expect the storm to actually get stronger going from winds to 115 to 125 as you get to 2:00 a.m. Sunday. And then notice this, guys, the storm is moving back out over into the open waters of the gulf as we get into Monday and then closer to the Louisiana coastline, possibly making landfall early morning as we get to 2:00 a.m. Tuesday.

But one thing you must remember about this storm system is that you follow this line, that is where the center of the storm is expected to go, but you also have that cone of uncertainty. You know, when the storm can move a bit more to the east, perhaps more to the west, but even more than that, again, this focus is mainly on the eye where the storm will expand for, say, hundreds of miles.

So, even though the line of the storm may go, say west New Orleans, New Orleans will still get quite a bit of storm surge, heavy rainfall, no doubt. And, of course, the winds could be very, very strong in excess, well in excess of 100 miles per hour.

It's going to be very interesting to see how this plays out, especially the next couple of days. We're really going to have a much better idea of where this storm may be headed as we get into Sunday and definitely by Monday. Let's send it back to you at the news desk.

HOLMES: All right, Reynolds, we appreciate you keeping an eye on it. We will be turning to you a lot this morning.

NGUYEN: Yes, folks in New Orleans and really around that Gulf Coast area are on high alert, they're not taking any chances, especially considering Friday was the anniversary -- the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. So today, we're going to show you what people are doing as they anxiously watch and wait for Gustav to make landfall.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Welcome back, everybody, on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen in the CNN hurricane center.

HOLMES: And good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.

Good reason for her to be in the hurricane center this morning. A lot is going on over there. If you are just waking up, Hurricane Gustav is getting stronger, now a category three storm. We are monitoring there those live pictures of some of our affiliates in the Gulf Coast. You see a live picture there on your left side and on the right, they're now going to a commercial but a reporter there is obviously standing by, getting ready to do a live report there. We're keeping eye on all of our affiliates.

Well, "Get out" is the word as the hurricane moves closer to the Gulf Coast. The first mandatory evacuations are starting to be put in place and will be put in place in the next couple of hours, we understand.

Also, later today, people in parts of New Orleans will be told as well to get out of there. Now, the governor there of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, says he'll implement a contraflow plan -- it's what this thing is called -- as early as tomorrow morning. That means all highways in southern Louisiana will be open in one only one direction. That direction is the direction that will take people out.

You see here a lot of people are -- boarding up is the plan. And then they are getting out. A lot of them are stocking up as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stocking up on gas and everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, the National Guard is in place ready to help as needed. They say that may include law enforcement.

NGUYEN: And you know it's not only Louisiana. The state of an emergency has been set up in parts of Texas as well.

Governor Rick Perry moved Texas National Guardsmen into some of those areas and that includes Galveston, which is along the coast, so these people don't seem to be too concerned as they swim. After all, it is a holiday weekend. But the mayor says that won't be part of the consideration if an evacuation is needed because they will have to get off of the beach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR LYDA THOMAS, GALVESTON, TEXAS: The visitors will leave (ph) just like any other Galvestonian. If we call for a mandatory evacuation or a voluntary evacuation, the visitors will leave along with any other Galvestonian. We won't discriminate between a visitor and a resident. They all just go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Now, in Tyler, Texas, officials are preparing for an influx of evacuees. Area shelters and emergency personnel have been told to be ready. The American Red Cross says that it can take in close to 2,000 people.

So, let's get an idea of exactly where Gustav is right now. Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf joins us. And you said something a little bit earlier that really kind of frightened me.

WOLF: Bring it on.

NGUYEN: You said this storm could possibly turn into a category five?

WOLF: Absolutely, because you look for things with this storm that could actually give it the opportunity to strengthen. One of those things would be minimal shear, winds aloft. It could tear this storm apart. If you have very calm say atmospheric conditions, high loft, and the storm is able to contain or continue its structure, its rotation, the counterclockwise spin and it is away from land and has plenty of warm ocean water, this storm has certainly the possibility of strengthening.

I'm not saying it's going to be, say, like a Hurricane Wilma, which is the strongest storm we've ever had in the Atlantic basin, had the lowest pressure, but certainly it has that potential of getting much stronger. The most difficult thing we do in terms of these storms is to forecast the strength.

The path -- we're doing a little bit better on. And the path we have from the National Hurricane Center brings the storm just right past Cuba as we get into Sunday, then back into Monday. The storm ventures out into the middle of the Gulf of Mexico where, again, you have that minimal shear environment and very, very warm water where it could strengthen a bit more.

Right now, the forecast has it with winds of 125. A cat three, a major hurricane at 2:00 a.m. Monday, and then, boom, right up into parts of New Orleans or not in New Orleans, rather, but points westward. Something important to mention though -- notice that even if the eye passes on west New Orleans, New Orleans may catch the brunt of it from these winds spinning counterclockwise, also, a lot of the storm surge in the extreme parts of southeastern Louisiana. And that certainly could be an interesting situation as we make our way into early next week.

You know, Betty, one thing that's been great about this, and you have to admit this, in spite of the fear of what the storm could possibly bring, the idea that people are already taking action, the idea that people learned from their mistakes, and we're going ahead...

NGUYEN: My goodness, if you look at Katrina, how could they not?

WOLF: Absolutely. And that's a great thing to see people being proactive in this kind of thing. They're not waiting to the last minute. These plans are already set. And people are doing the right thing (ph).

NGUYEN: Especially when you have a cone of uncertainty as you guys like to call it that is pretty large.

WOLF: Absolutely. I mean, you know, and you have to look at this area. You could certainly see this expand possibly hundreds of miles in either direction. So you have a big margin of error, so to speak. So, basically, everyone has to be ready, especially New Orleans, as we mentioned.

Here's the live image we had out of New Orleans. It is a hazy morning from the Ninth Ward into, say, the French Quarter. It is going to be pretty much that way as we make our way through the midday hours. Parts of Lake Ponchartrain there in the foreground (ph). In the distance, you see the Big Easy. It's going to be very interesting to watch the conditions deteriorate over the next couple of days.

OK, Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. And, of course, we'll be checking in with you very often throughout the morning.

But for folks who do want more information on this storm, you can always go to the National Hurricane weather Web site. That's NOAA.gov.

HOLMES: All right. Well, the Democratic National Convention is over, but people have not stopped talking about it, haven't stopped breaking it down. Josh Levs continues to break it down for us.

Good morning, sir. JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. You know, you've all heard about the history and the pageantry, what about the reality? We are going to reality check one of Obama's biggest attacks against McCain at the convention.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, what a difference a few hours make, in fact. Nearly 12 hours after Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president, look at this -- Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium looks like -- well, what it should -- a football stadium. Crews were dismantling the stage yesterday, pulling up flooring, cleaning up after some 86,000 people.

Boy, that could be a lot of trash.

HOLMES: A lot of folks.

NGUYEN: The University of Colorado and Colorado State University face-off at the stadium tomorrow. But just, you know all the cups, the different kinds of paraphernalia that they were waving in the air, you know, the signs and all that kinds of stuff -- a lot to clean up.

HOLMES: Did you watch the whole thing? Did you watch at home?

NGUYEN: I did.

HOLMES: You know, he had 85,000 -- 86,000.

NGUYEN: Eighty-six thousand.

HOLMES: I don't know if that game will pull in that many folks -- probably not.

NGUYEN: You know, that's a good point.

HOLMES: You know, I was just excited. I watched the speech in H.D. I just thought it looked good.

NGUYEN: Did you see the side bars on CNN?

HOLMES: Yes.

NGUYEN: The sound from the floor?

HOLMES: I watch anything in H.D., even a good political speech.

NGUYEN: Even Josh Levs, right?

HOLMES: Well, (INAUDIBLE). I've got my limits.

NGUYEN: That's a little close for our comfort. That's OK.

HOLMES: I go back to analog when I need to watch...

(CROSSTALK) NGUYEN: He joins us now with a reality check on one of the biggest attack lines that Obama, in fact, used against McCain.

LEVS: Yes, while you guys were watching and we're all watching it and enjoying the speech, it's not surprising that some spin kind of, you know, worked its way in there. Not too shocking. It does happen.

So, you know, we're going to do the same thing again next weekend and after the RNC. Today, we're taking a look at this. Now, this was -- let's just start off right here -- this was one of the biggest acts of the night. And it's all about issue number one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: He said that our economy has made great progress under this president. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Here's what John McCain actually said. This goes back to April. Here's what he said. Let's show you the graphic.

He was speaking to "Bloomberg" and he said, "We are in very challenging times. I think if you look at the overall record and millions of jobs have been created, et cetera, you could make an argument that there's been great progress economically over that period of time, but that's no comfort, that's no comfort to families now that are facing these tremendous economic challenges."

FactCheck.org says Obama distorted McCain's words because McCain was primarily pessimistic in that interview about the economy.

Now, let's look at the rest of the sound byte from Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: And when one of his chief advisers, the man who wrote his economic plan was talking about the anxieties that Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a mental recession. And that we had become, and I quote, "a nation of whiners."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Here's what that's about. Senator Phil Gramm did say that back in July. But McCain repudiated him and Gramm stepped down from the campaign. He since has taken the role of an informal adviser. And this here is what John McCain said about that actual quote at the time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The person here in Michigan that just lost his job isn't suffering from a mental recession. I believe the mother here in Michigan and around America who is trying to get enough money to educate their children isn't whining.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: It's actually similar to something that Barack Obama himself said in that same speech there. So obviously amid all the excitement, we need to keep in mind you need some reality checks along the way. And, guys, we're going to keep an eye on this all throughout this week and you'll see more reality checks coming.

NGUYEN: On both sides of the aisle.

LEVS: On both sides of the aisle. You got it.

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you for that. It's good information, especially when you hear just one side and you wonder, is that correct, to fact check.

HOLMES: Yes. Thank you, Josh.

LEVS: Thanks, guys.

HOLMES: Well, just in case you haven't heard enough, you can hear more of what the presidential candidates are saying in their own words right here on CNN, part of our effort to help you make an informed choice on Election Day.

Here now is John McCain's V.P. pick, Governor Sarah Palin rallying the crowd in Dayton, Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: To serve as vice president beside such a man would be the privilege of a lifetime and a city that this trust has been giving to me 88 years almost to the day after the women of America first gained the right to vote.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

PALIN: I think -- I think as well today of two other women who came before me in national elections. I can't begin this great effort without honoring the achievement of Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 -- and, of course, Senator Hillary Clinton who showed such determination and grace in her presidential campaign.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

PALIN: It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America, but it turns out the women of America aren't finished yet and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

PALIN: So for my part, the mission is clear, the next 67 days, I'm going to take our campaign to every part of our country and our message of reform to every voter of every background in every political party or no party at all. If you want change in Washington, if you hope for a better America, then we're asking for your vote on the 4th of November. My fellow Americans -- come join our cause.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

PALIN: Join our cause and help our country to elect a great man, the next president of the United States...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: And now, here is Barack Obama talking about the priorities of the Democratic ticket, from education to Social Security to healthcare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We've got a different idea about healthcare. John McCain wants to cut the tax breaks that employers get for giving you healthcare. Well, what are employers going to do? They're going to stop giving you healthcare.

We don't need more employers say no to healthcare. We need more employers to say yes to healthcare. We need to give them help to lower your premiums. And if you don't have healthcare, we've got to make sure that you've got the same healthcare that members of the Congress give themselves because you're paying our salaries and that's the right thing to do.

Joe Biden and I believe in making sure that we've got Social Security for the next generation, that we're not going to privatize Social Security because that's got to be there when you retire and I don't want to gamble with your retirement.

Joe Biden and I believe that every single child in America should have the best education this country has to offer because that's the only way they are going to be able to compete in this global economy, and that means that we pay our teachers higher salaries, that means we give them more support, that means we invest in early childhood education, and that means we make sure every young person in America who wants to go to college and has the grades to go to college can afford to go to college. That's part of the "American Dream."

I believe and Joe Biden believes that workers should have the right to organize. And we've got a long history with the labor movement to prove it.

And we believe that my daughters and Joe's granddaughters should be able to get paid the exact same amount as any boys do when they grow up and go to work, equal pay for equal work.

That's a principle we believe in and John McCain doesn't. He is wrong and we are right. That's one of the reasons we're running for president and vice president.

(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: Join the best political team on television for a complete coverage of the Republican National Convention live from St. Paul, Minnesota. Our coverage starts Monday afternoon at 4:00 Eastern on CNN, which, of course, has to be your home for politics.

Well, it is game day, unfortunately, in the danger zone. College football's opening weekend is not immune to the threat of Hurricane Gustav.

HOLMES: Yes, a lot of people are excited about the kickoff to the college football season but some schools having to change their plans because of that hurricane.

Our Rick Horrow is here for us this weekend. Not exactly sure what he's up to right now. (INAUDIBLE).

RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: I'm calling in. I'm getting the latest information for you so we will be back right after, right?

HOLMES: We do -- well. Right after the break (ph).

NGUYEN: There you go, doing your job. We like it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, Hurricane Gustav is also changing some plans, in fact, for you sports fans out there.

HOLMES: Yes, that includes around 100,000 fans who are going to the college football season opener for LSU happening in Baton Rouge. A live picture in New Orleans we're showing you here. Well, that city is certainly on alert. Evacuations are happening today. Tomorrow, we're going to see those.

Our guy, sports business analyst, Rick Horrow joins us this morning from Tampa, Florida, to talk a little sports with us here.

How big of a headache is this? How big of a deal is this to have to change this LSU game, this big opener, we know a lot of people are going to be at, but just how big of a headache is this? It's certainly necessary.

HORROW: Well, my friend, let's remember, the game is going to kick off at 10:00 in the morning New Orleans time, Division One national champions, one of the top 10 revenue producing programs in the country. They're playing Appalachian State who won the national championship in the division right below.

Listen, college football is a $7 billion business, but safety comes first. They want to get people in that contra traffic flow leaving Baton Rouge by 2:00 in the afternoon. From their perspective: hopefully happy, but also safe.

HOLMES: But also safe. I guess logistically -- and like we said, this is not the big deal. Safety is first. But just what -- what has to go into changing all this, getting all the word out to those ticket holders, I mean, changing everything that has to take place to get, like said, out 100,000 people into this place.

HORROW: Well, let's remember, you know, CNN and your mellifluous tones and everybody else, will get the word out. And people will follow the numbers. They'll get there on time, they'll leave a few hours early. It's hard to imagine people won't do that.

But the bottom line is, the role of these facilities, by the way, in this whole process, remember the Superdome just a couple hours down the road, we saw the picture of it, Doug Thornton (ph), my friend the executive director, who weathered the storm in that facility when 30,000 people were there for Katrina three years ago, has said they're not using that facility for last resort.

They want people out of New Orleans and not have the specter of people hold up in a facility that, frankly, wasn't meant for that. So, a conscious effort to make sure that people get out of the city even as we speak.

HOLMES: And that decision there, I guess it sounds a little cold that -- to just lock the doors. Yes, you want people to leave, but should that really be the way they go about trying to encourage people to leave, to tell you, "Hey, you're not going to have anywhere to go"? I mean, shouldn't it be open just in case and people who can't get out? I mean, just to lock them out like that. I know you say it's not what it's built for.

HORROW: Well, but I talked to Doug last night. And here is the take. Listen, $200 million to renovate the facility and the feds were involved in that as well. They sold 2.5 million tickets in the last couple years, $140 million worth. So, it is the economic backbone of the city's recovery effort.

The bottom line is, though, people are wanting to make sure there is no last resort. They're even threatening to arrest people who break curfew starting today. They want people on those busses out of town. They don't want that safety net. That's what Doug emphasized and that's apparently what the mayor and others have emphasized. You don't want to leave that luxury, it'll increase the likelihood that people actually get out of harm's way.

HOLMES: And want to stick around.

And last few seconds here, just give me the storyline, we'll talk straight sports. What's going to be the highlight, what's going to be the story line, what's going to emerge from this college football season?

HORROW: Emerge -- we're going to have controversy over the BCS, we're going to have a cry for a playoff system, we're going to have somebody at the end of the year thinking that, boy, we didn't deserve this and some say maybe we did and it will be a big debate. Oh, that's the way it's been 20 years -- the last 20 years. Yes, that's not new.

HOLMES: Yes, that was a way to put yourself out there on a limb there with the prediction.

HORROW: Texas, Arkansas, how's that?

HOLMES: September 13th.

NGUYEN: Hey, there's a big game coming up.

HOLMES: A big game.

HORROW: Yes, I know.

NGUYEN: Very excited about it.

HORROW: I can't wait to get into the middle of that one. You'll hear my prediction a couple of weeks, OK?

NGUYEN: It's going to be tense around here.

HORROW: Yes, I'm sure.

HOLMES: We're not going to have you on that weekend.

HORROW: Yes, we are.

NGUYEN: Somebody will stay out of these fireworks (ph), for your safety.

HORROW: Yes, we are.

HOLMES: All right. Rick, good to see you. Enjoy traveling around. You got a lot of stuff going on this college football weekend. We'll see you soon, buddy.

NGUYEN: Yes, stay safe.

HORROW: See you next week.

HOLMES: And, of course, we know Hurricane Gustav is going to generate a lot of iReports in the next week or so probably.

NGUYEN: Josh Levs has some from Jamaica and he's going to show it as the storm passed through there. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, Hurricane Gustav will no doubt dominate the news over the next several days. It's already left a mark on the Caribbean.

HOLMES: And what you're seeing here, a live look at couple of our affiliates, a live picture on the left there, out of New Orleans, also on the right there, one of our affiliates, meteorologist there certainly keeping his viewers updated about what the storm is doing.

We're keeping an eye on our affiliates as well and Josh Levs keeping an eye on iReports that we're getting, even from Jamaica -- Josh.

LEVS: Yes, I mean, this pretty incredible stuff. We're about to look at some video. I'm going to start off reminding everyone, while we love your iReports, send them to iReport.com, do not go to any danger at all in any way. We screened these things first. We make sure people are not putting themselves in danger to get this video. But it's major news and when we get it in a safe way we want to share it with you.

Let's go to it right now -- some video now from Jamaica. This comes to us from Kastel Johnson (ph).

Let's keep watching it. I'm going to tell you what we're seeing here. This comes to us from Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica, this is a shot of the rough seas of the coast of the Black River and the capital of Saint Elizabeth in southwestern Jamaica and you can see as it comes crashing through. Kastel (ph) says this actually in some ways came as a surprise. It's not one of the worst storms they've ever seen, but it certainly is rough and obviously people struggling with it a little bit. We're going to be showing you some more of this later on this morning.

Let me show you what else we have as well. We've gotten some photos that are also pretty powerful. These have come to us just this morning.

Let's actually go to this first one here, coming to us from Sonya Fuller, also inside Jamaica. Now, some of what we're going to be seeing here is a Harbour View Bridge over the Hope River as well. These are some still shots in which you can actually get that sense of the water crashing.

Let's go through some more of these photos that we're getting here. This is -- Sonia Fuller is a resident of Kingston, and again, just talks about how devastating Gustav has already been to a lot of people. She's telling us that around her, she's already seeing people who have been displaced and people who are losing their homes. Obviously, everyone in that area really concerned about how many people may be losing their lives. We appreciate that, Sonia, who sent us these photos as well.

Let's go in on the screen before I toss it back to Betty and T.J. And I want you all to see some of what we have going on here -- iReport.com, let's close in, this is where we're getting a lot of our photos. If you don't know how to do it, it's really easy. Once you're at iReport.com we'll talk you through it.

Also, over here, while I'm here, I want to show what we got at CNN.com. Some photos are coming to us from the "Associated Press," this brings us back to the U.S. side of the story. This is what's going on in Louisiana where people are trying really hard to protect themselves; obviously, as we keep hearing no one wants to see the kind of disaster that everyone knows could happen, given the U.S. recent history.

So we're keeping an eye on this angle of it as well. And those of you who are in New Orleans, if you want to send us your iReports, your stories, your videos, your photos, what concerns you, what are you doing right now to prepare, we'd love to hear that as well.

So, Betty and T.J., obviously at iReport desk we're keeping an eye on this all day long. They're starting to flock in and you can expect a lot more of this throughout the day.

NGUYEN: No doubt. OK, thank you, Josh.

LEVS: Thanks.

NGUYEN: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, it is August 30th. What a weekend. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HOLMES: And hello there, I'm T.J. Holmes. Hurricane Gustav, one of the big things we're keeping an eye on right now. We have it on radar. It's on the minds of a lot of folks in the Gulf coast this morning. We got word just over an hour and a half maybe ago, that it had upgraded to a category three storm, expected maybe to get even stronger possibly, category five.

NGUYEN: That's what we heard. Frightening even to hear that, especially when you see as they talk about cone of uncertainty and how it could be headed straight for New Orleans. We don't want to see three years all over again, but it looks like things are really stirring up for a possibility there.

HOLMES: But people are certainly getting ready. We're monitoring our affiliate there. We got several down there we're keeping an eye on. You can see the live look at the radar, also a picture live look at the top left-hand of your screen, live look of New Orleans sort of looks calm there now, but they are certainly bearing down and getting ready, some are getting out, some evacuations are in place at this point. So we will continue to keep an eye there.

NGUYEN: Our affiliates along the Gulf coast, they are sending in reports and video and we'll get you some more on that throughout the day, but right now we want to talk about those mandatory evacuations because they are in place.

HOLMES: All right. Our Chris Lawrence has been keeping an eye on things. He is there for us in an area set up for people who are certainly going to be needing it maybe in a short time. Chris Lawrence, in Belle Chase down there, what are you seeing so far? We know some of these evacuations not set to be in place for the next several hours and all through the day. But tell us what's going on. Set the scene.

LAWRENCE: T.J., we just heard the sheriff get off the phone, he just fast tracked it. So the mandatory evacuation just went into effect here in Plaquemines Parish. It is very low lying. It stretches all the way down in the Gulf. You got people still living in FEMA trailers from Katrina. So they have to get these lower areas out first before some of the ones above it.

Here again, people will be coming here. They're going to have a helicopter flying overhead, announcing to people that it is a mandatory evacuation. Push comes to shove some of these sheriffs deputies are going to be going door to door to bring people here, register them, so they know exactly who is going where and then take them to safety.

With me here is the head of Plaquemines Parish and the interesting thing about this area also is that it is protected by about 34 miles of levees and in turn, those levees protect some very important infrastructure.

BILLY NUNGESSER, PLAQUEMINES PARISH PRESIDENT: Right. We've got three large chemical plants, oil refineries, and all of the oil supplies for the eastern Gulf, a large portion go out of the Venice port. It services the oil rigs in the Gulf and we're concerned about that 34-mile stretch. It's a private levee. It was passed by Congress to get into the Federal system, but it's not yet been built. So it's a very critical part and it will flood for this storm at the present course it's taking.

LAWRENCE: You asked to have those Federal funds fast tracked back in January ahead of the storm season. They did not approve that request. And in addition to the oil refineries, what about the natural gas and what that can mean to the rest of the country?

NUNGESSER: Right. South of those levees (INAUDIBLE), we have a gathering facility that moves about 5 percent of the natural gas for the whole country. So that could be very critical if we're shut off -- if this parish is cut in half by floodwaters because of that non- Federal levee, so we want to see that thing fast tracked. Hopefully we'll get through this storm, but it's very critical, especially with gas prices where they are today.

LAWRENCE: Thank you very much.

And again, it's not going to happen in time for Gustav, obviously, but again, you know when you talk about those levees we were talking to him just earlier and he was saying there's been tremendous erosion over the past few years. They're very concerned about whether those levees will be able to hold. T.J.

HOLMES: Oh, boy. We don't want to hear about those kind of levees, all that talk all over again. Chris Lawrence keeping an eye on things there for us in Louisiana. We're going to be checking in with you more this morning. Chris, we appreciate you.

Let's go back to our Reynolds Wolf, certainly a busy man this morning, trying to keep you up with this thing. And everybody wants to know and nobody can say with certainty where this thing is going. But what's the best guess we got?

WOLF: Best guess we have T.J. is the storm is right now moving just south of Cuba. Let's give you the very latest path we have. We're going to fast forward this today from where it is now to where we do anticipate it going to go, at least the path according to the National Hurricane Center, winds currently at 120, gusting to 135. You can tell it's a category three storm, it is moving northwest at 12 miles per hour.

Just to let you now how erratic these storms move, I want you to take a look first not as to where it is going but rather where it has been. Take a look at this path. Starting off south of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, veering up just the south of Haiti, going towards the windward passage and south right through Jamaica. Imagine trying to forecast this line, nearly impossible. So that's the job the National Hurricane Center has to try to forecast now where this thing is going to go.

Now, in the immediate time we do anticipate the storm, it continues its track to the northwest and go into the western part of Cuba, winds at 125 miles per hour, again right now they're at 120, so it is expected to strengthen a bit as we get to 2:00 a.m. Sunday.

Now let's fast forward, we go from Sunday into Saturday. Saturday, boom, right in the middle of the Gulf, winds at 125 and that is for early Monday morning. Keep in mind, the toughest thing we have in terms of forecasting this is not just the direction, you can see how tough that can be, but really getting an idea of how strong the storm could be.

There's every possibility to think the storm really could intensify over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico at the same time could also weaken a bit. We're going to see a fluctuation in power and then the storm expected to make landfall as of right now just to the southwest of New Orleans at winds 115 miles per hour, 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday and then it's going to move inland, could be a huge rainmaker parts in Mississippi, Louisiana and into eastern Texas.

A lot can happen over the next couple days. Of course, you're going to want to stay tuned here to CNN, your hurricane headquarters. Let's send it back to you.

HOLMES: All right, Reynolds, again we appreciate you. We know you're on it this morning. We'll see you again soon.

NGUYEN: Want to talk now to Amanda Jones. She is the public affairs specialist of the Army Corps of Engineers and what we want to know from you Amanda, if you would please, talk to us about what has been learned since Katrina. I know that you studied this very closely. What has the Army Corps of Engineers learned since Hurricane Katrina?

VOICE OF AMANDA JONES, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: Good morning. We've learned so much. After Katrina, we've -- we had the interagency performance evaluation team study what happened during Katrina. They gave us so many lessons learned and that's what we've been implementing into our system.

NGUYEN: What have you implemented that's going to protect the neighborhoods and the different communities as we see this storm possibly headed right into the direction of New Orleans?

JONES: Well, there's been so many things. We've redesigned how we do our flood walls, where they're more stable and we've armored and strengthened transition points. One of the biggest things that we did out there, the most visible things that we've done, is we built these massive structures of gates and pumps at the ends, at the outs of the outfall canals near Lake Pontchartrain and those will protect those canals from ever seeing any storm surge. When the storm surge comes up, we'll close those gates and that will keep the pressure off those flood walls so they maintain a safe water elevation.

NGUYEN: So can it handle a storm surge of say a category three or higher?

JONES: We don't build to a category storm. We build to protect against storm surge and when those storms start coming in, each canal has a safe water elevation and right before it reaches that elevation, we'll close those gates to keep that storm surge out. So it will never come into there. And then we have pumps that will run -- that will keep pumping the water out back into the lake.

NGUYEN: And there is some concern, too, Amanda that the levees may be at risk. What do you know about the levee system and what's been done since Hurricane Katrina?

JONES: We've done so much on it. We've been working on it every day for the last three years and it's better and stronger than it's ever been in the history of New Orleans. So it's definitely the best protection that we've ever had.

NGUYEN: What do you mean, better and stronger? Give us some specifics. I asked you this earlier and I don't know if you build it to certain category strength, but when talking about a category three or stronger, is this something that the levees can withstand?

JONES: Like I said, we don't build to a category storm. We are building toward hundred year protection and we have about three more years before we reach that protection. It is still a work in progress.

NGUYEN: So you're saying if a category three made landfall, then these levees wouldn't be able to provide the necessary protection?

JONES: No, that's not what I'm saying at all. We build to protect against storm surge, not a category storm. A storm -- category three is based on wind speed alone and so we don't look at the wind speed of a storm and build our system. We look at how much water can it handle and so right now, it's definitely the safest system that we've ever had.

So, it's better and stronger than people here are protected more protected than they've ever been. That being said, the system is not finished and the people should heed the warnings of their local officials. If people are telling them to evacuate, they should evacuate and that's the best way that they could be safe because we can't eliminate risk.

NGUYEN: All right. So you can't build to a specific category but you do build to certain levels of water as it rises after a storm, correct? JONES: Well, I mean, we -- in every area it's different. The heights of what the water can handle because the ground level is different. There's different elevations of ground all over the southeast Louisiana. So I couldn't tell you exactly what water level it could take in each area because it's so different.

NGUYEN: All right. Amanda Jones, joining us live from the Army Corps of Engineers by phone, thank you for that information.

JONES: Thank you.

HOLMES: Gustav forced the big easy to scale back events marking the three-year anniversary of Katrina's landfall. Bells tolling at the time New Orleans first levee breached. The city also held a symbolic funeral service for victims whose bodies were never claimed. A scaled-down traditional jazz funeral was held. A candlelight vigil however had to be canceled. City officials decided those could get in the way of preps for Hurricane Gustav.

Many are looking back and also looking ahead. Our Anderson Cooper chronicled the destruction in New Orleans during Katrina. He's now back there with Gustav. You can see his reports from New Orleans on "AC 360." That's weeknights 10:00 Eastern time.

NGUYEN: It certainly was a surprise pick. John McCain goes off the beaten path to find a running mate.

HOLMES: Some say way off that beaten path. The pros and cons now making Alaska Governor Sarah Palin his VP choice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Right now, we're watching Hurricane Gustav gaining strength near Cuba. You know, it was upgraded to a category three just a short time ago, so this hurricane is gaining strength.

HOLMES: So at least 110 miles an hour are the sustained winds that we're seeing. The storm already being blamed for dozens of deaths in the Caribbean.

NGUYEN: Politicians and friends alike gather this morning to pay respects to U.S. Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones. A memorial service is being held in about three hours in Cleveland. Senator Hillary Clinton and Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama both will be among the speakers. The 58-year-old Tubbs Jones died last week from a brain hemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm.

She was the first African-American woman to represent Ohio in Congress. We're taking a live picture right now at the funeral that is taking place there in Cleveland, Ohio. It's going to be really a day to stop and pause and remember all the work that this representative has done, not only for our nation, but just for those who hear about what is going on within the different states around the U.S. and how she's made a difference over the years.

HOLMES: John McCain, on the campaign trail today with his new running mate, getting to know her a little better while you try to get to know her a little better too. We're learning that John McCain didn't really spend much time with his new running mate before he actually selected her. So everybody is getting to know her right now.

It's pretty much a shock to many political observers yesterday when McCain introduced first term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his new vice presidential pick. She's a little known conservative, not much national exposure or national experience. Barack Obama reacted to the choice while campaigning in Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I haven't met her before. She seems like a compelling person. Obviously a terrific story, personal story, and you know I'm sure that she will help make the case for the Republicans. Unfortunately the case is more of the same and so, you know, ultimately John McCain is at the top of the ticket.

As I indicated in my speech last night, I think that he wants to take the country in the wrong direction. I'm assuming Governor Palin agrees with him in his policies, but the fact that she's been nominated, I think, or will soon be nominated, I think is one more indicator of this country moving forward.

The fact that you've got a woman as the nominee of one of the vice presidential nominees of one of the major parties, I think is one more hit against that glass ceiling and I congratulate her and look forward to a vigorous debate. I'm pleased with my choice for vice president, Joe Biden. I think he's the man who can help me guide this country in a better direction and help working families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: McCain's campaign calls Palin a tough executive who is ready to be president. In two short years she moved from a small town mayor to become the first female governor of Alaska and now she is making history as the first female running mate on a Republican presidential ticket. She's viewed as a political reformer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: I was just your average hockey mom in Alaska. We're busy raising our kids. I was serving as the team mom and coaching some basketball on the side. I got involved in the PTA and then was elected to the city council and then elected mayor of my hometown where my agenda was to stop wasteful spending and cut property taxes and put the people first.

I was then appointed ethics commissioner and chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and when I found corruption there, I fought it hard and I held the offenders to account. Along with fellow reformers in the great state of Alaska, as governor, I've stood up to the old politics as usual.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: A brilliant strategic move or a questionable choice? John McCain's decision to pick Sarah Palin as his running mate is the hot topic in the presidential race this morning. CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joins us now from St. Paul, Minnesota where the Republican convention kicks off Monday.

But first, Paul, talk to us about this experience flap, because John McCain has really hit Barack Obama hard with the fact that he says he is not ready. Yet, McCain picks a vice president on his ticket that a lot of people say she only has two years experience.

STEINHAUSER: Yeah. That's the talk of the town right here in St. Paul as well. People are energized, Republicans are energized by this pick, but the Democrats are criticizing it Betty for just what you said. Remember, yesterday was John McCain's 72nd birthday, so age is a factor. The Democrats are saying do you really want somebody just a heart beat away from the White House who only has two years of experience as a governor and basically none at all in foreign policy.

So, that is one way the Democrats are criticizing Sarah Palin, John McCain's pick as a running mate. This is interesting as well. There's a little bit of history here. She's only the second person, second woman, to be named as a running mate on a major party ticket. She spoke about that yesterday in Ohio.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: Senator Hillary Clinton, who showed such determination and grace in her presidential campaign -- it was rightly noted in Denver this week, that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America. But, it turns out, the women of America aren't finished yet and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: I think John McCain and the Republicans would love it if some of those Clinton supporters who are still not so crazy about Barack Obama would come over to the McCain/Palin ticket. But remember, Sarah Palin, when it comes to abortion she is against it and that may not sit well with a lot of Democratic voters -- Betty.

NGUYEN: All right Paul, thank you so much and of course, we'll be talking with you shortly -- T.J.

HOLMES: U.S. Gulf Coast bracing for a major hurricane, Gustav, may have heard of it. Many people are packing up and getting out right now. We have a live look. Live pictures to show you here of just exactly people are heeding those warnings and not taking any chances. Gulf coast been through this before and not too terribly long ago with Hurricane Katrina, so you're seeing a lot of people heading out.

NGUYEN: Yeah. They have the system so that all roads are leading out of the city and as we heard people earlier talking about, they're stocking up on everything, gas and what not just to make sure that not only they can get out, but they can make sure that they can ride through this storm. You know, iReporters from where Gustav has already been are giving us a glimpse as well as to what is headed to the New Orleans area. We have a look at that coming up.

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NGUYEN: We're watching Hurricane Gustav, currently a category three storm in the Caribbean. As you see, it's churning. It's also getting stronger.

HOLMES: It's on track to hit somewhere along the Gulf coast late Monday, maybe early Tuesday, coast of Louisiana under a mandatory evacuation today. That order could be in effect for New Orleans as early as tomorrow and National Guard troops have been activated in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi. They're on alert. You're seeing that live picture on the left side of your screen as people getting out of New Orleans right now.

NGUYEN: Yeah. They're definitely headed out. They're not taking any chances. In fact, they're doing it by way of several different highways. We're looking at interstate 10, interstate 55 and interstate 59. As we've been talking to a lot of folks living there, they're saying they're stocking up and they are not only stocking up, but they're packing up and they've learned the lessons from Hurricane Katrina and they're definitely deciding to get out and get out early.

Speaking of Gustav, though, as you know, it's going to dominate the news over the next several days, especially as it's headed in and there is that large cone of uncertainty, which means while it looks like it may be headed for New Orleans, we're still not sure.

HOLMES: Not sure at all, pretty much there. We have that narrow cone now, but that cone could be as wide as the entire Gulf coast of the United States. While we're waiting to get a look at it, you see it there, some folks in the Caribbean and Jamaica have already seen this thing up close and personal.

Our Josh Levs has iReports coming to us, yes from Jamaica -- Josh.

LEVS: They're coming to us from the cone of uncertainty, the three words you never really want to hear at this time of the year. I'm doing something surprising here. See the pretty picture behind me. There's a reason for this. We just got this, the time before the storm.

You know what, let's close in on this picture for a second. I want you guys to see this picture because this is going to set the stage for what you're about to see. This comes to us from inside Jamaica from Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica. This is called the calm before the storm. Now let's go to the video from the same person.

This is the same place that we're seeing. I mean this is the drastic change. It happens when one of these massive storms comes through. This comes to us from Castel Johnson in Black River. I'll show you in a moment from the southwest corner of Jamaica, one of the places that's really been heavily hit here. In fact let's just take a second.

Let's through in a map that's right behind me I'll show you where it is. Let's close in. This is Jamaica right here. What you were just seeing is right over here, so southwest corner. We also have a few photos we're going to go from Kingston over to the east. Let's close out with those, just take a look at some. This is Kingston right there.

Let's go to these photos we have and we'll tie up with that. These are, again, really powerful pictures that show the water crashing as it comes along. These come to us from Sonya Fuller who says she has seen people be displaced. She's really worried about the lives of people around her.

Obviously I'm going to emphasize, every time I say this today, do not ever go to any danger at all to send us your iReports. We screen them. We make sure people did not do that. If you have iReports you want to send to us, just go to ireport.com and we'll keep them coming to you guys throughout the day -- Betty, T.J.

NGUYEN: Thank you, josh.

Public rest rooms are usually no frills, right, strictly business. Well, you're going to finish. You know exactly where we're going with this.

HOLMES: We're told this one is worth showing to you on TV. I don't know. That looks normal still.

NGUYEN: Yeah.

HOLMES: But the designers and decorators went all out to make this pit stop one to really sit down and relax in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, the political battle lines are clearly drawn now.

NGUYEN: Literally.

HOLMES: Literally. Obama's supporters in Oklahoma can show off their choice with permanent ink.

NGUYEN: Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL CALFY, TATTOO ARTIST: Since I don't have the extra money to donate to the cause, I'm a tattoo artist, and there are a lot of people that -- are in to the tattoo thing, like free tattoos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: All right. Well, these tattoos are worth about $100 each and the owner says he's actually done --

HOLMES: Wow.

NGUYEN: -- 100 so far.

HOLMES: Wow.

NGUYEN: Look at that. And if you decide to get one, just remember, you can't change your mind later.

HOLMES: You can't put McCain ...

NGUYEN: Permanent.

HOLMES: ...up there if you change your mind.

NGUYEN: I guess you could.

HOLMES: I know.

NGUYEN: You could just put them all up there if you wanted to.

HOLMES: Oh man, I'm going to send somebody there to get that tattoo.

The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, we're going on to the bathroom now. First class amenities in the restroom. It really stands out according to some. It was recently chosen as one of the -- not the best -- yes, the best restroom in the country. It's so posh, it's even served as a backdrop for wedding photos, would you believe?

But at the end of the day, all I want to know is does it have toilet paper and does it flush? I mean, it's just a bathroom.

NGUYEN: I can't imagine taking your wedding photo in a bathroom, next to a toilet -- a urinal, no less. I mean, come on, folks.

HOLMES: Doesn't look good for your marriage probably.

NGUYEN: No.

All right, to more important things, shall we? We're tracking Gustav. It's grown into a category three hurricane, winds, they are hitting at least 115 miles an hour. We do have a live report at the top of the hour.

HOLMES: But first, we've got Dr. Sanjay Gupta and his "HOUSE CALL," it starts right now.