By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Thursday looters in New Orleans and elsewhere in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina should be treated with "zero tolerance" and urged Americans not to buy gasoline if they do not need it because of looming shortages.

"It's going to be hard to get gasoline to some markets," Bush said.

As the crisis along the U.S. Gulf Coast intensified and the federal government came under fire from frantic storm victims, Bush pleaded for time in the struggle to rescue the stranded and get them food, water and shelter.

"We all know this is an agonizing time for the people of the Gulf coast," Bush said. "I ask their continued patience as recovery operations unfold."

He announced his father, former President George Bush, and former President Bill Clinton, will lead a fund-raising effort in the United States for hurricane relief, as they did for the December 26, 2004, Asian tsunami.

With gas prices soaring above $3 a gallon and threatening the U.S. economy, Bush met with Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and his economic advisers about Katrina's economic impact.

Bush said they all agreed the storm's damage to the gas supply was a "temporary disruption" and urged Americans to use prudence in filling up over the next few weeks.

"Don't buy gas if you don't need it," he said in Oval Office remarks with his father and Clinton at his side. FULL STORY

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Does anyone buy gas they don't need? You are on empty and need gas to get to work, or the store. Isn't this how most people buy gas?

What other president has had to have his father, and a previous president of the opposing party, by his side while giving announcements to give him a sense of authority? Thank you religious right. We are so FUCKED!