The legacy of George W. Bush shall be Iraq and Katrina.
Vice President Al Gore would be well positioned to captilize on what happened in New Orleans, tie it with global warming, embrace the black community and take his rightful place as the President of the United States of America. Lets not forget, Gore is from the south and he is a Christian.
Political
Bush works to assure Katrina victims they aren't forgotten
Source: Agence France Presse 03/01/2007
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, March 1, 2007 (AFP) -
US President George W. Bush, under fire for slow reconstruction efforts in areas wrecked by Hurricane Katrina, visited the Gulf of Mexico Thursday telling victims he had not forgotten about them.
"I committed to the people of this part of the world and the Gulf Coast that the federal government would fund recovery and stay committed to the recovery," Bush said before a lunch with Louisiana officials in New Orleans.
"I fully understand that there are frustrations and I want to know the frustrations. And to the extent we can help, we'll help," he said.
Bush also made his 14th trip to the region since the 2005 hurricane, visiting Mississippi and New Orleans, to press local authorities to speed up the use of federal funds.
"Part of the reason I've come down is to tell the people here in the Gulf coast that we still think about them in Washington and that we listen to the governor when he speaks," Bush said at his first stop in the Mississippi coast city of Long Beach.
"The other reason I've come down is, I want the taxpayers of the United States to see first hand what their money has done to help revitalize a series of communities that were literally wiped out because of a major storm," he said in his first visit to the region in six months.
"This is a hopeful day," he said, adding "there's obviously a lot more work to be done."
"But times are changing for the better, and peoples' lives are improving and there is hope," he said in a region of stark contrast between renewed communities and those still struggling to recover.
The Bush administration had already been heavily criticized for its slow response to Katrina after it hit the Gulf of Mexico coast on August 29, 2005, flooding most of New Orleans and leaving about 1,500 people dead.
Bush's popularity started to decline in the wake of the government's dismal reaction to the disaster, in addition to the growing unpopularity of the Iraq war. His job approval rating has hovered around 30 percent, recently hitting new lows.
He came under fire anew over Katrina when he did not mention the disaster-wrecked region during his annual State of the Union speech to Congress in January.
Discontent is particularly sharp in New Orleans, where neighborhoods are still devastated, many schools remain closed and crime remains a problem.
Mayor Ray Nagin has said he would press Bush to speed up federal aid when the two meet later Thursday.
"We all have a sense of urgency about the recovery," said Don Powell, Bush's coordinator of Gulf coast reconstruction.
"But I think it's important to look and put it in perspective about the size of the storm and how overwhelming this storm was," he said, noting that only 53 billion of 110 billion in government aid has been spent locally.
Bush said: "The federal government's role has been to write checks."
"The governor's role and the mayor's role is help to expedite the federal money to the local folks," he said.
Vice President Al Gore would be well positioned to captilize on what happened in New Orleans, tie it with global warming, embrace the black community and take his rightful place as the President of the United States of America. Lets not forget, Gore is from the south and he is a Christian.
Political
Bush works to assure Katrina victims they aren't forgotten
Source: Agence France Presse 03/01/2007
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, March 1, 2007 (AFP) -
US President George W. Bush, under fire for slow reconstruction efforts in areas wrecked by Hurricane Katrina, visited the Gulf of Mexico Thursday telling victims he had not forgotten about them.
"I committed to the people of this part of the world and the Gulf Coast that the federal government would fund recovery and stay committed to the recovery," Bush said before a lunch with Louisiana officials in New Orleans.
"I fully understand that there are frustrations and I want to know the frustrations. And to the extent we can help, we'll help," he said.
Bush also made his 14th trip to the region since the 2005 hurricane, visiting Mississippi and New Orleans, to press local authorities to speed up the use of federal funds.
"Part of the reason I've come down is to tell the people here in the Gulf coast that we still think about them in Washington and that we listen to the governor when he speaks," Bush said at his first stop in the Mississippi coast city of Long Beach.
"The other reason I've come down is, I want the taxpayers of the United States to see first hand what their money has done to help revitalize a series of communities that were literally wiped out because of a major storm," he said in his first visit to the region in six months.
"This is a hopeful day," he said, adding "there's obviously a lot more work to be done."
"But times are changing for the better, and peoples' lives are improving and there is hope," he said in a region of stark contrast between renewed communities and those still struggling to recover.
The Bush administration had already been heavily criticized for its slow response to Katrina after it hit the Gulf of Mexico coast on August 29, 2005, flooding most of New Orleans and leaving about 1,500 people dead.
Bush's popularity started to decline in the wake of the government's dismal reaction to the disaster, in addition to the growing unpopularity of the Iraq war. His job approval rating has hovered around 30 percent, recently hitting new lows.
He came under fire anew over Katrina when he did not mention the disaster-wrecked region during his annual State of the Union speech to Congress in January.
Discontent is particularly sharp in New Orleans, where neighborhoods are still devastated, many schools remain closed and crime remains a problem.
Mayor Ray Nagin has said he would press Bush to speed up federal aid when the two meet later Thursday.
"We all have a sense of urgency about the recovery," said Don Powell, Bush's coordinator of Gulf coast reconstruction.
"But I think it's important to look and put it in perspective about the size of the storm and how overwhelming this storm was," he said, noting that only 53 billion of 110 billion in government aid has been spent locally.
Bush said: "The federal government's role has been to write checks."
"The governor's role and the mayor's role is help to expedite the federal money to the local folks," he said.
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