Bush focuses on relief efforts

2005-09-06 09:16

Washington - United States President George W Bush is spending much of his time these days on relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina after his administration was harshly criticised for an initial response to the storm called slow and inadequate.

Visiting the devastated region again on Monday, Bush tried to repair tattered relations with Louisiana's Democratic governor, Kathleen Blanco, while also praising relief workers.

"This is one of these disasters that will test our soul and test our spirit, but we're going to show the world once again that not only can we survive but we will be stronger and better for it," Bush told workers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. "This is just the beginning of a huge effort."

More White House events on storm relief were planned on Tuesday, including meetings with Cabinet secretaries and representatives of volunteer organisations. Congress returns to Washington on Tuesday and congressional leaders will consider additional steps to aid the recovery for victims of the hurricane.

Bush's trip on Monday to visit Baton Rouge and Poplarville, Mississippi, was his third inspection tour, the second by ground.

Last Wednesday, he had his pilot lower Air Force One, the presidential jet, to an altitude of about 750m as he flew over the area while returning to Washington. On Friday, he walked a neighbourhood in Biloxi on Mississippi's coast and stopped at the airport and a breached levee in New Orleans.

Since his return to Washington last week, Bush hasn't gone a day without a public event devoted to the storm and its devastation. But the administration has not been able to quiet complaints about Washington's initial relief efforts. Congress already plans hearings on the federal response.

During a stop at Bethany World Prayer Centre in Baton Rouge, several people ran up to meet Bush as he and first lady Laura Bush wandered around the room. But just as many hung back and looked on.

"I need answers," said Mildred Brown, who has been at the centre since Tuesday with her husband, mother-in-law and cousin. "I'm not interested in hand-shaking. I'm not interested in photo ops."

State as well as federal officials are facing public criticism for a slow response to the crisis. Behind the scenes, each suggests the other is to blame.

That tension was evident when the president and the Louisiana governor appeared together in Baton Rouge on Monday.

Blanco had to cancel a planned trip to Houston to visit evacuees after learning at the last minute that Bush planned a visit to Baton Rouge. She has turned to a Clinton administration official, former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief James Lee Witt, to help run relief efforts.

After addressing relief workers on Monday, the president seemed to choke up, nodded at Blanco and kissed her on the cheek. She nodded back and both left the podium, headed for separate spots in the crowd.

- AP