NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 20, 2008
Bush Says "Hope Coming Back" To Big Easy
President Acknowledges More Work Must Be Done; Critics Say Pledges Of Aid Are Unfulfilled
-
-
Photo
On the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush visits the Louisiana National Guard at their headquarters in the historic Jackson Barracks in New Orleans, Aug. 20, 2008, where he spoke about rebuilding the Gulf Coast. (AP Photo/J.Scott Applewhite)
-
Photo
On the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush, joined at left by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, visits with construction workers and the Louisiana National Guard at their headquarters in the historic Jackson Barracks in New Orleans, Aug. 20, 2008. (AP Photo/J.Scott Applewhite)
-
-
Photo Essay
Prayers & Remembrance
The Gulf Coast remembers the victims and survivors of a killer storm.
-
Special Report
Gulf Coast Disaster
Complete coverage of the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast, including anniversary coverage.
Bush tempered his upbeat remarks by acknowledging much more work must be done.
He spoke before a friendly audience at Jackson Barracks, a historic Louisiana National Guard post badly damaged by Katrina. The crowd gave a standing ovation when Bush said he recently agreed to a request by Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal and other state leaders to give Louisiana 30 years to repay $1.8 billion for levee improvements in the New Orleans area. The money initially was to be repaid by 2011.
State officials said they needed 30 years to avoid hurting a still-recovering economy.
Bush seemed in no hurry to get through his prepared remarks, spending the first few minutes acknowledging Jindal, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and other notables. The bad blood between city officials and the White House after the Bush administration's bungled response to the Katrina disaster was set aside, at least for the moment.
"The mayor and I have had some quality time," Bush said of his difficult history with Nagin.
"The good future is here," Bush said. "I predicted New Orleans would come back as a stronger and better city. We helped deliver $126 billion in taxpayer money."
"Who would have thought three years after the storm the president could come and say, `New Orleans, La., is on its way back as a stronger and better city."' Bush said.
"I think the message here today is hope is being restored. Hope is coming back."
New Orleans resident Kaaren Grimes says she's willing to give President Bush the benefit of the doubt, but says the federal money he promised was not enough to keep people like her from going into debt after the storm, reports CBS affiliate WWL-TV in New Orleans .
“I'm thinking he's done the best that he could, but we have to deal with all the different layers that come down under him through the feds, the state, the local level,” Grimes said.
Nagin talked about the promises President Bush made in Jackson Square in the dark days after Katrina.
“We will do what it takes. We will stay as long as it takes to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives,” Bush said that night in 2005 from Jackson Square.
“The promise is still unfulfilled as far as I’m concerned,” Nagin said.
Nagin says so far the city has received less than a third of the money promised to help rebuild public buildings and infrastructure, reports WWL-TV.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said in an interview with The Associated Press this week that the New Orleans recovery was far from complete and that key projects won't be finished without more federal money.
Following Bush's speech at Jackson Barracks, Landrieu released a statement saying too much of the money has been lost to red tape and government inefficiency.
"Let no one suffer the illusion that $126 billion has gone straight to where it is needed and where it belongs," Landrieu said.
Bush traveled to New Orleans and later to nearby Gulfport, Miss., after appearing at a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Orlando, Fla.
In Gulfport, Bush had dinner at a downtown restaurant with business owners and local and state leaders, including Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.
"Are there still people wondering about their future? Absolutely," Bush told reporters afterward. "But things are better here on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi."
Bush returned to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, on Wednesday evening.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Video and Galleries from U.S.
-
Video
Young Boy Climbs for a Cause
-
Video
Consumer Questions Answered
-
Video
What Is Obama Looking At?
The fierce attack poodle at it again!
And we''re all pissin in our pants!
LOL
Georgie....I am sad to inform you that Bob Hope Died.
He will not be coming back to visit New Orleans anytime soon. In the meanwhile give your heart and soul to God. Because the World Court is going to have your azzz
The fierce attack poodle at it again!
And we''''re all pissin in our pants!
LOL
Posted by jerr11
-----------------------------------------------------
ARGH I hate Yappi freakin little squirt mutts!
Posted by airboatboy at 04:27 AM : Aug 21, 2008
Yep, that way the massive drownings in the next storm would be more efficient and guaranteed. LOL
I thought Bob Hope was dead. So who''s coming back to New Orleans? One of his kids?
It''s interesting that while Bush was talking up the amount of money the feds were giving NO to rebuild, he found nothing wrong with the fact that relatively little rebuilding has actually been done. Apparently, he sees no problem with a situation in which tons of money are poured into to fix a problem, but the problem is never fixed. Hey, that sounds just like Iraq -- why fix a problem (or win a war), when there''s so much more money to be made by just "managing" it?
How obscene! Cheney/Bush don''t even try fakin'' it anymore -- they just don''t give a shiit.
This President has done more to drag our Nation down than any in I can remember. We will be paying for years for much of what transpired during the Bush presidency.
Just look at what is going on between Russia and Georgia and how the US can only respond with rehtoric for the most part, because we a militarily tied up. Not that a war with Russia would be advisable, but I believe if we had the ground forces available to back up our words Russia may have thought twice about invading Georgia. For sure they would probably not be withdrawing in piece meal.
Thanks to W we are in an expensive War in Iraq where the script for the ending has yet to be written in spite of the success of the surge. After all the years in Afgahnistan we have yet to defeat the Tilaban mainly because of lack of troops. Iraq was more important to Bush/Cheney and Company. Both are criminals and should be prosecuted to the extent the law will allow.
It will take a long time for America to return to the status in the world it had. Just as it will take a long time for the Gulf Coast affected by Katrina to fully return.
Posted by deacon20081 at 02:30 AM : Aug 21, 2008
Surprised he didn''t mention Belgian Waffles as well, LOL.
"Who would have thought three years after the storm the president could come and say, `New Orleans, La., is on its way back as a stronger and better city."'' Bush said.
What kind of drivel is this? Who talks like this? Oh, that''s right, it''s Bush trying to sound presidential. And failing once again.
And the cow says ''MOO''.
You just can''''t fix stupid.
Come out here to the plains where you have 5 minutes to take cover from a tornado.
Liberals, the blind leading the blind
Posted by gunfighter51 at 07:27 AM : Aug 21, 2008
Yeah, that''s profound. But it has absolutely nothing to do with the amount of damage done to the city.
We all know the N.O. story and his "heckuva job" will go down in history along with his other unforgettable deeds.
The 911 building case has supposedly been solved--by gov inspectors hired by the White house
Iraq all of a sudden is near to a deal for Bush and Condi
Now the Big Easy mess is on the mend--all in time for the election.
The surge is working, except the Shia are attacking the Sunnis we paid not to fight us and those pesky suicides are ticking back up
Bush is doing all he can for ya, McCain trying to put a rosy face on all of his clusterfvcks--too bad its all lies, smoke and mirrors and most are not buying the hype.
-
by c0mm0n_sense
August 21, 2008 9:52 PM PDT
- The youngest of Barack Obama%u2019s half siblings has told of his shame about living in a shack and existing on a dollar a month whilst his brother plans to become the most powerful man in the world.
-
Reply to this comment
-
See all 30 CommentsWith the Democratic Convention in Denver just days away, Italian Vanity Fair magazine tracked George Hussein Onyango Obama to a 6ft by 9ft wooden shed in Kenya.
The difference in the men''s lifestyles could not be more dramatic. Mr Obama, 47, travels the world with an army of bodyguards, whilst his brother defends himself with his own bare hands on the rough streets of Haruma, a Nairobi shanty town.
%u201CIf anyone says something about my surname, I say we are not related. I am ashamed,%u201D George told the magazine.
"No-one knows who I am. I live here on less than a dollar a month.
"I live like a recluse, no-one knows I exist."
George, at 25 the youngest of Obama%u2019s father%u2019s seven children, has met his famous big brother just twice.
He was just five when Mr Obama visited Kenya for the first time in 1988 and made a special trip out to his mother Jael%u2019s shanty home.