New Orleans Today

President and Mrs. Bush marked the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans today.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- President Bush bowed his head in prayer Tuesday in remembrance of the hundreds who perished in Hurricane Katrina and acknowledged that his administration's response to the disaster was unacceptable.

"We're addressing what went wrong," he told residents at a high school gymnasium in an uplifting speech that spoke to the heroic efforts of rescuers and the death and despair left behind when the floodwaters receded.

"Uplifting"?

How odd for the AP to refer to anything President Bush has to say as "uplifting"!

One thing that tends to be lost in the lib media's observance of the Katrina anniversary is the incredible bravery and professionalism with which the Coast Guard rescued tens of thousands of people.

I'm glad the President reminded the nation of the efforts of the rescuers. I don't think that they've received the credit they deserve.

"Unfortunately, the hurricane also brought terrible scenes we never thought we'd see in America," Bush said. "Citizens drowned in their attics. Desperate mothers crying out on national TV for food and water. A breakdown of law and order and a government, at all levels, that fell short of its responsibilities.

"When the rain stopped ... our television screens showed faces worn down by poverty and despair. And for most of you, the storms were only the beginning of our difficulties.["]

...Bush was applauded loudly when he promised to ask Congress for legislation giving Louisiana a bigger share of royalties from offshore oil and gas drilling. The state now receives less than 2 percent of the royalties, and Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Louisiana's congressional delegation are demanding more.

Although the lib media prefer to focus on the federal government's shortcomings (naturally), Bush is correct in stating that there were failures AT ALL LEVELS of government.

Dems, of course, and their mouthpieces in the lib media want to use the Katrina anniversary to bash the President.

From USA Today:

On the verge of Katrina's one-year anniversary, Democrats from New Orleans to New Haven, Conn., to New York are launching a coordinated political assault on the Bush administration's response to the devastation that struck the Gulf Coast.

Democratic lawmakers began arriving in the stricken region Thursday, making a stand that will culminate Monday when about 20 House Democrats convene in Bay St. Louis, Miss., for a town hall meeting. Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana plans to deliver the Democratic response to President Bush's Saturday radio address.

Party leaders sense that the Bush administration's performance in the aftermath of last year's hurricanes and lingering problems rebuilding the region are as politically damaging to the president — and by extension, other Republicans — as the war in Iraq.

"The bad thing is that no matter what happens in Iraq, Katrina is done," Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said in an interview Thursday. "It happened. You can't undo it. It's a huge scar."

If you hear any libs today complaining that Bush is in New Orleans for a shameless photo-op, keep Dr. Dean's strategy in mind.

The Dem plan is to exploit Katrina's victims' pain for their own political gain.

(Yikes! That sentence sounds eerily like a conservative version of Jesse Jackson.)

The president also said the city's rebirth must include improvements to the poor-performing school system. First lady Laura Bush, in remarks introducing the president, urged teachers nationwide to come to the region to teach.

"We know that families can't move back unless there's schools for the kids and so education is one of the most important parts of the recovery," she said.

"This city occupies a unique place in America's cultural landscape and the recovery won't be complete until New Orleanians return home and their culture is restored," she said.

Laura Bush has such class.

She's right. A cornerstone for the rebuilding of New Orleans is education and successful schools. Without question, education is a cornerstone for progress and prosperity in all of society.

Although the reconstruction in the hurricane-ravaged region is a long and arduous process, there is hope.

I think President and Mrs. Bush conveyed that.