Bush Plans a 'Vietnam Moment' in New Orleans
Bush to Commemorate Katrina Anniversary
By BEN FELLER The Associated Press Friday, August 24, 2007; 8:05 PM
CRAWFORD, Texas -- President Bush will return to the Gulf Coast next week, where hard times and resentment linger two years after Hurricane Katrina's massive strike.
Bush will fly into New Orleans on Tuesday after giving a speech about the Iraq war to the American Legion convention in Reno, Nev. On Wednesday, the anniversary of the storm, he is expected to examine recovery efforts in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The monster hurricane was the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history. It swamped a beloved city, killed 1,800 people across the Gulf Coast, destroyed or severely damaged more than 200,000 homes and made more than 800,000 people homeless overnight.
In New Orleans today, despite progress, signs of a shattered city abound. Neighborhoods are in ruins. Crime, inadequate health care and faulty infrastructure are pervasive.
The Bush administration is still dogged by charges of an inadequate response _ first, for the way it handled the crisis, and more recently, for not spending more time on it.
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Really hard to decipher Bush's new tendencies toward self-destruction in public appearances.
Before the VFW, he likened the Iraq War to Vietnam. Now he plans to revisit New Orleans, the scene of his government's most visible civil defense collapse.
What can he possibly say to a devastated city where his administration is still unable to get its act together?
* For more in-depth articles by Jim on Natural Disasters, check out Opinion-Columns.com