Bush sees hope in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS — President Bush said Wednesday that “hope is coming back” to New Orleans with the help of $126 billion in disaster aid poured into the Gulf Coast region during the three years following Hurricane Katrina.
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. It initially was to be repaid by 2011.
State officials said they needed 30 years to avoid hurting a still-recovering economy.
Bush spent the first few minutes of his speech 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.
“The mayor and I have had some quality time,” Bush said.
“The good future is here,” he continued. “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.”
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.
Bush traveled to New Orleans and later to nearby Gulfport, Miss., after appearing at a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Orlando, Fla.
Bush told the veterans that his decision to increase U. S. troop levels in Iraq early last year brought security to a now resurgent nation, and he criticized those who said his plan was flawed.
“The commander in chief must always listen to the commanders, and not the latest opinion polls,” he said.
“America’s future leaders must remember that the war on terror will be won on the offense. And that’s where our military must stay.”
Bush also prodded Russia to honor its commitment to leave pro-Western Georgia, a former Soviet republic that has come “under siege” from its larger neighbor.
Bush said it can no longer be “business as usual” with Russia due to its aggression. He said the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of Georgia and that Washington will work with its allies to ensure Georgia’s independence and territorial integrity.
