steven
September 5th, 2005, 11:22 PM
Associated Press Writer
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Like estranged in-laws at a holiday gathering, President Bush and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco kept their distance as both toured a relief center for storm victims Monday. At their next stop, the Republican president kissed the Democratic governor on the cheek, but it wasn't clear whether they had made up.
State and federal officials are all facing public criticism for a slow response to the crisis. Behind the scenes, each suggests the other is to blame.
In front of the cameras during Bush's visit to the Gulf Coast states on Monday, the president and Blanco said little to each other, focusing instead on thanking relief workers.
"I know I don't need to make any other introduction other than `Mr. President,'" Blanco said tersely, turning the microphone over to Bush after praising emergency management officials during a stop with Bush at an emergency operations center.
The president, looking choked up as he finished his brief remarks, nodded at Blanco and kissed her on the cheek. She nodded back and both left the podium, headed for separate spots in the crowd.
Blanco has refused to sign over control of the National Guard to the federal government and has turned to a Clinton administration official, former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief James Lee Witt, to help run relief efforts.
Blanco was not told when Bush would visit the state, nor was she immediately invited to meet him or travel with him. Blanco's office didn't know Bush was coming until told by reporters. Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said the White House reached out to Blanco's office on Sunday, but didn't hear back. White House staff in Louisiana spoke with Blanco early Monday, he said.
Making his third visit to the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged states, Bush stopped first at the Bethany World Prayer Center, a huge hall half covered with pallets and half filled with dining tables. Blanco visited at the same time, but she and Bush kept apart as they walked around talking to people.
During his stop at Bethany, several people ran up to meet Bush and get autographs 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 there since Tuesday with her husband, mother-in-law and cousin. "I'm not interested in handshaking. I'm not interested in photo ops. This is going to take a lot of money."
Bush has come under fire for waiting two days after Katrina hit - and a day after levee breaks drowned New Orleans and turned it into a place of lawless misery - to return to Washington from his August break in Texas to oversee the federal response.
It took several days for food and water to reach the tens of thousands of desperate New Orleans residents who took shelter in the increasingly squalid and deadly Superdome and city convention center. Outlying areas suffered some of the same problems.
Officials are reporting progress and new worries.
Russ Knocke, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman, said at least 22,800 people have been rescued - more than four times the number the Coast Guard usually saves in a year.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KATRINA_WASHINGTON?SITE=NYBUE&SECTION=HOME
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Like estranged in-laws at a holiday gathering, President Bush and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco kept their distance as both toured a relief center for storm victims Monday. At their next stop, the Republican president kissed the Democratic governor on the cheek, but it wasn't clear whether they had made up.
State and federal officials are all facing public criticism for a slow response to the crisis. Behind the scenes, each suggests the other is to blame.
In front of the cameras during Bush's visit to the Gulf Coast states on Monday, the president and Blanco said little to each other, focusing instead on thanking relief workers.
"I know I don't need to make any other introduction other than `Mr. President,'" Blanco said tersely, turning the microphone over to Bush after praising emergency management officials during a stop with Bush at an emergency operations center.
The president, looking choked up as he finished his brief remarks, nodded at Blanco and kissed her on the cheek. She nodded back and both left the podium, headed for separate spots in the crowd.
Blanco has refused to sign over control of the National Guard to the federal government and has turned to a Clinton administration official, former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief James Lee Witt, to help run relief efforts.
Blanco was not told when Bush would visit the state, nor was she immediately invited to meet him or travel with him. Blanco's office didn't know Bush was coming until told by reporters. Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said the White House reached out to Blanco's office on Sunday, but didn't hear back. White House staff in Louisiana spoke with Blanco early Monday, he said.
Making his third visit to the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged states, Bush stopped first at the Bethany World Prayer Center, a huge hall half covered with pallets and half filled with dining tables. Blanco visited at the same time, but she and Bush kept apart as they walked around talking to people.
During his stop at Bethany, several people ran up to meet Bush and get autographs 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 there since Tuesday with her husband, mother-in-law and cousin. "I'm not interested in handshaking. I'm not interested in photo ops. This is going to take a lot of money."
Bush has come under fire for waiting two days after Katrina hit - and a day after levee breaks drowned New Orleans and turned it into a place of lawless misery - to return to Washington from his August break in Texas to oversee the federal response.
It took several days for food and water to reach the tens of thousands of desperate New Orleans residents who took shelter in the increasingly squalid and deadly Superdome and city convention center. Outlying areas suffered some of the same problems.
Officials are reporting progress and new worries.
Russ Knocke, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman, said at least 22,800 people have been rescued - more than four times the number the Coast Guard usually saves in a year.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KATRINA_WASHINGTON?SITE=NYBUE&SECTION=HOME