Sun editorial:

Four years after Katrina

Gulf Coast recovery work is now earning high praise for the progress it is making

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009 | 2:06 a.m.

Finally, four years after Hurricane Katrina devastated vast areas of the Gulf Coast, the federal government is getting praised by leaders in Louisiana and Mississippi who have seen major improvements in recent months.

Among those offering compliments is Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican normally against everything the Obama administration stands for. But even he is admitting that Katrina relief under President Barack Obama has made great strides.

In an interview last week with the Associated Press, Jindal drew a contrast between how the Federal Emergency Management Agency performed under the George W. Bush administration and how it is performing under Obama.

There weren’t “very many positive things” to say about the federal government’s recovery efforts under Bush, Jindal said. But now, he added, “there is a sense of momentum and a desire to get things done.”

Douglas O’Dell, who served as the Gulf Coast rebuilding coordinator for the last nine months of the Bush administration, also said work is moving much more efficiently now. “What people have said to me is that for whatever reason, problems that were insurmountable under previous leadership are getting resolved quickly,” he told the AP.

The wire service also interviewed several other Gulf Coast officials, including Victor Ukpolo, chancellor of Southern University in New Orleans, and Tommy Longo, mayor of Waveland, Miss. “It’s really awesome,” Ukpolo said. “There’s been so much progress.”

And Longo said that under Bush, “you almost couldn’t get them (FEMA officials) to return a phone call, and you certainly weren’t going to get them to make any big decisions. It’s refreshing to be back working with people ... who want to make a difference.”

Certainly Obama’s decision to appoint Craig Fugate, a professional emergency services manager, to head FEMA has helped enormously in creating the turnaround. Bush’s administrator at the time of Katrina was the inexperienced Michael Brown, appointed for political reasons.

The Gulf Coast is far from recovered. But it is good to know that progress is now under way.

Discussion: 11 comments so far…

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By LarryVegas

Sept. 1, 2009

9:06 a.m.

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It's Bush's fault... He caused Katrina and all the hurricanes to follow in the next 3 1/2 years...
By Planetearthcalling

Sept. 1, 2009

9:44 a.m.

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Yeah, I really have to laugh my rear off when my nephews LWN wife blames bush for hurricane katrina. The scariest part... she believes it.

Her being a victim of LWN politics actually helps me to understand how and even why a young arab muslim, either male or female, can be brainwashed into believing the act of suicide bombing is acceptable when used to effect political change.
By KillerB

Sept. 1, 2009

9:57 a.m.

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LarryVegas -- don't be so stupid. He made big promises, and delivered on very little that actually found its way to actual relief.
By LarryVegas

Sept. 1, 2009

10:46 a.m.

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KillerB: What does your comment have to do about anything?
By Johnathan_Abbinett

Sept. 1, 2009

1:22 p.m.

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Political corruption, in BOTH parties, caused the levy system to projects (being done by the totally competent U. S. Army Corps of Engineers) to fall years, even decades, behind schedule - so, we should first put the blame where it belongs on BOTH political parties! Had the levy system been completed, most of the flooding damage would not have occured!

That is what is really sad, Sad, SAD! Everyone knew how important the levies were and corrupt politicians kept robbing the levy budget and using that money for their own selfish, political purposes!

Then, next, BUSH SHOULD BE BLAMED for being just the most recent incompetent, corrupt politician in the tragic play of events!

What is it with these people that won't spend $ 500 bucks to put up a simple stop sign - until some child gets killed?

I'm liking what I'm hearing about NOLA turning around, FINALLY! I hope we not only save this grand jewel of a unique and great American city - I hope when the levy system is finished, and all the clean-up and repair work is done, it is better than ever! Now, THAT would be something all Americans could point to and be proud of!
By LarryVegas

Sept. 1, 2009

1:51 p.m.

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How about throwing a couple of billion dollars toward Las Vegas and "...save this grand jewel of a unique and great American city..."
By RHG

Sept. 1, 2009

5 p.m.

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Well of course, everything's beautiful now, a Democrats in the White House and New Orleans can now stop being used as political hammer to bludgeon Bush.
By LarryVegas

Sept. 1, 2009

6 p.m.

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Oh, I believe the Bush bashing will on for another 3 1/2 years...
By KillerB

Sept. 1, 2009

6:19 p.m.

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"What does your comment have to do about anything?"

LarryV -- read the article then figure it out with "he" being Bush, of course. It was definitely more on point than your first post.

RHG -- Bush deserved that hammering.
By LarryVegas

Sept. 1, 2009

6:40 p.m.

Suggest removal

KillerB: No thanks... I read it once and that was enough.

Oh, by the way, how about all those families in the Midwest who lost everything during the floods last year? I didn't hear much about them...
By KillerB

Sept. 1, 2009

7:24 p.m.

Suggest removal

LarryV -- and tornadoes, and all the other disasters happening everywhere all the time. The media was probably too busy keeping up on what Sarah Palin was saying and what Mrs. Obama was wearing.

Don't care about those anyway. I had two loved ones who escaped Katrina.