Dealing With Political Disaster

" 'We wanted soldiers, helicopters, food and water,' said Denise Bottcher, press secretary for Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Louisiana. 'They wanted to negotiate an organizational chart.' "

Busy Labor Day

Bush made three public appearances in the Gulf Coast area yesterday -- all inland, far from the worst damage.

Here are Bush's remarks at a shelter at Bethany World Church in Baton Rouge; at an emergency operations center in Baton Rouge, and while visiting with residents in Poplarville, Miss.

"I understand. I understand the damage. I understand the devastation. I understand the destruction. I understand how long it's going to take. And we're with you. That's what I want you to know," he told the residents of Poplarville.

Will Lester writes for the Associated Press: "Since his return to Washington last week, Bush hasn't gone a day without a public event devoted to the storm and its devastation. . . .

"During a stop at Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, several people ran up to meet Bush 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 at the center since Tuesday with her husband, mother-in-law and cousin. 'I'm not interested in hand-shaking. I'm not interested in photo ops.' "

Nicole Bode, Paul H.B. Shin and Tracy Connor write in the New York Daily News: "Wayne Johnson, 40, who sought shelter at Bethany with 30 members of his extended family, said he shook the President's hand. But he was unable to shake the feeling that New Orleans had been forsaken by the feds at its darkest hour.

" 'They should have had all forces roll in Tuesday night. A lot of people felt betrayed. Once the hurricane hit, it was like, 'You're on your own.' "

Bush's "choice of an inland destination didn't sit well with the newly homeless along the coastline, where entire neighborhoods were washed away.

" 'If you see Bush, tell him to stop by because I'd like to tell him a few things,' said Elsie Hutto, 70, whose Gulfport, Miss., home was ruined."

Elisabeth Bumiller and Clyde Haberman write in the New York Times: "Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, said Mr. Bush did not go to New Orleans yesterday because he had visited it on Friday. On that visit, however, he did not go to the Superdome or the convention center, where tens of thousands of largely poor and black victims had been desperate for food and water for days, and some older evacuees had died in their wheelchairs. Mr. Bush did speak at the New Orleans airport and visit the repair work under way at the 17th Street Canal, where he met with workers, some of whom had lost their homes.

"Mr. McClellan also said Mr. Bush steered clear of New Orleans yesterday because he did not want to disrupt continuing relief efforts."

Photo Op Friday

So did the president disrupt relief efforts on his Friday trip? And were they scrambled to make pretty pictures for the press?

From a statement by Sen. Landrieu about Bush's trip to New Orleans on Friday: "[P]erhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment."

And Michelle Krupa writes in the New Orleans Times-Picayune: "Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted because of President Bush's visit to New Orleans, officials said."

Today's Calendar

More White House events on storm relief are planned for today, including meetings with Cabinet secretaries and representatives of volunteer organizations.

John D. McKinnon and Joi Preciphs write in the Wall Street Journal: "Even as it acknowledged that many poor, mostly black residents are feared to have died in the storm and its aftermath, the Bush administration was scheduling a cabinet meeting for today to map out the federal government's long-term strategy for restoring victims' shattered communities and lives, a senior White House aide said."

Bush spoke to the cameras after his 10 a.m. Cabinet meeting, where among other things he announced that he is sending Vice President Cheney down to the Gulf Coast to report back on progress.

He is to make a statement this afternoon in the Rose Garden about efforts to help students displaced by the hurricane, and later on meets with congressional leaders in the Oval Office.

Biloxi Blues

Here is some CNN video from Bush's visit to Biloxi.

Bush strides up to two African American women, who are sisters. Hovering nearby is a white guy wearing shades and shorts.

With the cameras rolling, Bush hugs the two women, one of whom starts sobbing.

Here's a partial transcript:

Bush to women: "There's a Salvation Army center that I want to, that I'll tell you where it is, and they'll get you some help. I'm sorry . . . They'll help you. . . . "

Woman 1: "I came here looking for clothes. . . . "

Bush: "They'll get you some clothes, at the Salvation Army center. . . . "

Woman 1: "We don't have anything. . . . "

Bush: "I understand. . . . Do you know where the center is, that I'm talking to you about?"

Guy with shades: "There's no center there, sir, it's a truck."

Bush: "There's trucks?"

Guy: "There's a school, a school about two miles away. . . . "

Bush: "But isn't there a Salvation center down there?"

Guy: "No that's wiped out. . . . "

Bush: "A temporary center?"

Guy: "No sir they've got a truck there, for food."

Bush: "That's what I'm saying, for food and water."

Bush then turns to the woman who's been saying how she needs clothes and tells her: "You need food and water."

Roberts Watch

Here is the text of Bush's announcement of his nomination of John Roberts to be chief justice of the United States.

Ron Fournier writes for the Associated Press: "President Bush chose the path of least resistance in nominating John Roberts as chief justice, acting with unusual haste as the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina sap his political strength. He was the safest choice Bush could make."

Bush had initially nominated Roberts to succeed Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, but made the switch less than 36 hours after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

Peter Baker writes in the Washington Post: "In elevating Roberts, Bush chose the candidate most likely to be confirmed in short order by the Senate, which was poised to ratify the appeals court judge for O'Connor's seat."

Baker notes that Roberts, "at age 50, would be the youngest chief justice since John Marshall was appointed in 1801, potentially giving him decades to shape the court's direction. . . .

"But in shifting Roberts to the center chair, Bush now must find someone else to replace O'Connor, in some ways an even more consequential choice because she cast the swing vote on issues such as affirmative action, abortion and the death penalty for many years. . . .

"Bush always had Roberts in mind for the next chief justice, aides said yesterday."

Richard W. Stevenson writes in the New York Times: "In choosing Judge Roberts to be chief justice at a sensitive political time, Mr. Bush avoided the fiery ideological fight that would have been ignited had he chosen to elevate Justice Antonin Scalia, a favorite of many conservatives, or turned to a sitting federal judge with a clearer and more extensive conservative record of opinions on social issues than Judge Roberts has. . . .

"Having essentially moved to swap one reliable conservative for another in the chief justice's seat, the president now faces what is likely to be a much more intense battle to replace Justice O'Connor, a swing voter on abortion and other contentious issues. But the political climate Mr. Bush faces now is very different from the one in July, when he first moved to fill Justice O'Connor's seat."

Barbara Bush Watch

Bill Hutchinson writes in the New York Daily News: "To President Bush's mother, everything is turning out hunky-dory for the New Orleans evacuees who lost everything."

Editor and Publisher heard Mrs. Bush on NPR's Marketplace saying: "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this -- this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them."

Flag Watch

Bush ordered flags to half-staff on Sunday twice over.

This order lowers flags until Sept. 20 in honor of the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

This order lowers flags until Sept. 13 as a mark of respect for Chief Justice Rehnquist.

Karl Rove Watch

Lori Montgomery writes in The Washington Post that Rove "is not legally entitled to the homestead deduction and property tax cap he's been getting on his Palisades home for the past 3 1/2 years.

"This week, the D.C. tax collector was alerted to the problem. And Rove agreed to reimburse the District for an estimated $3,400 in back taxes, city officials said. But now some Lone Star officials also are wondering about the place Rove calls home. . . .

"[A]s far as the locals know, the couple have never actually lived in either of two tiny rental cottages Rove claims as his residence on Texas voter registration rolls."