With another monster hurricane bearing down on the Gulf Coast, the White House is focused on not making the same mistakes again, either procedurally or politically.
That means being fully prepared to deploy a massive federal response -- and the president himself -- at a moment's notice.
As Adam Entous writes for Reuters: "Still under a cloud over the slow response to Hurricane Katrina, President George W. Bush and top aides rushed to assure the public on Wednesday that they would get it right the second time around with Hurricane Rita. . . .
"Administration officials are counting on a more aggressive, hands-on approach to Hurricane Rita to help counter criticism of their slow and confused response to Katrina. Since that storm hit on August 29, Bush has seen his overall approval ratings drop to new lows.
"A smoother response to Rita might help Bush politically, but is unlikely to pull him out of his post-Katrina slump, analysts said."
And it's not just the federal response, but the president's personal role, that the White House is committed to getting right this time.
"White House officials were already laying the groundwork for Bush to visit or get close to the disaster zone soon after Rita passes, leaving his schedule open for Saturday and Sunday."
Ron Fournier writes for the Associated Press: "Politically, the biggest mistake Bush made was refusing to acknowledge the sluggish pace of relief. He seemed out of step with the crisis, a perception that his public relations team will try to avoid if Rita hits hard. . . .
"If nothing else, the White House will be less inclined to bicker with local officials if Rita hits Texas. Bush and Perry are both Republicans, and Bush is a former Texas governor. In Louisiana, relations were destructively sour between the White House and Democrats [Gov. Kathleen] Blanco and [New Orleans Mayor Ray] Nagin."
Ceci Connolly and Sylvia Moreno write in The Washington Post about some of the preparations at the federal level, a far cry from the last time around: "The Department of Defense, taking lessons from Katrina, intends to send surveillance aircraft soon after Rita strikes land to 'determine the magnitude of the relief required and, secondly, where it would be required,' said Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense. 'We want to ensure as a matter of policy we have better eyes on target.'
"Already, about 5,000 Texas National Guard troops have been mobilized and another 1,300 who had been assisting in New Orleans are returning from Louisiana. The Pentagon is drawing up plans to assist local law enforcement 'in the event that the first responders become the first victims,' as happened in Katrina, he said. . . .
" 'The most important thing that we're doing is work with the Department of Defense to use their assets up front before the storm instead of waiting until after the storm lands,' said acting FEMA Director R. David Paulison."
