Trying to Put Katrina Behind Him

As President Bush today tours a Southern California landscape ravaged by wildfires, he has two primary goals.

One is to comfort the victims and rescue workers, to serve as consoler-in-chief -- one of his best roles.

The other goal is to bask in the aura of competence that has characterized the response to this tragedy -- in stark contrast to the negligent bungling that compounded Hurricane Katrina's toll on New Orleans.

But, despite all the forceful pronouncements from the White House, it's not clear that Bush deserves much, if any, of the credit. And there's no indication that his visit will expiate the Katrina legacy, arguably the second most defining aspect of his presidency.

Here are Bush's remarks as he headed off for his day-trip to California this morning: "It's a sad situation out there in southern California. I fully understand that the people have got a lot of anguish in their hearts and they just need to know a lot of folks care about them," he said. "I will assure the people of California that the Federal Government will be deploying resources, assets, and manpower necessary to help fight these fires."

And, claiming a more pivotal role than he deserves, he announced that "because of the declaration I signed yesterday, there will be help for the people of California."

Spencer S. Hsu writes in today's Washington Post that Bush's tour is intended "to showcase his administration's ability to respond better to natural disasters than it did after Hurricane Katrina two years ago. Yesterday, he pronounced the federal government's actions 'well-coordinated' after a Cabinet meeting to discuss the crisis.

"Federal and state emergency managers say, however, that the two disasters can hardly be compared. Katrina's floods and winds wreaked havoc on a far larger scale. California's local responders lead the nation in training and coordination, while Louisiana's rank near the bottom. And the Federal Emergency Management Agency's responsibilities for battling wildfires are far more limited than its role in dealing with hurricane damage. . . .

"The number of homes destroyed was about 1 percent of the 300,000 made uninhabitable by Katrina, and financial losses were less than 2 percent, based on initial estimates. . . .

"Local officials have choreographed the largest evacuation in Golden State history, with estimates of the people instructed to leave their homes at 351,000. But many began returning yesterday. Katrina prompted the evacuation of 1.1 million people, and 500,000 were still displaced after four months."

While Bush may have "mastered the political response to the wildfires," Hsu writes, federal agencies such as FEMA and DHS "have a much more limited role in responding to wildfires."

Mimi Hall writes in USA Today that "experts said credit for the good response goes to California's officials, emergency workers and residents, most of whom followed instructions to leave their homes for safer ground."