Bush atones by taking over response to Gustav

AS Hurricane Gustav threatened the Gulf Coast, US President George W Bush was out to show the nation that his government had learned the haunting lessons of Katrina and was ready to act.

That included a rapid response by Bush himself, who was planted near the danger zone even before the storm hit last night.

Bush left yesterday for Texas, a staging ground for emergency response efforts and a shelter state for Gulf Coast evacuees. The president also visited Austin and San Antonio.

This was supposed to be the day that Bush stepped into the 2008 presidential race.

But he scuttled his speech at the Republican National Convention to tout Senator John McCain, in favour of his own presidential duties.

Bush was briefed on Sunday at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the target of so much scorn under Bush’s leadership during Katrina.

He promised to get state and local officials what they needed. He implored residents to evacuate as ordered and he warned serious flooding could return.

“The message to the people of the Gulf Coast is: This storm is dangerous,” the President said.

His message was that the government would do better this time, with more preparation, faster responses, better coordination and total attention.

It was a lesson summed up this way yesterday by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff: “Planning, preparation and moving early”.

This time, Chertoff said, the evacuations, especially of the infirm and those who needed extra help leaving, were successful.

“I’m pleased to say it looks like we got everybody out yesterday before the storm,” Chertoff said.

Bush has had a visible role in relief efforts, especially after Katrina, but also in natural disasters that preceded it.

But heading to the site of a disaster even before it was expected to happen is highly unusual, and a measure of the stakes surrounding this storm.

Bush said local leaders should get “everything they need from the federal government to prepare for what all anticipate will be a difficult situation”.

Presidential nominee-in- waiting John McCain, who visited Mississippi on Sunday, said that while there is now better coordination among federal and local authorities, there are still problems.

“There’s still, I think, not as much communications equipment as we want... It’s not perfect, but I think that it’s dramatically different than in response to Katrina,” he said.