New Orleans Isn’t Falling for Bush’s False Sympathy

NEW ORLEANS — George W. Bush stopped by Wednesday for the second anniversary of Katrina’s landing in New Orleans. He blithely told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that the federal government had largely done its part and the rest was up to us. Meanwhile, most of the progress was accomplished by the locals and scores of volunteers, many of whom have come through ACORN’s Home Cleanout program.

“A lot of people down here probably wondered whether or not those of us in the federal government not from Louisiana would pay attention to Louisiana or Mississippi, People are tired of waiting for help that doesn’t come and promises that aren’t kept. They’re well informed about where the federal aid went and who benefited. They see wrecked and abandoned houses every day and know that those homeowners have never gotten help and may have possibly given up waiting for governmental assistance that never materializes.

New Orleans City Councilwoman Shelly Midura exposed the president’s hypocrisy in an open letter yesterday, punching wide holes in his argument that the federal government has done its part.

“Indeed, you have allocated $116 billion for the Gulf Coast, but that number is misleading. According to the Brookings Institute’s most recent Katrina index report, at least $75 billion of it was for immediate post-storm relief,