Bush in Mississippi: 'This is a hopeful day'
By Maura Reynolds, Times Staff Writer
9:56 AM PST, March 1, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-ex-bush1mar02,1,1733048.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&track=crosspromoNEW ORLEANS -- Stung by criticism that he and his administration have neglected the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast, President Bush today made his first visit to the region in six months and proclaimed that "this is a hopeful day."
"Part of the reason I've come down is to tell people here in the Gulf Coast that we still think about them in Washington," Bush said, standing in the muddy lot surrounding a newly constructed home in Long Beach, Miss. "But times are changing for the better and people's lives are improving. And there is hope."Earlier this year, Bush was severely criticized for making no mention of Hurricane Katrina during his State of the Union address. He also was accused of responding too slowly when the storm struck in August 2005.
"Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster, compounded by a man-made disaster," House Democratic leaders said in a statement. "It is now 18 months past time to get our response right."