KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine — As Hurricane Katrina approached the Gulf Coast a year ago this weekend, President Bush already was beset by growing negative impressions of his presidency. Now, as the first anniversary of the storm arrives, he faces a new challenge: how to mark that moment without reinvigorating the questions it raised about his competency.
Bush is planning to spend much of Monday and Tuesday in Mississippi and Louisiana, visiting regions that were devastated by the winds and floods that accompanied the storm.
His goal, said White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino, is to "reflect on the many people who died," as well as on those who rescued others. He will examine "how America opened up its arms and wallets" to care for the survivors.
But in the view of administration officials, their advisors and others, the question of how Bush should approach the anniversary is a difficult one. Speechwriters must craft presidential remarks that recognize devastation and recovery, but that also show an awareness of government failures in responding. Staffers must find locations for his visit that demonstrate progress but do not minimize problems and mistakes.
The White House has begun sounding the themes of Bush's Gulf visit, emphasizing that progress has been made, but that perseverance is necessary because rebuilding will take years to complete. The president delivered such a message last week when he met in the Oval Office with Rockey Vacarella, whose home in Louisiana's St. Bernard Parish was destroyed by the storm. Bush's weekly radio address this morning is likely to echo those themes.
Through multiple events, Bush plans to raise the lessons learned in the aftermath of the storm and the federal response, and the continuing challenges, Perino said. She said he would express appreciation for the resolve demonstrated by local residents and a commitment to continue the federal effort as long as required.
But a danger for Bush is that the more he focuses publicly on the storm and its aftermath, the more he risks reminding voters that the delay in the federal response began to solidify the negative impressions of his presidency that had been forming earlier in 2005.
In the storm's wake, two-thirds of those surveyed by the Washington-based Pew Research Center said Bush could have acted more quickly. A month later, his personal favorability rating -- a measurement separate from his job approval -- dropped below 50% for the first time.
