The Nation - Bush accents the positive in New Orleans - 'This town is coming back,' the president says during a visit. But many fault sluggish federal rebuilding efforts.

"This town is coming back," he said at a charter school in one of the city's most flood-ravaged neighborhoods. "This town is better today than it was yesterday, and it's going to be better tomorrow than it was today."

The president spent much of the day in the Crescent City and on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, repeating the message of federal support that he has espoused in 14 previous visits to the region, but bringing no new money to spur the recovery.

The Bush administration's response to Katrina -- the president's decision to fly over a stricken New Orleans without landing as he returned to Washington from vacation, the chaos of rescue efforts and the botched post-hurricane relief program -- has brought criticism and political controversy.

Two weeks after the storm, Bush stood in Jackson Square in the French Quarter and said, in a speech to the nation, "This great city will rise again."

On Wednesday, in a quiet recognition of the pressure to turn that message into reality, he said Washington had not forgotten his commitment.

"It's one thing to come and give a speech in Jackson Square; it's another thing to keep paying attention to whether or not progress is being made. And I hope people understand we do, we're still paying attention," the president said. "We're still engaged."

A recent report from the RFK Center for Human Rights and the Institute for Southern Studies estimated that the Bush administration was overstating federal funding for the Gulf Coast rebuilding campaign by as much as 300%, with about $35 billion of an estimated $114 billion actually spent. White House officials said Wednesday that the amount spent was $96 billion.

In an open letter to Bush, New Orleans City Councilwoman Shelley Midura said the funding "has served you well, as your spokesmen often cite it as an indicator of your dedication to our recovery." But, Midura, who noted that much of the money covered initial relief, added, "it hasn't served us as well -- it's not enough, it's been given grudgingly, and only after our elected officials have had to fight for it."