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Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2005

"There are ongoing problems that need to be addressed," said Scott McClellan, the spokesman for President Bush. "We've got to keep our energies focused on the task at hand." He said there would be time later for a thorough analysis of the government's response.

Bush was devoting the day to the recovery effort, meeting with his Cabinet, the congressional leadership, representatives of charitable organizations and with Education Secretary Margaret Spellings to talk about assistance for displaced students and closed schools. McClellan said the president also was increasing what he described as a sizable personal contribution to the Red Cross and also was sending money to the Salvation Army.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., had told reporters Monday that the Homeland Security Committee would convene hearings as Congress returns this week to examine the "weaknesses and strengths" of the federal response and to "apply the lessons learned."

There has been heavy criticism of the government's response to the hurricane, and city and state officials, Republicans and Democrats have assailed the Federal Emergency Management Agency led by Michael Brown. Bush, during an inspection tour of the devastated region last Friday, praised Brown, telling him, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."

McClellan said Bush was not satisfied with the response and that there are problems that need to be addressed. But he would not talk about Brown or say whether any officials had offered their resignation because of the widespread criticism.

"This is all looking at the blame game," McClellan said. "We're not going to engage in the blame game."

He also rejected suggestions that the poor, and particularly blacks, had been abandoned when New Orleans was evacuated. "I think most Americans dismiss that and know that there's just no basis for making such suggestions," McClellan said. "We are focused on saving and sustaining lives of all those who have been affected."

Bush returned to the Gulf Coast on Monday, visiting Baton Rouge and Poplarville, Miss., on his third inspection tour, the second by ground.

Last Wednesday, he had his pilot lower Air Force One, the presidential jet, to an altitude of about 2,500 feet as he flew over the area while returning to Washington. On Friday, he walked a neighborhood in Biloxi on Mississippi's coast and stopped at the airport and a breached levee in New Orleans.

Since his return to Washington last week, Bush hasn't gone a day without a public event devoted to the storm and its devastation. But the administration has not been able to quiet complaints about Washington's initial relief efforts. Congress already plans hearings on the federal response.

During a stop at Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, several people ran up to meet Bush as he and first lady Laura Bush wandered around the room. But just as many hung back and looked on.

"I need answers," said Mildred Brown, who has been at the center since Tuesday with her husband, mother-in-law and cousin. "I'm not interested in hand-shaking. I'm not interested in photo ops."

State as well as federal officials are facing public criticism for a slow response to the crisis. Behind the scenes, each suggests the other is to blame.

That tension was evident when the president and the Louisiana governor appeared together in Baton Rouge on Monday.

The governor, Kathleen Blanco, had to cancel a planned trip to Houston to visit evacuees after learning at the last minute that Bush planned a visit to Baton Rouge. She has turned to a Clinton administration official, former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief James Lee Witt, to help run relief efforts.

After addressing relief workers Monday, the president seemed to choke up, nodded at Blanco and kissed her on the cheek. She nodded back and both left the podium, headed for separate spots in the crowd.

Blanco later played down reports of differences with Bush. "We'd like to stop the voices out there trying to create a divide," she said. "We're all in this together."

During his stop in Mississippi, Bush said he understood his optimism about the region's recovery is hard for others to share:

© 2005 The Associated Press

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