Touchdown: In his State of the Union speech, Pres. George Bush signaled the priority his administration gives the post-Katrina recovery of New Orleans — by not mentioning it all. Adding salt to the wound, the president’s mangling of his talking points during a fly-in photo-op to New Orleans today has become the newest addition to the Bush dyslexicon:
Sometimes it’s hard to see progress when you’re living close to the scene. I guess the New Orleans Saints football team represents to me what’s happening in this part of the state — a resurgence, there’s a renewal. Even though there’s a lot of work to do, the spirit of the people down here is strong.
Entire sections of the city lay devastated within a few miles of the spot where the president made his remarks today. But he wouldn’t know that because he didn’t venture beyond the civilized areas into the neighborhoods still in ruins 18 months after the storm.
