White House moves to contain political fallout from Katrina

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White House moves to contain political fallout from Katrina


By Adam Nagourney and Anne E. Kornblut / New York Times News Service

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WASHINGTON -- Under the command of President Bush's two senior political advisers, the White House this weekend rolled out a plan to contain the political damage from the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina.

It orchestrated visits by Cabinet members to the region, leading up to an extraordinary return visit by Bush to New Orleans on Monday, directed administration officials not to respond to attacks from Democrats on the relief efforts, and sought to move the blame for the slow response to Louisiana state officials, according to Republicans familiar with the White House plan.

The effort is being directed by Bush's chief political adviser, Karl Rove, and his communications director, Dan Bartlett. It began late last week after congressional Republicans called White House officials to register alarm about what they saw as a feeble response by Bush to the hurricane, according to Republican congressional aides.

As a result, Americans watching the television coverage of the tragedy this weekend began to see, amid the images of destruction and suffering, some of the highest-profile members of the administration -- Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Donald Rumsfeld, the secretary of defense, and Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state -- touring storm-damaged communities.

http://www.detnews.com/2005/politics/0509/05/Polit-303874.htm