Spin it, Fox, SPIN it: "Bush Comforts Katrina Survivors Amid Criticism"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,168278,00.html

KENNER, La. — President Bush (search) finished a tour of New Orleans (search) Friday amid criticism from officials there that the federal government had let their city spiral out of control.

"The people of New Orleans have got to understand there's a lot of people working hard and we're making good progress," Bush said at the airport in nearby Kenner, La. The president watched crews repair a levee on the ground in New Orleans for about 30 minutes. The White House had indicated all day that he would not visit the city proper.

Bush said "round the clock" work was being done to repair the pumps and levees designed to prevent flooding in the city. New Orleans took an especially brutal hit by Hurricane Katrina (search) because it lies below sea level. Among those joining Bush in Louisiana were Gov. Kathleen Blanco and two officials who have blasted federal relief efforts in the region, Sen. Mary Landrieu and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. The president sought to assure residents that relief was on the way. "I know there are some folks in outlying parishes who are wondering if we are paying attention to them. We are," Bush said at the airport after the tour. "I'm not going to forget what I've seen. I understand this devastation requires more than one day's attention."

Even Republicans criticized Bush and his administration for the sluggish relief effort. "I think it puts into question all of the homeland security and Northern Command planning for the last four years, because if we can't respond faster than this to an event we saw coming across the Gulf for days, then why do we think we're prepared to respond to a nuclear or biological attack?" asked former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.