Decision Points Part 20

An hour later, Mayor Nagin announced the first mandatory evacuation in New Orleans history. "This is a threat that we've never faced before," he said. Katrina's landfall was less than twenty-four hours away.

I also called Governor Haley Barbour Haley Barbour of Mississippi, Governor of Mississippi, Governor Bob Riley Bob Riley of Alabama, and my brother Jeb in Florida. I told them they could count on strong support from the federal government. of Alabama, and my brother Jeb in Florida. I told them they could count on strong support from the federal government.

A little before 11:00 a.m., I joined a FEMA videoconference with officials from the states in Katrina's projected path. It was rare for a president to attend a staff-level briefing like this. I saw some surprised looks on the screen when my face appeared. But I wanted to convey to the entire government how seriously I took this storm.

There was a discussion of potential flooding along the coastline and the possibility that water might spill over the top of the New Orleans New Orleans levees. But no one predicted the levees would break-a different and much more severe problem than overtopping. levees. But no one predicted the levees would break-a different and much more severe problem than overtopping.

"The current track and forecast we have now suggests that there will be minimal flooding in the city of New Orleans itself," Max Mayfield Max Mayfield said. "But we've always said that the storm surge model is only accurate within about twenty percent." said. "But we've always said that the storm surge model is only accurate within about twenty percent."

A few minutes later, I stepped out in front of the cameras. "Hurricane Katrina is now designated a Category Five hurricane," I said. "We cannot stress enough the danger this hurricane poses to Gulf Coast communities. I urge all citizens to put their own safety and the safety of their families first by moving to safe ground. Please listen carefully to instructions provided by state and local officials."

At 6:10 a.m. Central Time on Monday, August 29, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana. The eye of the storm pa.s.sed over Plaquemines Parish, at the far southeastern tip of the state, and plowed north across the Louisiana-Mississippi border, about forty miles east of New Orleans. "The worst weather in this system is indeed going to bypa.s.s downtown New Orleans and go to our east," NBC News's Brian Williams Brian Williams reported. He said New Orleans was experiencing "the best of the worst-case scenarios." Several journalists on the scene said the city had "dodged a bullet." Governor Blanco confirmed that while some water had spilled over the tops of the levees, they had detected no breaches. My staff and I went to bed thinking the levees had held. reported. He said New Orleans was experiencing "the best of the worst-case scenarios." Several journalists on the scene said the city had "dodged a bullet." Governor Blanco confirmed that while some water had spilled over the tops of the levees, they had detected no breaches. My staff and I went to bed thinking the levees had held.

In Mississippi, there was no uncertainty about the damage. Eighty miles of coastline had been obliterated. Downtown Gulfport sat under ten feet of water. Casinos, barges, and bridges were ruined. US-90, a major highway running across southern Mississippi, was shut down. In the city of Waveland, 95 percent of structures were severely damaged or destroyed.

Early Tuesday morning, Day Two of Katrina, I learned that the first reports were wrong. The levees in New Orleans New Orleans had been breached. Water from Lake Pontchartrain began to pour into the city, filling the bowl. An estimated 80 to 90 percent of residents had evacuated, but tens of thousands had not, including many of the poor and vulnerable in low-lying areas like the Lower Ninth Ward. had been breached. Water from Lake Pontchartrain began to pour into the city, filling the bowl. An estimated 80 to 90 percent of residents had evacuated, but tens of thousands had not, including many of the poor and vulnerable in low-lying areas like the Lower Ninth Ward.

While it was important to get relief supplies into the city, our first priority had to be saving lives. Coast Guard helicopters took the lead in the effort. As pilots dodged power lines and trees, rescuers rappelled down dangling ropes in midair to pluck residents from rooftops. When I heard critics say the federal response federal response to Katrina was slow, I thought about those brave Coast Guardsmen who mounted one of the most rapid and effective rescue operations in American history. to Katrina was slow, I thought about those brave Coast Guardsmen who mounted one of the most rapid and effective rescue operations in American history.

"This morning our hearts and prayers are with our fellow citizens along the Gulf Coast who have suffered so much from Hurricane Katrina," I said in San Diego, where I had come to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of America's victory in the Pacific theater of World War II. "...The good folks in Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama and other affected areas are going to need the help and compa.s.sion and prayers of our fellow citizens."

After the speech, I decided to head back to Crawford, pack up for the capital, and return to Washington on Wednesday morning. Joe Hagin Joe Hagin had reached out to Governors Blanco and Barbour to discuss the possibility of a visit. Both felt it was too early. A presidential arrival would have required dozens of law enforcement officials to provide security at the airport, an ambulance and medical personnel on standby, and numerous other resources. Neither governor wanted to divert rescue a.s.sets to prepare for my arrival. I agreed. had reached out to Governors Blanco and Barbour to discuss the possibility of a visit. Both felt it was too early. A presidential arrival would have required dozens of law enforcement officials to provide security at the airport, an ambulance and medical personnel on standby, and numerous other resources. Neither governor wanted to divert rescue a.s.sets to prepare for my arrival. I agreed.

Aboard Air Force One, I was told that our flight path would take us over some of the areas. .h.i.t by Katrina. We could fly low over the Gulf Coast to give me a closer look. If I wasn't going to land in the disaster zone, I figured the next best thing was to get a sense of the devastation from above.

What I saw took my breath away. New Orleans was almost totally submerged. In some neighborhoods, all I could see were rooftops peeking out from the water. The Superdome roof had peeled off. The I-10 bridge connecting New Orleans with Slidell had collapsed into Lake Pontchartrain. Cars floated down rivers that used to be streets. The landscape looked like something out of a horror movie.

The haunting view of New Orleans from Air Force One two days after Katrina. White House/Paul Morse White House/Paul Morse The devastation in Mississippi was even more brutal. For miles and miles along the sh.o.r.e, every standing structure had been reduced to timber. Pine trees were strewn across the coast like matchsticks. Huge casinos that sat on barges in the Gulf were destroyed and washed ash.o.r.e in pieces. The bridge over Bay St. Louis was gone. This must be what it looks like when a nuclear bomb explodes This must be what it looks like when a nuclear bomb explodes, I thought.

Staring out the window, all I could think about was what the people on the ground were enduring. What goes through your mind when your entire community is destroyed? Do you take a mental inventory of everything you left behind? I worried most about the people stranded. I imagined the desperation they must be feeling as they scrambled to their rooftops to outrace the rising water. I said a silent prayer for their safety.

At some point, our press team ushered photographers into the cabin. I barely noticed them at the time; I couldn't take my eyes off the devastation below. But when the pictures were released, I realized I had made a serious mistake. The photo of me hovering over the damage suggested I was detached from the suffering on the ground. That wasn't how I felt. But once the public impression was formed, I couldn't change it. For all my efforts to avoid the perception problem Dad faced during Hurricane Andrew, I ended up repeating it.

I've often reflected on what I should have done differently that day. I believe the decision not to land in New Orleans was correct. Emergency responders would have been called away from the rescue efforts, and that would have been wrong. A better option would have been to stop at the airport in Baton Rouge, the state capital. Eighty miles north of the flood zone, I could have strategized with the governor and a.s.sured Katrina victims that their country stood with them.

Landing in Baton Rouge would not have saved any lives. Its benefit would have been good public relations. But public relations matter when you are president, particularly when people are hurting. When Hurricane Betsy devastated New Orleans in 1965, Lyndon Johnson flew in from Washington to visit late at night. He made his way to a shelter in the Ninth Ward by flashlight. "This is your president!" he called out when he arrived in the dark and crowded s.p.a.ce. "I'm here to help you!" Unfortunately, I did not follow his example.

When I landed at the White House Wednesday afternoon, I convened an emergency meeting in the Cabinet Room to discuss the response. "Every agency needs to step forward," I told the team. "Look at your resources and find a way to do more."

I gave a statement in the Rose Garden outlining the federal response federal response. The Transportation Department had sent trucks to deliver supplies. Health and Human Services provided medical teams and mortuary units. Energy opened the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to protect against a major spike in gasoline prices. The Defense Department deployed the USS Bataan Bataan to conduct search-and-rescue and the USNS to conduct search-and-rescue and the USNS Comfort Comfort, a hospital ship, to provide medical care. FEMA surged supplies into the disaster region and set up shelters for evacuees. We later learned there were major problems with organization and tracking, leading many deliveries to be delayed or never completed.

These logistical measures were necessary, but they seemed inadequate compared to the images of desperation Americans saw on their television screens. There were victims begging for water, families stranded on overpa.s.ses, and people standing on rooftops holding signs that read "Help Me!" More than one person interviewed said the same thing: "I can't believe this is happening in the United States of America."

On top of the hurricane and flood, we were now facing the third disaster: chaos and violence in New Orleans chaos and violence in New Orleans. Looters smashed windows to steal guns, clothing, and jewelry. Helicopters couldn't land because of gunfire. Downtown buildings were aflame.

The police force was powerless to restore order. While many officers carried out their duty honorably, some abandoned their posts to deal with their own personal emergencies. Others joined the criminals. I was enraged to see footage of police officers walking out of a store carrying big-screen TVs. I felt like I was watching a reverse of what had happened four years earlier in Manhattan. Instead of charging into burning buildings to save lives, some first responders in New Orleans were breaking into stores to steal electronics.

A horrific scene was developing at the Superdome, where tens of thousands of people had gathered to take shelter. After three days, the roof was leaking, the air-conditioning had stopped working, and sanitation facilities had broken down. The media issued reports of s.a.d.i.s.tic behavior, including rape and murder. Between the chaos and the poor communications, the government never knew for sure what was happening. It took us several days to learn that thousands of other people had gathered with no food or water at the New Orleans Convention Center.

With the police unable to stop the lawlessness, the only solution was a stronger troop presence. As of Wednesday afternoon, New Orleans had about four thousand National Guard forces, with reinforcements on the way. But the Guard, under the command of the governor, seemed overwhelmed. One option was to deploy active-duty troops and put both them and Guard forces in Louisiana under the unified command of the federal government.

Forces from the 82nd Airborne Division awaited orders to deploy, and I was prepared to give them. But we had a problem. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibited active-duty military from conducting law enforcement within the United States. Don Rumsfeld, speaking for many in the military, opposed sending the 82nd Airborne.

There was one exception to Posse Comitatus. If I declared New Orleans to be in a state of insurrection, I could deploy federal troops equipped with full law enforcement powers. The last time the Insurrection Act Insurrection Act had been invoked was 1992, when Dad sent the military to suppress the Los Angeles riots. In that case, Governor had been invoked was 1992, when Dad sent the military to suppress the Los Angeles riots. In that case, Governor Pete Wilson Pete Wilson of California had requested the federal deployment. The Insurrection Act could be invoked over a governor's objections. In the most famous example, President of California had requested the federal deployment. The Insurrection Act could be invoked over a governor's objections. In the most famous example, President Dwight Eisenhower Dwight Eisenhower defied Governor defied Governor Orval Faubus Orval Faubus by deploying the 101st Airborne to enforce the Supreme Court's decision desegregating Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. by deploying the 101st Airborne to enforce the Supreme Court's decision desegregating Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

On Thursday morning, Day Four, Andy Card Andy Card formally raised the prospect of federalizing the response with Governor Blanco and her team. The governor did not want to give up authority to the federal government. That left me in a tough position. If I invoked the Insurrection Act against her wishes, the world would see a male Republican president usurping the authority of a female Democratic governor by declaring an insurrection in a largely African American city. That would arouse controversy anywhere. To do so in the Deep South, where there had been centuries of states' rights tension, could unleash holy h.e.l.l. I had to persuade the governor to change her mind. I decided to make my case in person the next day. formally raised the prospect of federalizing the response with Governor Blanco and her team. The governor did not want to give up authority to the federal government. That left me in a tough position. If I invoked the Insurrection Act against her wishes, the world would see a male Republican president usurping the authority of a female Democratic governor by declaring an insurrection in a largely African American city. That would arouse controversy anywhere. To do so in the Deep South, where there had been centuries of states' rights tension, could unleash holy h.e.l.l. I had to persuade the governor to change her mind. I decided to make my case in person the next day.

I was as frustrated as I had been at any point in my presidency. All my instincts told me we needed to get federal troops into New Orleans to stop the violence and speed the recovery. But I was stuck with a resistant governor, a reluctant Pentagon, and an antiquated law. I wanted to overrule them all. But at the time, I worried that the consequence could be a const.i.tutional crisis, and possibly a political insurrection as well.

On Friday morning, Day Five, I convened a seven o'clock meeting in the Situation Room with the government-wide Katrina response team. "I know you all are trying hard as you can," I said. "But it's not cutting it. We have to establish order in New Orleans as soon as possible. Having this situation spiral out of control is unacceptable."

As Mike Chertoff Mike Chertoff and I walked out to Marine One for the trip to the Gulf Coast, I delivered the same message to the press pool. "The results are not acceptable," I said. "I'm headed down there right now." and I walked out to Marine One for the trip to the Gulf Coast, I delivered the same message to the press pool. "The results are not acceptable," I said. "I'm headed down there right now."

We took Air Force One into Mobile, Alabama, where I was met by Governors Bob Riley Bob Riley and and Haley Barbour Haley Barbour. Both were impressive leaders who had carried out effective evacuation plans, worked closely with local authorities, and launched recovery operations rapidly.

I asked Bob and Haley if they were getting the federal support they needed. Both told me they were. "That Mike Brown Mike Brown is doing a heck of a job," Bob said. I knew Mike was under pressure, and I wanted to boost his morale. When I spoke to the press a few minutes later, I repeated the praise. is doing a heck of a job," Bob said. I knew Mike was under pressure, and I wanted to boost his morale. When I spoke to the press a few minutes later, I repeated the praise.

"Brownie," I said, "you're doing a heck of a job."

I never imagined those words would become an infamous entry in the political lexicon. As complaints about Mike Brown's performance Brown's performance mounted, especially in mounted, especially in New Orleans New Orleans, critics turned my words of encouragement into a club to bludgeon me.

Our next stop was Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi, Mississippi. I had flown over the area two days earlier, but nothing prepared me for the destruction I witnessed on the ground. I walked through a wasteland. There were uprooted trees and debris strewn everywhere. Virtually no structures were standing. One man was sitting on a block of concrete, with two smaller slabs in front. I realized it was the foundation of a house. The two slabs used to be his front steps. Nearby was a mangled appliance that looked like it might have been his dishwasher.

Sitting with a Biloxi, Mississippi, man on what used to be his front steps. White House/Eric Draper White House/Eric Draper I sat next to him and asked how he was holding up. I expected him to tell me that everything he owned had been ruined. Instead he said, "I'm doing fine....I'm alive, and my mother is alive."

I was struck by his spirit and sense of perspective. I found the same outlook in many others. One of the most impressive people I met was Mayor A.J. Holloway A.J. Holloway of Biloxi. "All the Way Holloway" had been a running back for the 1960 National Champion Ole Miss football team. While Katrina destroyed more than six thousand homes and businesses in Biloxi, there wasn't an ounce of self-pity in the mayor. He resolved to rebuild the city better than before. Governor Barbour put the spirit of the state into words when he said people were "hitching up their britches and rebuilding Mississippi." of Biloxi. "All the Way Holloway" had been a running back for the 1960 National Champion Ole Miss football team. While Katrina destroyed more than six thousand homes and businesses in Biloxi, there wasn't an ounce of self-pity in the mayor. He resolved to rebuild the city better than before. Governor Barbour put the spirit of the state into words when he said people were "hitching up their britches and rebuilding Mississippi."

With Haley Barbour. White House/Eric Draper White House/Eric Draper

Our final stop was New Orleans, where I made my appeal to Governor Blanco on Air Force One. Despite my repeated urging, she made clear she wasn't going to give me an answer on federalizing the response. There was nothing to gain by pushing her harder; the governor was dug in.

After a helicopter tour of the flooded city, we touched down at a Coast Guard station near the breached Seventeenth Street levee. On one side of the levee sat the town of Metairie, relatively dry. On the other was Orleans Parish, deep underwater for as far as I could see. I stared into the three-hundred-foot breach, a gateway for a destructive cascade of water. Unlike 1927, no levee had been dynamited in 2005. But the horrific impact on the people in the flood's path was the same.

When I got back to the White House that evening, Andy Card Andy Card met me in the Oval Office. He and White House Counsel met me in the Oval Office. He and White House Counsel Harriet Miers Harriet Miers had spent the day-and the previous night-working with the lawyers and the Pentagon on a way to get federal troops into Louisiana. They had come up with an interesting proposal: A three-star general would command all military forces in Louisiana. On matters concerning the active-duty forces, he would report to me. On matters concerning the Guard, he would report to Governor Blanco. This dual-hat structure gave the federal government what we needed-a clear chain of command and active-duty troops to secure the city-while accommodating the governor's concerns. Andy faxed her a letter outlining the arrangement just before midnight. had spent the day-and the previous night-working with the lawyers and the Pentagon on a way to get federal troops into Louisiana. They had come up with an interesting proposal: A three-star general would command all military forces in Louisiana. On matters concerning the active-duty forces, he would report to me. On matters concerning the Guard, he would report to Governor Blanco. This dual-hat structure gave the federal government what we needed-a clear chain of command and active-duty troops to secure the city-while accommodating the governor's concerns. Andy faxed her a letter outlining the arrangement just before midnight.

The next morning, Day Six, a call from Baton Rouge came in to the White House. The governor had declined.

I was exasperated. I had spent three days trying to persuade the governor. It had been a waste of time. At 10:00 a.m., I stepped into the Rose Garden to announce the deployment of more than seven thousand active-duty troops to New Orleans New Orleans-without law enforcement powers. I was anxious about the situation. If they got caught in a crossfire, it would be my fault. But I decided that sending troops with diminished authority was better than not sending them at all.

The commander of Joint Task Force Katrina was a six-foot-two, no-nonsense general known as the Ragin' Cajun. A descendant of Creole ancestors from southern Louisiana, General Russ Honore had lived through many hurricanes and knew the people of the Gulf Coast well.

General Honore brought exactly what the situation required: common sense, good communication skills, and an ability to make decisions. He quickly earned the trust of elected officials, National Guard commanders, and local police chiefs. When a unit of Guard and police forces tried to enter the Convention Center to make a food delivery with their guns drawn, Honore was caught on camera yelling, "Weapons down, d.a.m.n it!" The general came up with a perfect motto to describe his approach: "Don't get stuck on stupid."

With General Russ Honore. White House/Eric Draper White House/Eric Draper While we couldn't federalize the response by law, General Honore effectively did so with his strong will and force of personality. Mayor Nagin summed him up as a "John Wayne dude...who came off the doggone chopper, and he started cussing and people started moving." Had I known he could be so effective without the authority I a.s.sumed he needed, I would have cut off the legal debate and sent troops in without law enforcement powers several days sooner.

On Monday, September 5, Day Eight, I made my second trip to the Gulf Coast. General Honore met me in Baton Rouge and briefed me on the response. Search-and-rescue operations were almost complete. The Superdome and Convention Center had been evacuated. Water was being pumped out of the city. Most important, our troops had restored order without firing a shot.

Laura and I visited an evacuee center run by a church called the Bethany World Prayer Center. Hundreds of people, including many from the Superdome, were spread across a gymnasium floor on mats. Most looked dazed and exhausted. One girl cried as she said, "I can't find my mother." My friend T.D. Jakes T.D. Jakes, a Dallas pastor who had joined us for the visit, prayed for their comfort and well-being. T.D. is the kind of man who puts his faith into action. He told me members of his church had welcomed twenty victims of Katrina into their homes.

There were similar examples of compa.s.sion across the Gulf Coast. For all the depressing aspects of the Katrina aftermath, these stories stand out as shining examples of the American character. Southern Baptists set up a mobile kitchen to feed tens of thousands of hungry people. New York City firefighters drove down in a truck the New Orleans Fire Department had loaned them after 9/11. Volunteers from the American Red Cross and Salvation Army set up twenty-four-hour-a-day centers to help disaster victims get a.s.sistance. Every state in the country took in evacuees. The city of Houston alone welcomed two hundred fifty thousand. The evacuation went down as the largest movement of Americans since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

To lead private-sector fundraising for Katrina victims, I had tapped an unlikely duo: Dad and Bill Clinton Bill Clinton. Katrina was actually their encore performance. After a ma.s.sive tsunami struck Southeast Asia in December 2004, they had teamed up at my request and raised more than $1 billion for the victims. As they traveled the world together, the former presidents-41 and 42, as I called them-developed a bond. Dad rose above the disappointment of 1992 and embraced his former rival. I appreciated that Bill treated Dad with deference and respect, and I grew to like him. When I asked them to lead another fundraising drive after Katrina, they agreed immediately. Mother called me afterward. "I see you've reunited your father and your stepbrother," she quipped.

With Dad and Bill Clinton in the Oval Office. White House/Eric Draper White House/Eric Draper Unfortunately, the spirit of generosity did not carry over to everyone. At an NBC telethon to raise money for Katrina victims, rapper Kanye West Kanye West told a primetime TV audience, "George Bush doesn't care about black people." told a primetime TV audience, "George Bush doesn't care about black people." Jesse Jackson Jesse Jackson later compared the New Orleans Convention Center to the "hull of a slave ship." A member of the later compared the New Orleans Convention Center to the "hull of a slave ship." A member of the Congressional Black Caucus Congressional Black Caucus claimed that if the storm victims had been "white, middle-cla.s.s Americans" they would have received more help. claimed that if the storm victims had been "white, middle-cla.s.s Americans" they would have received more help.

Five years later, I can barely write those words without feeling disgusted. I am deeply insulted by the suggestion that we allowed American citizens to suffer because they were black. As I told the press at the time, "The storm didn't discriminate, and neither will the recovery effort. When those Coast Guard choppers, many of whom were first on the scene, were pulling people off roofs, they didn't check the color of a person's skin."

The more I thought about it, the angrier I felt. I was raised to believe that racism was one of the greatest evils in society. I admired Dad's courage when he defied near-universal opposition from his const.i.tuents to vote for the Open Housing Bill of 1968. I was proud to have earned more black votes than any Republican governor in Texas history. I had appointed African Americans to top government positions, including the first black woman national security adviser and the first two black secretaries of state. It broke my heart to see minority children shuffled through the school system, so I had based my signature domestic policy initiative, the No Child Left Behind Act, on ending the soft bigotry of low expectations. I had launched a $15 billion program to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa. As part of the response to Katrina, my administration worked with Congress to provide historically black colleges and universities in the Gulf Coast with more than $400 million in loans to restore their campuses and renew their recruiting efforts.

I faced a lot of criticism as president. I didn't like hearing people claim I had lied about Iraq's weapons of ma.s.s destruction or cut taxes to benefit the rich. But the suggestion that I was a racist because of the response to Katrina represented an all-time low. I told Laura at the time that it was the worst moment of my presidency. I feel the same way today.

During Week Two of the Katrina response, Mike Chertoff Mike Chertoff recommended that we make a personnel change. State and local officials had been complaining about the slowness of FEMA, and Chertoff told me he had lost confidence in Director recommended that we make a personnel change. State and local officials had been complaining about the slowness of FEMA, and Chertoff told me he had lost confidence in Director Mike Brown Mike Brown. He felt the FEMA director had frozen under the pressure and become insubordinate. I accepted Chertoff's recommendation to bring in Vice Admiral Thad Allen-the chief of staff of the Coast Guard who had done a brilliant job leading the search-and-rescue efforts-as the princ.i.p.al federal officer coordinating operations in the Gulf Coast.

On Sunday of that week, Day Fourteen, I made my third visit to the Gulf Coast. I choppered onto the USS Iwo Jima Iwo Jima, which had docked in the Mississippi River. Two years earlier, I had deployed the Two years earlier, I had deployed the Iwo Jima Iwo Jima to free to free Liberia Liberia from the dictator from the dictator Charles Taylor Charles Taylor. It was surreal to be standing aboard an amphibious a.s.sault ship overlooking a major American city suffering the wounds of a violent storm.

The next morning, we boarded ten-ton military trucks for a tour through New Orleans New Orleans. The Secret Service was anxious. The drive was one of very few times a president had traveled through a major metropolitan city in an open-top vehicle since the Kennedy a.s.sa.s.sination in 1963. We had to dodge dangling power lines and drive through deep pools of standing water. Virtually all the houses were still abandoned. Some of their walls were spray-painted with the date they had been searched and the number of bodies discovered inside. I saw a few people wandering around in a daze. Nearby was a pack of mangy dogs scavenging for food, many with bite marks on their bodies. It was a vivid display of the survival-of-the-fittest climate that had overtaken the city.

Touring the destruction Katrina had done to the city. White House/Paul Morse White House/Paul Morse On September 15, Day Eighteen, I returned to New Orleans to deliver a primetime address to the nation. I decided to give the speech from Jackson Square, named for General Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson, who defended New Orleans against the British at the end of the War of 1812. The famous French Quarter landmark had suffered minimal damage during the storm.

I viewed the speech as my opportunity to explain what had gone wrong, promise to fix the problems, and lay out a vision to move the Gulf Coast and the country forward. Abandoned New Orleans was the eeriest setting from which I had ever given a speech. Except for generators, the power was still out in the city. In one of the world's most vibrant cities, the only people around were a handful of government officials and the soldiers from the 82nd Airborne.

With St. Louis Cathedral bathed in blue light behind me, I began Good evening. I'm speaking to you from the city of New Orleans-nearly empty, still partly under water, and waiting for life and hope to return....Tonight I...offer this pledge of the American people: Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes, to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives. And all who question the future of the Crescent City need to know there is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again.

I laid out a series of specific commitments: to ensure victims received the financial a.s.sistance they needed; to help people move out of hotels and shelters and into longer-term housing; to devote federal a.s.sets to cleaning up debris and rebuilding roads, bridges, and schools; to provide tax incentives for the return of businesses and the hiring of local workers; and to strengthen New Orleans's levees to withstand the next big storm. I continued: Four years after the frightening experience of September the 11th, Americans have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency. When the federal government fails to meet such an obligation, I, as president, am responsible for the problem, and for the solution. So I've ordered every Cabinet Secretary to partic.i.p.ate in a comprehensive review of the government response to the hurricane. This government will learn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina.

I took those promises seriously. Over the coming months, I worked with Congress to secure $126 billion in rebuilding funds, by far the most for any natural disaster in American history. I decided to create a new position to ensure that one person was accountable for coordinating the rebuilding and ensuring the money was spent wisely. Thad Allen held the role at first. When I nominated him to be commandant of the Coast Guard, I asked Don Powell Don Powell, a fellow Texan and former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission, to take his place.

I told Chief of Staff Andy Card Andy Card-and later Josh Bolten Josh Bolten-that I expected regular progress reports on our initiatives in the Gulf Coast. Top government officials gathered routinely in the Roosevelt Room for detailed briefings on issues such as how many victims had received disaster benefits checks, the number of Gulf Coast schools reopened, and the cubic yardage of debris cleared.

I wanted the people of the Gulf Coast to see firsthand that I was committed to rebuilding, so I made seventeen trips between August 2005 and August 2008. Laura made twenty-four visits in all. We both came away impressed by the determination and spirit of the people we met.

In March 2006, I visited the Industrial Ca.n.a.l levee, which had ruptured and flooded the Lower Ninth Ward. We saw huge piles of debris and trash as we drove to the site, a reminder of how far the neighborhood still had to go. Mayor Nagin and I grabbed our hard hats, climbed to the top of the levee, and watched pile drivers pound pillars seventy feet underground-a solid foundation designed to withstand a Katrina-size storm. Nothing was more important to rea.s.suring New Orleans New Orleans's exiled residents that it was safe to return to the city they loved.

At the rebuilding of the Industrial Ca.n.a.l levee. White House/Eric Draper White House/Eric Draper On the second anniversary of the storm, Laura and I visited the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Charter School for Science and Technology. Two years earlier, the school had been submerged under fifteen feet of water. Thanks in large part to a determined local princ.i.p.al, Doris Hicks Doris Hicks, MLK became the first school in the Lower Ninth Ward to reopen. As a former librarian, Laura had been saddened by the number of books destroyed in the storm. She started a private fundraising campaign to help New Orleans schools rebuild their collections. Over the years, her leadership and the generosity of the American people helped send tens of thousands of books to schools across the Gulf Coast.

The story in Mississippi was just as uplifting. In August 2006, I went back to Biloxi, where I visited four days after the storm. Beaches that had been covered with debris a year earlier had been returned to their shimmering white-sand beauty. Seven casinos, supporting hundreds of jobs, had reopened. Church congregations that had been separated were back together again. Few people's lives had changed more than Lynn Patterson Lynn Patterson's. When I met him a year earlier, he was digging cars out of the muck in a neighborhood where all the houses were gone. When I came back to Biloxi, he gave Laura and me a tour of his new home, which had been rebuilt with the help of taxpayer dollars.

In the wake of Katrina, I asked Fran Townsend Fran Townsend-a talented former New York City prosecutor who served as my top homeland security adviser in the White House-to study how we could better respond to future disasters. Her report reaffirmed the longstanding principle that state and local officials are best positioned to lead an effective emergency response. It also recommended changes in the federal government's approach. We devised new ways to help state and local authorities conduct early evacuations, developed backup communications systems, established a National Operations Center National Operations Center to distribute timely situation reports, and set up an orderly process for deploying federal resources-including active-duty troops-in cases where state and local first responders had become overwhelmed. to distribute timely situation reports, and set up an orderly process for deploying federal resources-including active-duty troops-in cases where state and local first responders had become overwhelmed.*

The new emergency response system was tested in August 2008, when Hurricane Gustav barreled across the Gulf of Mexico toward New Orleans. I held regular videoconferences with federal, state, and local officials in the days leading up to the storm. Mike Chertoff Mike Chertoff and the new FEMA director, former Miami-Dade fire chief Dave Paulison, relocated to Baton Rouge to oversee preparations. Shelters were ready and well stocked. Louisiana Governor and the new FEMA director, former Miami-Dade fire chief Dave Paulison, relocated to Baton Rouge to oversee preparations. Shelters were ready and well stocked. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal Bobby Jindal, the talented Republican elected in 2007, worked closely with Mayor Nagin to order a mandatory evacuation. "You need to be scared and you need to get your b.u.t.ts out of New Orleans right now," the mayor said.

When Gustav made landfall, the first reports were that New Orleans had dodged a direct hit. I had heard that before. This time, though, the levees held and damages in New Orleans were minimal. A few weeks later, Hurricane Ike smashed into Galveston, Texas. Property damage was extensive-only Andrew and Katrina were costlier-but thanks to good preparation at the state level, many lives were spared. For all the devastation Katrina caused, part of the storm's lasting impact is that it improved the federal government's ability to support state and local governments in responding to major disasters.

Even when the neighborhoods of New Orleans are restored and the homes of Mississippi are rebuilt, no one who endured Katrina will ever fully recover. That is especially true for the tens of thousands who lost their homes and possessions, and-worst of all-the families of the more than eighteen hundred Americans who died.

In a different way, it is true of me, too. In a national catastrophe, the easiest person to blame is the president. Katrina presented a political opportunity that some critics exploited for years. The aftermath of Katrina-combined with the collapse of Social Security reform and the drumbeat of violence in Iraq-made the fall of 2005 a damaging period in my presidency. Just a year earlier, I had won reelection with more votes than any candidate in history. By the end of 2005, much of my political capital was gone. With my approval ratings plummeting, many Democrats-and some Republicans-concluded they would be better off opposing me than working together. We managed to get important things done, including reauthorizing the AIDS initiative, fully funding our troops, confirming Sam Alito to the Supreme Court, and responding to the financial crisis. But the legacy of fall 2005 lingered for the rest of my time in office.

This is not to suggest that I didn't make mistakes during Katrina. I should have urged Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin to evacuate New Orleans New Orleans sooner. I should have come straight back to Washington from California on Day Two or stopped in Baton Rouge on Day Three. I should have done more to signal my sympathy for the victims and my determination to help, the way I did in the days after 9/11. sooner. I should have come straight back to Washington from California on Day Two or stopped in Baton Rouge on Day Three. I should have done more to signal my sympathy for the victims and my determination to help, the way I did in the days after 9/11.

My biggest substantive mistake was waiting too long to deploy active-duty troops. By Day Three, it was clear that federal troops were needed to restore order. If I had it to do over again, I would have sent the 82nd Airborne immediately, without law enforcement authority. I hesitated at the time because I didn't want to leave our troops powerless to stop sniper attacks and the other shocking acts of violence we were hearing about on TV. We later learned these accounts were wildly overstated, the result of overzealous correspondents under pressure to fill every second of the twenty-four-hour cable news cycle.

Ultimately, the story of Katrina is that it was the storm of the century. It devastated an area the size of Great Britain, produced almost nine times more debris than any previously recorded hurricane, and killed more people than any storm in seventy-five years. The economic toll-three hundred thousand homes destroyed and $96 billion in property damage-outstripped that of every previous hurricane on record.

Yet destruction and death did not have the final word for the people of the Gulf Coast. In August 2008, I visited Gulfport, Mississippi, and Jackson Barracks in New Orleans, the home of the Louisiana National Guard, which had flooded during Katrina. It was striking to see how much had changed in three years.

In Mississippi, workers had cleared forty-six million cubic yards of storm debris, double the amount Hurricane Andrew left behind. More than forty-three thousand residents had repaired or rebuilt their homes. Traffic flowed over new bridges spanning Biloxi Bay and Bay St. Louis. Tourists and employees had returned to revitalized casinos and beachfront hotels. And in an inspiring sign, every school damaged by Katrina had reopened.

While many predicted New Orleans would never be a major city again, 87 percent of the population before Katrina had returned. The I-10 bridge connecting New Orleans and Slidell had reopened. The number of restaurants in the city had exceeded the pre-Katrina figure. More than seventy thousand citizens had repaired or rebuilt their homes. The floodwalls and levees around New Orleans had been strengthened, and the Army Corps of Engineers had begun a ma.s.sive project to provide "100-year flood protection." The Superdome that once housed thousands of Katrina victims became the proud home of the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

The most uplifting change of all has come in education. Public schools that were decaying before the storm have reopened as modern facilities, with new teachers and leaders committed to reform and results. Dozens of charter schools have sprouted up across the city, offering parents more choices and greater flexibility. The Catholic archdiocese, led by Archbishop Alfred Hughes, continued its long tradition of educational excellence by reopening its schools quickly. The year after Katrina, New Orleans students improved their test scores. They improved more the next year, and even more the year after that.

When I gave my Farewell Address from the East Room of the White House in January 2009, one of the guests I invited was Dr. Tony Recasner Tony Recasner, princ.i.p.al of Samuel J. Green Charter School in New Orleans. Tony started at the school in July 2005, after it had underperformed so severely that it was taken over by the state. Then Katrina hit.

When I visited in 2007, Tony told me about his innovative teaching methods, such as having students focus on one subject at a time for several weeks. He also told me about the results. Despite the enormous disadvantages facing his students, the percentage of those reading and doing math at grade level had more than tripled. "This school, which did not serve the community well in the past, is now really going to be a beacon of light," Tony said.