Schwarz
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more bush double speak on new orleans :
"It's a heck of a place to bring your family."
[....]
A buyout program proposed by Baker, R-Baton Rouge, is widely seen as a critical part of the city's rebuilding plan. The measure failed to pass Congress last month, but it enjoys near uniform support among Louisiana politicians here and in Washington.
But after Thursday's meeting, Nagin, who attended the powwow and sat on the president's left, said Bush remains skeptical about the bill in its current form. Nagin said the president's doubts center on the legislation's ultimate price tag, and on the unprecedented federal involvement in a local matter Baker's plan may represent.
Baker, who also was one of the meeting's dozen participants, said his plan did not arise as a topic of conversation. What's more, Baker said, Bush has never voiced those concerns to him in one-on-one meetings.
"Whenever I see him, he says, 'How's the grand plan going?' " Baker said.
[....]
But on what most city leaders consider the paramount issue for rebuilding -- the construction of a levee system that could withstand a hit from a Category 5 storm -- Bush remained coy. In fact, neither he nor Powell, who flew down on Air Force One with Bush and attended the meeting, have ever voiced support for Category 5 storm protection, which carries an uncertain price tag and could take years to complete. Asked directly about it on several occasions, both men carefully sidestepped the matter, and Bush did so again Thursday.
"The mayor has made it clear to me we need a strong federal policy on levees in order to encourage investors and investment," Bush said. He then promised a web of storm protection, "stronger and better than the previous system," but did not mention Category 5.
Nagin, it turned out, was not alone in reminding Bush about where the levee system stands in the local consciousness. As the president's motorcade made its way down Prytania Street, a resident held a cardboard sign aloft that said, "We Want Levey."
As he has from the outset, Bush insisted the recovery plan must be designed locally. Although he said the federal government "has a major role to play," Bush reiterated his stance that role would be supportive to the city's lead.
"We all share the same goal, and that is to have this city rise again and be a shining star of the South," he said.