The Good President [continued]

Remember all that hullabaloo about how negligent and incompetent President Bush was during the Katrina disaster. Democrats sure had a lot of fun with that. Well, now they and their toadies in the MSM seem to have milked that meme for all the political advantage they can, so at long last a more reasoned assessment begins to leak out.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- As Mayor Ray Nagin leaves office, hundreds of damaged city buildings including police stations and fire houses sit unrepaired more than four years after Hurricane Katrina, stark reminders of how the recovery has floundered.

Only seven percent of 283 city-owned structures slated to be rebuilt have been completed or are under construction, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. Those figures back up an impression many residents have had for more than a year - the Nagin administration has failed to renew much of New Orleans.

"New Orleans has struggled with a vision from the very beginning of the disaster," said Drew Sachs, vice president of James Lee Witt Associates, a consulting firm that has worked extensively on Louisiana's hurricane recovery.

Besides missteps by the Nagin administration, rebuilding has been complicated because of the extent of damage, FEMA's paralyzing bureaucracy as well as loss of population, which has hurt revenues and made it hard for city officials to determine where to put its limited resources.

The city lags both urban and rural neighbors hit hard by the catastrophic 2005 storm, according to rebuilding figures provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. For instance, 87 percent of St. Bernard Parish's government buildings are under construction or have been reopened and 55 percent of Plaquemines Parish's government buildings are rebuilt or are at least close to being finished.

Read it here.

So the primary blame for the continuing crisis lies with State and local officials, all of whom were at the time Democrats. Who would have thought, given the slant imparted to coverage of the disaster by most news sources. Slowly but surely a reassessment of Bush's role is beginning to emerge. It's about time. I would also note with regard to this article that their primary source, James Lee Witt served as FEMA director under Bill Clinton but was fired by the Bush administration, so he harbors no good feelings toward Bush.