Political storms unabated in Bush New Orleans trip

WACO, Texas, Mar 8 (Reuters) President George W Bush returns to hurricane-ravaged New Orleans yesterday seeking to fend off the latest fallout from a political storm that has battered his popularity and shows no sign of blowing over.

Bush's trip, his 10th to the city since Hurricane Katrina, comes amid fresh scrutiny of his administration's botched response to the disaster, high on a list of troubles that have shaken public confidence in the president in his second term.

With his approval ratings at or near an all-time low, Bush hopes to refocus attention on his 19.8 billion dollars request to Congress for new aid to the Gulf Coast to reassure residents he is following through on his promise to help them rebuild.

The increase in federal funds has stirred hopes, but many in New Orleans remain frustrated by the slow pace of progress on the ground, especially in poor, predominantly black neighborhoods hardest hit by massive flooding after the August. 29 storm.

''It's a shame to call this America,'' said Briscoe Brazella as he pulled waterlogged belongings from his home in the city's Lower Ninth Ward. ''If this was America as God intended ... every home here would just about be rebuilt by now.'' More than six months after Katrina struck, much of New Orleans, once best known as a boozy tourist mecca that lived by the motto ''Let the good times roll,'' is still in ruins.

Barely a third of its nearly half a million inhabitants have returned and it's not clear how many more will.

Bush has faced new criticism over a video showing officials warning him the day before Katrina hit that levees meant to protect New Orleans from flooding could fail. Critics said it made it hard to accept the White House's insistence that it was surprised by the storm's intensity.

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