At a town hall during his first presidential visit to New Orleans today, President Obama promised to rebuild the Gulf Coast “stronger than before” Hurricane Katrina, and touted the work of his administration so far.
“Over the last nine months, we’ve sent more Cabinet members to this region than almost anywhere else in the country,” he said.
“We are committed to making sure that a disaster like Katrina does not happen again. In Washington, that means a focus on competence and accountability,” he said, a thinly veiled hit on the Bush administration. “And I’m proud that my FEMA director, Craig Fugate, has 25 years of experience in disaster management in Florida, a state that has known its share of hurricanes.”
He said he saw the “most powerful” sign of progress in the University of New Orleans’ graduating class — the first, he said, who as freshman chose to apply to a New Orleans school after Hurricane Katrina.
At the beginning of his remarks, some in the audience booed when Obama thanked Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal.
“Hey, hey, hold on a second,” Obama said. “Bobby, if it makes you feel any better I get that all the time.”
“Even though we have our differences politically, one thing I will say is this person is working hard on behalf of the state,” he added. “He’s a hard workin’ man.”
He also took questions. One man asked “Why are we still fighting the federal government?”
Obama responded that officials “are still working through the backlog of problems that exist… Our team is outstanding. They are working hard all the time to get these things resolved as quickly as possible.”
“By the time my term is over,” he said, “You’re gonna say, ‘This was a responsive administration… Things got done the way they were supposed to get done.'”
He also took questions on illegal immigration and health care reform.
He warned the audience that “this is when you’re gonna start seeing a whole bunch of those ads” against reform. He said to look out for ones by a “funny named group” that “you’ve never heard of.”
“It’s probably a front group for the insurance industry. Don’t let ’em fool you!” he said.
Obama also promised that health care reform will be passed this year.
“I’m just getting started. I don’t quit. I’m not tired,” he said.
