Say what you want to say about the rest of his presidency including his tone-deaf response to Katrina and a war waged in Iraq on false pretenses Bush connected with Americans in the aftermath of 9/11 because he looked as frail and unforgiving as we felt.

We've certainly learned a lot of lessons from Katrina from Rita. Rita was better than Katrina. We're doing a better job planning. We're closer - more closely aligned with the Department of Defense. These things would be positive things if we were to have another attack.

What happened with Hurricane Katrina was the American electorate was forced to look at what lay behind the veneer of chest-beating. We all saw the consequences of having terrible government leadership.

We've done it in intelligence sharing and certain elements of security. There were parts of the department in fact that worked very well in Katrina like the Coast Guard and TSA.

The primary victims of Katrina those who were given the least help by the government those rescued last or not at all were overwhelmingly people of color largely hidden from the mainstream of society.

Corporations often partner with government after natural disasters as many companies did in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. As a rule however long-term civic/corporate partnerships are still rare .But this need not remain the status quo as many opportunities are available for such partnerships.

Relief organizations both large and small are coordinating deliveries of food clothing water and other basic necessities to those impacted by Katrina.

I have faith the men and women of the Coast Guard will immediately rise to the challenge and see the people hit by Katrina through until the storm has truly calmed.

In my home State of Louisiana several institutions of higher education have been impacted by both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita literally dozens across the entire State.

As everyone in Louisiana knows there was often no communication or coordination between the state and federal government in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

My last trip to New Orleans was for the fifth anniversary of Katrina and I had the awesome opportunity to bring my family down. We all worked on a house together and met some of the families.