From the "Are You Kidding Me?" Department

President to mark Katrina anniversary
Posted by Washington bureau August 24, 2007 2:34PM
By Bruce AlpertWashington bureau
WASHINGTON -- President Bush will be in New Orleans on Wednesday to observe the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the White House has announced.
It provided no details of the president's itinerary. The visit will be Bush's 13th to the New Orleans area since Hurricane Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005.
Bush's trip will follow visits to the city by five presidential candidates seeking to succeed him in 2009. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., running second in polls among Democratic contenders, will address the First Emanuel Baptist Church at 1829 Carondelet St. on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and later go on a walking tour of a New Orleans neighborhood.
On Monday, Democratic front-runner, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., along with former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., will appear at a Katrina summit organized by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., at the University of New Orleans. Also appearing will be Republican presidential hopefuls Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, and U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said that Bush continues to follow through "on his commitment to help local citizens rebuild their lives and communities on the Gulf Coast.
He said that the federal government has provided more than $114 billion for relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts, over $96 billion of which as been disbursed or is available for states to draw from.
In addition to a stop in New Orleans, Bush is also slated to visit the Mississippi Gulf Coast on Wednesday, Johndroe said.