Haunted by Katrina, Bush keeps eye on Calif. fires

By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Haunted by the legacy of Hurricane Katrina, the White House is scrambling to make sure the Southern California wildfires don't become another public relations nightmare for President George W. Bush.

His administration, faced with the worst U.S. natural disaster since Katrina, has shifted into high gear to show it learned its lesson from the federal government's botched handling of the storm that devastated New Orleans in 2005.

Mindful of the severe damage the Katrina response caused to Bush's image and popularity, the White House has taken pains to depict him as deeply engaged in tracking the latest crisis.

He was quick to declare a state of emergency in California, even going as far as anticipating Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's request by leaving behind a pre-approved order before leaving the Oval Office on Monday evening.

He has ordered top officials to the scene, a far cry from the sluggish Katrina response symbolized by his oft-ridiculed remark to then-disaster chief Michael Brown: "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." Brown was later relieved of his job.

And Bush, widely criticized for taking too long to visit storm-ravaged New Orleans, canceled plans to travel to St. Louis and will instead make a day trip to California on Thursday.

"Yes, Katrina was not handled well," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said curtly when peppered with questions about lessons learned. "The president accepted responsibility for that, and then he took action to fix it."

As Bush sweeps in for a first-hand look at the damage, one thing is sure -- there will be no photo of the president gazing out the window of Air Force One at the devastation below.