Didn't I tell you yesterday that Bush wants to own this hurricane?

President Bush will cut short his vacation to return to Washington on Wednesday, two days earlier than planned, to help monitor federal efforts to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina, the White House said Tuesday....

The president had been scheduled to return to the nation's capital on Friday, after spending more than four weeks operating from his ranch in Central Texas. But the White House decided to move the president's return up to Wednesday.

..."I urge everyone in the affected areas to continue to follow instructions from state and local authorities," Bush said. "The federal, state and local governments are working together side-by-side to help people get back on their feet. And we have got a lot of work to do."...

--AP

So for the war and the battle over the Iraqi constitution and the violent run-up to the Afghan elections and the buildup to the John Roberts confirmation battle -- for all that it was just fine for him to be in Crawford. For this, though, he has to be in D.C.

And just in case you missed the point, the AP publicist reporter notes that he "will cut short his vacation" "two days earlier than planned"; he "decided to move [his] return up to Wednesday."

Notice, by the way, that he's not going to the affected area yet. Hey, but that's understandable -- finding flattering camera angles takes time.

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UPDATE: And if you haven't read it already, go read Will Bunch's report on how New Orleans flood control lost federal funding on Bush's watch. (Via Atrios.)