For the first few days after the hurricane, says Ted Wilson, a former Salt Lake City mayor, Bush looked "terrible. His flyover, with him peering out the window of the helicopter, was a rather ridiculous gesture." Still, Wilson says Bush can emerge politically unscathed, with his poll numbers at least remaining at their mediocre levels, "if he really delivers. If he doesn't, we could have a president under siege."

People may argue that "he's used political hacks at the top of agencies" such as FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers and Homeland Security, Wilson added. "But never underestimate the power of Karl Rove," the president's political adviser.

Wilson predicts that with the National Guard strained, it may cause Americans to question the war in Iraq. The U.'s Jowers agrees that Bush may take fallout for "how thinly our military is stretched right now."

Enid Greene, vice chairwoman of the state GOP, says she thinks Bush's response was slow but that no one realized how big a military response would be needed to keep order in New Orleans. She was heartened Friday to see "the caravan of troops and supplies and buses that came in first thing this morning."

"I think we could all say we wish this had happened 72 hours ago. But I'm willing to wait for the explanation. I don't think it will happen again."

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Contributing: Associated Press; Bloomberg News Service

E-mail: jarvik@desnews.com