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President circles disaster area, pledges quick aid

Punta Gorda residents greet Bush with gratefulness and surprise - and some with skepticism.

PUNTA GORDA - In the sweltering heat, President Bush visited this storm-ravaged city Sunday, talking and shaking hands with residents and pledging quick aid to those devastated by Hurricane Charley.

"Did you ride it out or did you stay with friends?" Bush asked residents as debris lay scattered across lawns and sidewalks.

Residents had mixed feelings about Bush's visit, his first to see the aftermath of Charley. It came two days after he declared parts of Florida major disaster areas.

Ron Hill said he wished Bush had stayed home to direct recovery.

"We've got businesses that won't open for two or three months. We've got no electricity. I'm a contractor, and I can't work," Hill said. "I love my president, but I don't need to see him. I need to see what he's going to do."

But Brenda Bundy was thrilled Bush toured her neighborhood and talked to those whose lives have been severely disrupted by Charley. "I think it's terrific, and I'm so glad he's come to the heart of it," she said. "He's right here on an ordinary street."

Bush said federal assistance was being rushed to the area. After Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992, claiming 26 lives and causing almost $20-billion in insured property losses, there were complaints that federal assistance was deployed too slowly.

"We're moving a lot of aid very quickly," Bush said. "All I can tell you is that (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) was on the ground yesterday morning and there's a lot of supplies surging this way."

Asked whether his quick trip to Florida carried political undertones, Bush replied, "And if I didn't come, they would have said he should have been here more rapidly."

Bush landed Sunday morning at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers. The president, his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, FEMA director Mike Brown, White House chief of staff Andrew Card Jr. and press secretary Scott McClellan then boarded Marine One, a helicopter, and flew north over the areas devastated by the hurricane.

Marine One set down at a Charlotte County airport, where Bush was greeted by Rep. Porter Goss, R-Sanibel., the president's nominee to replace George Tenet as CIA director, and Rep. Mark Foley, R-West Palm Beach. The Bush brothers then took a motorcade tour of Punta Gorda, the hardest-hit city. At one point, the president got out and walked down Trabue Avenue.

Christi Smith waited nearby to talk to the president. "I lost my roof. The whole house has water in it. It looks like I'm homeless," she said.

While pleased by Bush's visit, Smith said she was surprised he was on foot. "I haven't thought that the security was too good here," said Smith, an elementary school nurse. "They've been letting people in. One of my neighbors said it felt like we were on exhibit at Sea World."

Security agents went door to door in Smith's neighborhood Sunday, checking residents with metal detectors.

Wayne Sallade, Charlotte County's emergency management director, also took the president on a tour of the Emergency Operations Center in Punta Gorda. Bush thanked staffers for their efforts and hugged 25-year county employee Harriet Franklin.

On his way out, Bush recognized FEMA community relations specialist Kay Johnston from her work during the cleanup of Hurricane Isabel near Richmond, Va. The president called Johnston aside.

"He just said he hopes we take care of all the people here," Johnston said.

- Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.