Greensburg, Kan. – President Bush sought to lift spirits Wednesday in the wake of a killer tornado, dishing out hugs while stepping through the rubble of what had been a close- knit town of 1,400.
The president said he came to tour the wreckage in the hopes that he could “touch somebody’s soul by representing our country.”
“A lot of us have seen the pictures about what happened here, and pictures don’t do it justice,” said Bush, standing in the street.
“There is a lot of destruction. Fortunately, a lot of folks had basements here in this part of the world and lived to see another day. Unfortunately, too many died,” he said.
On a day that alternated between rain and sun, Bush got his first look from a helicopter that hovered over the south- central Kansas town that was flattened Friday night. The twister killed at least 11 people. It was the most punishing tornado to hit the U.S. in years.
On a short ride into town after his aerial tour, Bush got a rundown of the damage and the recovery from City Administrator Steve Hewitt and Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
Bush already had ordered emergency aid for the people, businesses and governments in the Greensburg area. His trip was about delivering something else – presidential empathy.
