Obama Heading To Big Easy To Survey Katrina Recovery

President Obama Thursday will hold two events in New Orleans as part of his outreach to show the administration is serious about Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts.

(It's fulfilling a promise he made on the anniversary, and also adding to the other steps his administration has taken in recent months such as extending the Bush-era recovery office for the second time.)

As I wrote about in my past life, the Obama Cabinet secretaries didn't venture into the Lower Ninth during their spring visit. This time, the president will visit the Dr. King Charter School near one of the most devastated areas in the Ninth Ward.

The White House said the trip will offer Obama "a firsthand look at progress on the ground" and a chance to hear "directly" from Louisianans. "This will enable the people of New Orleans to convey their thoughts, challenges, and feedback directly to him," the White House announced, adding it's Obama's fifth visit since Katrina but first of his presidency and the first that's open to the public.

The school has earned so much national attention for rebuilding post-Katrina that Education Secretary Arne Duncan just chose its principal Doris Hicks for a top education post.

Robert Green, a fixture in the Lower Ninth who is living in one of the Brad Pitt "Make it right" homes, said he's thrilled Obama will see the neighborhood up close.

"I will be home on Tennessee Street sitting out front in hopes that the president tours the Brad Pitt houses, hoping to catch a glance of him hopefully passing through ground zero," Green said.

Obama also will host a town hall at the University of New Orleans Lakefront Campus before heading to San Francisco for a fundraiser.

The White House said due to space concerns they would randomly choose attendees to make up the audience from submissions via a Web site and voicemail call in system.

Robert Gibbs was put on the spot this afternoon about why Obama isn't staying longer, and told reporters the people of New Orleans judge the president by his actions.

We clipped the video: