After the Riots : NEWS IN BRIEF : Bush to Visit Los Angeles Today as Show of Support
White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater said late Thursday that President Bush was visiting Los Angeles today “to show that we are supportive of the city and the county. Dramatic progress is being made. They’re ready to start rebuilding.”
The trip was arranged, he said, to “let the people of Los Angeles know that our concern continues” and to “make sure immediate disaster assistance has been provided effectively and efficiently” through the Small Business Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Administration.
However, the trip served another, unspoken purpose: to give the President one more opportunity to visit the state before Tuesday’s primary election. When his long-planned visit earlier in the month shifted from its original political focus to post-riot concerns, it was decided that Bush would return at the end of the month to make some of the stops that had to be dropped from his earlier schedule.
He will address the Town Hall forum at midday today, and visit Fresno on Saturday.
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