Basically, three points on the speech and Bush strategy.
Bush et. al. has decided to throw billons at a problem that could have been avoided for millions (had Bush agreed to the requests for levee and flood funding). This cannot be forgotten and must be repeated ad nauseum. This price tag, while obviously necessary, is shocking (especially relative to the cost of avoiding it).
Second point, Bush said something along the lines of "we will learn from our mistakes..." HELLO, there were supposed to have learned from their mistakes after 911. Remember the event that "changed everything" and beget the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS, which Bush got create FROM SCRATCH. Bush had 4 years to "learn" and the unprecedented ability to create an agency and response mechanism with unparalleled resources. He blew it, this is not baseball, he does not get three strikes.
Last point, since it appears that we are going to spend the money to repair New Orleans, the Dems need to put forth their own positive agenda for putting it all back together again. They need to do it quickly and they need to do it in away that is smart for New Orleans and smart politically. The Repubs are about to engage in one of the biggest conservative social experiments in history. It will fail. The American people need to see the alternatives from the party that actually knows how to govern and knows how to create and effectuate "good government." This CANNOT be another situation where the Dems roll over and simply join the President's programs -- afraid to put something out in front of the American people.