In failing to stop in Mississippi Thursday during his firstvisit as president to the Gulf Coast to see Hurricane Katrinarecovery efforts and instead visiting only New Orleans, BarackObama continues to foster feelings held by many that the MagnoliaState and its citizens have become the forgotten victims of the2005 disaster.

In the days after the killer storm made landfall – inMississippi by the way – much attention was placed on New Orleansand the suffering that resulted from man-made failures of leveesdue to neglect or other reasons. Mississippians, meanwhile, weredealing with problems caused when Mother Nature chose their homesand neighborhoods as the central target for her fury.

As recovery efforts got under way, Mississippians “hitched uptheir britches,” to borrow Gov. Haley Barbour’s phrase, to setabout repairing and replacing what was damaged or lost in thestorm. Louisiana, meanwhile, dithered and allowed red tape andpolitical machinations the state is known for to set in and stallrecovery efforts.

Of course, charges of partisanship were levied then at PresidentBush for his handling of initial response and subsequent recoverywork.

But by failing to acknowledge Mississippi’s plight during hisvisit, Obama can rightly be held up for similar criticism overpartisan handling of the situation.

Rather than simply mentioning Biloxi, as he did in his speech,why could not the president have stopped at a school there and seenfirsthand how students and citizens are coping in the storm’saftermath? Perhaps it was because Obama had to jet off to SanFrancisco for a $34,000 per couple Democratic National Committeefundraiser, where he praised the leadership of Speaker of the HouseNancy Pelosi.

For all his talk of bipartisanship and cooperation, Obamacontinues on a partisan path that this past week took him only toNew Orleans to gain insight into an issue that is vital not only tothe Crescent City but the entire Gulf Coast. The fact remains thatLouisiana, Mississippi and even Alabama to some extent sufferedwhen Hurricane Katrina came ashore more than four years ago.

Recovery will not be complete until all parts of the Gulf Coasthave been restored and citizens’ lives return to normal. That totaleffort is not helped when the light of a president’s visit shinesonly on one community for a few hours.