Back By Ron Harris; Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau Houston – For the thousands of the poorest evacuees made homeless by Hurricane Katrina, Monday was a day of celebrities. Count them, two former presidents, two senators, the nation’s top civil rights activist, a leading theologian and American’s television diva. The day started with an early morning press conference by former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton, as many of the evacuees were still asleep on the green cots in the Astrodome and the Reliant Center just across the street. The two announced the establishment of the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, which they hope will raise millions of dollars that will go to the governors of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, to help the hundreds of thousands of people from those states devastated by the hurricane. Bush and Clinton teamed together earlier this year to raise $11 million for tsunami victims in Southeast Asia. The two are starting off their second campaign, with $15 million pledged to the fund by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer. Standing off to the side during the press conference were two senators, Barak Obama, D-Ill., and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. Bush and Bill Clinton visited evacuees at the Reliant Center, where Clinton was swarmed by people who said they were grateful to see him. They told him how nice they had been treated by the people of Houston and Harris County. Meanwhile, Bush, who drew a smaller crowd as he strode through the room, sat on a cot with one family, held hands and prayed. Next up was the Rev. Jesse Jackson, head of the Rainbow Coalition. Flanked by two of Houston’s most prominent black legislators, Jackson waded through admiring evacuees at the Astrodome around 10:30 a.m., hugging children, offering prayers and slamming the Bush administration for not responding quickly to the disaster. “As the waters subside, the death toll could be astronomical, of frightening dimensions, because we’ve been so slow to act,” Jackson said. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green, both D-Houston, stood nearby. Women squealed as Jackson passed by, many reaching out to touch his hand or clothing. “Jesse, Jesse, please take a picture with me,” one woman asked. The smiling Jackson obliged and then quickly moved on, followed by a swarm of media. As Jackson made his way back and forth, Hillary Clinton eased into the Astrodome, staying near the medical center. She shook hands and talked with Red Cross and medical personnel who run a 24-hour clinic. And then came the day’s top celebrity, Oprah Winfrey. She held court with reporters for a few minutes outside the dome, and then, surrounded by police, her producers and cameramen, made her way to the computer center, where anxious evacuees use computers to search for missing relatives. Jim Forrest, an organizer of the center, told Winfrey how the center works to help evacuees find relatives. Later, the talk show host turned to the people crowded around the 90 computers and began questioning them about their efforts to find family. She paid particular attention to one young girl who was searching the Internet with her family for a missing relative. “Why you’re the prettiest evacuee I’ve seen,” Winfrey told her. Winfrey’s show today will feature the evacuees at the Astrodome. During the show, she will reunite families separated by Hurricane Katrina. She held three jets on standby Monday for the reunions. She later waded through the floor of the Astrodome, touching and entertaining evacuees. “We love you Oprah,” people shouted. “I love you too, Oprah,” one man said. “Can you help me get a big-screen TV?” A few hours later, Bishop T.D. Jakes, head of the 30,000 member Potter’s House ministry in Dallas, commandeered a microphone and addressed the crowd. “There has to be a reason God allowed you to survive the storm,” he said. “The best is yet to come.” And at dinner time, to the surprise of everyone, actor-comedian Chris Rock showed up and was mobbed. Residents here said they thought the visits were helpful. “It shows that they care, that they are worried and concerned,” said Keith Garner, who is here with his wife and five children. Patricia Smith, 60, a disabled former school custodian, said the visiting celebrities could do some good if they continue to focus people’s attention on the plight of the refugees. “If that’s what they have to do to get the government to do something, then it’s beautiful,” she said. With all the celebrities floating around, evacuees sometimes got confused about which throng of people and cameras was which. “Is that Hillary over there?” one woman asked another. “No,” the other woman responded, “that’s Oprah.” “I thought Oprah was over there,” the first woman said, pointing to another group crowded around someone. “No,” the other woman replied, “that’s Jesse Jackson.” “Oh,” the first woman said, “I thought he was gone.” “He was,” the other woman said, “but he came back.” This story may be available for an Adobe Acrobat PDF download. Click on the link below to visit the site download center. If a PDF is available, the file will automatically open in your browser.

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