Learning from Katrina

President Bush promised in last week's Jackson Square speech (left) that the government would learn from the mistakes of Katrina.

Looks like Washington's putting that schooling to work right away.

The Bush administration has already declared Hurricane Rita an "incident of national significance" on Wednesday -- even though it won't hit land until possibly Saturday.

That frees up federal help for what the White House determines will exceed local capabilities.

The White House waitned a full day after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast to make the same declaration. (USAToday)