WASHINGTON – One lesson the Bush administration learned the hard way after Hurricane Katrina is that when disaster strikes, the public expects a personal touch – a show of empathy, engagement and oversight.

That made President Bush's visit to Houston and Galveston last week predictable but also a bit odd, in that Mr. Bush didn't carve out any time to meet with evacuees, or folks who'd lost homes or businesses in Hurricane Ike. His three-hour visit included official briefings and an aerial tour of Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston.

"When you're president of a 300 million-person country, I guess there's a lot of things you could be doing," said Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who accompanied Mr. Bush to Texas.

He said the president faced a balancing act. Even without any encounters with storm victims, the senator said on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base, "it sends a loud message that he would come."

FEMA administrator Dave Paulison said the president has a nice touch that helps people overcome shock and anger.

"He is very good in doing those things. I've seen him do it a lot of times – hug people, talk to them, encourage them," said Mr. Paulison.

The consoler in chief did hold hands with Galveston's mayor as they walked to his helicopter from her emergency operations center. That was about it for the emoting, though the trip had other goals.

"He gets firsthand knowledge of what the real issues are," Mr. Paulison said, and he can personally assure local officials and residents that "the federal government is here, we're not going anywhere until this thing is over."

It was Mr. Bush's second storm tour of Texas in about two weeks. After Hurricane Gustav, he flew to Austin and San Antonio, skipping a visit to the GOP convention.

Even critics lauded his personal attention.

"I appreciate it. It's important. Texans are hurting," said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, who was one of numerous lawmakers who met with Mr. Bush at Ellington Field, along with Gov. Rick Perry and other state leaders.

Bush spokesman Scott Stanzel noted that most residents in hard-hit areas were elsewhere, at the insistence of local authorities, pending restoration of power and other services.

"In Galveston in particular, people have been evacuated, and the situation is best to not be there," he said.

One noteworthy aspect of the visit: Most of the folks in need of comfort and reassurance probably had no idea he stopped by.

"There's no television. There's no way to really keep up," said Earle Black, a political scientist at Rice University in Houston.

The day Mr. Bush visited, three-fourths of customers in the nation's fourth largest city still lacked electricity.

Dr. Black himself was among the lucky ones. His home lacked cable TV service but did have power.

"They're not going to see him, not going to hear him. ... It's more for the impact outside the disaster area," Dr. Black said. But "given the magnitude of the devastation, the only surprising thing would be if the president of the United States didn't come and see firsthand what has happened and how the recovery efforts are proceeding."