Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff launched their public-relations blitz as a new poll showed Americans sharply split on Bush's handling of the crisis.

Chertoff acknowledged the federal government was still not fully prepared for such calamities as Katrina, which left thousands feared dead, but insisted that now was a time for recovery operations not finger-pointing.

"In due course, if people want to go and chop heads off, there will be an opportunity to do it," he said during a round of appearances on Sunday talk shows from a suburb of flooded New Orleans.

Bush stopped at in the American Red Cross headquarters in Washington to make a televised appeal to Americans to donate blood, money and time, and was to fly down to the stricken areas Monday for his second tour in three days.

Local officials and other critics have lambasted Bush for a lag in dispatching US troops and relief supplies to the afflicted region despite graphic television images of chaos and neglect.

A Washington Post-ABC poll published Sunday found the country sharply divided over how the Texas Republican has handled rescue and relief efforts, with 46 percent approving and 47 percent dissatisfied.

Fifty-one percent rated the federal response as not so good or poor and 48 percent said it was excellent or good. But two-thirds said Washington should have been better prepared.

Potentially just as damaging was reaction to the hot-button issue of gasoline prices. Seventy-two percent felt the oil companies were using Katrina to gouge prices and eight in 10 felt the government's response inadequate.

The political fallout from the country's worst natural disaster came at a time when Bush's popularity ratings were at the lowest of his presidency and his policies in Iraq faced mounting opposition.

Congressmen from both sides of the aisle have scored the federal relief operation. Bush himself, in a rare admission of fallibility, branded the initial response "not acceptable."

US and foreign newspapers have pounded the government, and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs was set to launch hearings this week into Washington's performance.

The fundamental question was why the first test of the country's vaunted homeland security policies, put in place after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, failed so miserably,

Bush has ramped up the response to Katrina in recent days. Congress passed a special 10.5 billion dollar aid package for hurricane victims Friday and a day later the president ordered more than 7,000 elite troops to the Gulf Coast.

But Chertoff suggested the model developed by Washington for dealing with "ultra-catastrophes" might have to be changed to give the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) primacy over state and local departments.

"Up to now, even in big disasters, we've taken the position that FEMA plays a supporting role," he said. "We may need to start to remodel ourselves so that we can get ourselves into a more of an upfront role earlier on when we have these truly ultra-catastrophes."

With most of the flood victims poor and black and some commentators seeing the slow federal response as tinged with elements of racism, Bush rolled out Rice, the only African-American in his cabinet, to defend him.

The secretary of state attended church services in her affected home state of Alabama before inspecting the devastation and relief efforts. She strongly denied any racial component to Washington's response.

"How can that be the case? Americans don't want to see Americans suffer," Rice told reporters on the plane with her.

Rumsfeld made what the Pentagon billed as a needs-assessment tour of the Louisiana-Mississippi area, along with General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Bush will make a new inspection on Monday, the White House said. The president flew over the devastated areas en route back from a holiday at his Texas ranch on Wednesday and toured it more closely on Friday.

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