"I think he cares and he's a hands-on guy. I was real impressed."

[Contrary1]

GRAND ISLE - Billy Nungesser -- the president of Plaquemines Parish whose frustrations about the federal government response have been featured prominently on TV in the past few weeks -- told ABC News that in the private meeting the president had with local leaders here today, Mr. Obama "chewed me out."

The "chewed me out" comment was off camera but everything else below was on camera: Nungesser, a Republican, told ABC News that President Obama "told me that we need to communicate."

He said that he told President Obama that after his first visit to the region a few weeks ago, "we got the jack-up boats done cause of you. And you spent more time with us than any other President, but since then it was a bottleneck. Things weren't getting done. All of it was sitting in the marsh."

Nungesser says the president told him, "'Well you know, if you can't get it done through the chain of command -- ' and he's made some changes; we've got a guy on the ground now that can make decisions -- he said, ' -- you pick up the phone and call the White House. And, if you can't get me on the phone, then you can go blast me.'"

More: http://www.abc26.com/news/local/wgno-news-nungesser-obama-story,0,1485985.story