John McCain pledged Thursday that "never again" would the U.S. government so mishandle a natural disaster response as it did with Hurricane Katrina.

Criticizing the Bush administration for what he called its many failings in responding to the debilitating storm nearly three years ago, McCain spoke after touring New Orleans' 9th Ward with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

McCain visited what for many Americans has become the chief symbol of government apathy and racial inequity. The trip came one day after he vowed to fight the nation's recession in an economically depressed town in rural Kentucky.

Without mentioning Bush directly, McCain said he would have landed his plane "at the nearest Air Force base and come over personally" if the hurricane had happened on his watch.

"I want to assure the people of the 9th Ward, the people of New Orleans and the people of this country -- never again, never again will a disaster of this nature be handled in the terrible and disgraceful way it was handled. Never again, never again," McCain said after touring a few still downtrodden blocks. One pastor who met with the tour group said his church membership dropped from 459 before Katrina to 120 presently.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee and his wife Cindy had to step carefully to avoid trash piles on the sidewalks as they walked. FEMA trailers were still placed at one corner in the ward, and Jindal explained to the Arizona senator that it takes as long as a month for the trailers to be removed once families move back into their homes.

"It took forever to get them here, and then they take forever to get 'em out," Jindal told McCain.

"The federal government, I would give close to an F in some respects," McCain later told FOX News.

During the primary season, McCain took heat from his rivals for being economically unschooled. In recent weeks he has stepped up his attention to impoverished communities and economic issues, is campaigning this week in what he calls "forgotten" areas of the country.

His campaign is also fighting efforts by Democrats to link him with President Bush, whose approval ratings are hovering around 30 percent.

Asked about the way the aftermath of the hurricane and the subsequent flooding was handled, McCain was harsh.

"I think everybody knows how it was a failure. There were unqualified people in charge, there was a total misreading of the dimensions of the disaster, there was a failure of communications," McCain said. "I don't think that anybody in America hardly is unaware of the many failings that took place."

White House press secretary Dana Perino said Thursday that there's enough blame to go around.

"President Bush absolutely took responsibility for any failings on the part of the federal government," she said. "But at the same time, there were problems at the ... state and local levels, as well, which they have admitted to"

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean blasted McCain for his visit Thursday.

"Touring the 9th Ward with reporters can't hide the fact that John McCain voted against billions of dollars in Katrina recovery efforts, emergency health care for survivors, unemployment assistance for displaced workers, and even the creation of a commission to find out what went wrong. People in the Gulf Coast can hardly afford four more years of the failed Bush-McCain agenda," he said in a statement.

Katrina, the most costly natural disaster ever to strike the United States, roared ashore in August 2005, killing more than 1,800 people and displacing more than 250,000. Total damages were estimated to be around $125 billion. The recovery has been uneven.

Now, New Orleans is repopulating, port business has steadily improved and sales tax revenues are near normal. But the city still faces problems with crime, homelessness and frustrations about the pace of rebuilding efforts. Overall, repopulation in the region remains slow and many major infrastructure repairs have yet to be done, according to a new Brookings Institution report.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.