Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday rebuilding New Orleans is an "American obligation" the Bush administration has not met since Hurricane Katrina struck.

Associated Press / Alex Brandon

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D - New York) speaks during the commencement at Dillard University.

"If talk, bureaucracy and promises were enough, we would've rebuilt New Orleans three times over by now," the Democratic president candidate told graduates at Dillard University, the historically black school devastated by the storm in August 2005.

"What you do need is action, action supported by our federal government but driven right here in New Orleans and in the surrounding parishes by people who understand the reality on the ground, action that leads to real, measurable improvements, not six months from now, not a year from now, but right now," the New York senator said.

Katrina left the campus under up to 10 feet of water and caused an estimated $400 million in damage. Several buildings remain shuttered and the school administration works from a downtown office. But there were few obvious signs Saturday of the aftermath. Buildings were whitewashed and the grounds were lush with green grass.

"When Americans suffer, America does as well. Today, I want to be very clear: Rebuilding this city is not just an obligation of New Orleans or Louisiana. It is an American obligation," Clinton said.

Clinton cited a plan she outlined Friday in a meeting with community leaders that she said would speed the pace of recovery and assess progress in shoring up levees.

Mayor Ray Nagin, who attended the graduation, said Clinton raised points he has been making for months, including a need to streamline government.

It is time for action, rather than words, he said. Asked whether he thought Clinton's speech was simply more talk, he said: "If it's heeded, it's going to be tremendous."

Clinton's speech drew applause from the crowd gathered beneath oak trees for the second commencement since Katrina.

One student, Alecia Heffner, said she had hoped the address would have included more "uplifting things."

Clinton, who received an honorary doctorate, praised university leaders and the 180 or so graduates for their commitment to restoring Dillard. Many marched at the ceremony with flags bearing the names of schools that took in displaced students while Dillard worked to reopen.

"I hope that one day, years from now, you will bring your children and your grandchildren here, to this city and this campus, you will tell them about what you did in facing the great flood and you will tell them that you loved this school too much to leave it behind," Clinton said.

Dillard evacuated two days before Katrina. Students did not return to campus until more than a year later, university spokeswoman Karen Celestan said. Classes for the spring semester of the 2005-06 school year were held at a downtown hotel where students and faculty also stayed, she said.

Enrollment this year was about 1,124 students, roughly half the pre-Katrina total, she said.

Katrina struck Aug. 29, 2005. Hurricane Rita struck about a month later in southwest Louisiana. The region's recovery from the storms have been sluggish, and residents widely blame government ineffectiveness.

Clinton's proposals to civil leaders included the appointment of a recovery manager who would report directly to the White House and would better organize federal aid to the region.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)