Did President Bush Personally Save Hundreds of Thousands of Lives?

The folks at Powerline are making a case that the President is truly a hero. Their key point: the mandatory evacuation of New Orleans prior to the storm, which had never occurred before despite numerous near-misses:

A number of our readers have been highly critical of state and local authorities in Louisiana. However, it must be acknowledged that they did one important thing that saved countless lives: they ordered the mandatory evacuation on Sunday that caused most people to leave the city. This mandatory evacuation order was a departure from past practice, when evacuations in the face of approaching hurricanes have always been voluntary. So what prompted the order that prevented Hurricane Katrina from being a natural disaster of unprecedented magnitude? The mayor called the order unprecedented and said anyone who could leave the city should. Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding. The City of New Orleans and its residents owe the President a profound debt of gratitude.

Indeed.