NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Senator Clinton, Democrat of New York, said Saturday that rebuilding New Orleans is an “American obligation” the Bush administration has not met since Hurricane Katrina struck.

“If talk, bureaucracy and promises were enough, we would’ve rebuilt New Orleans three times over by now,” Mrs. Clinton, a presidential candidate, told graduates at Dillard University.

Mrs. Clinton drew applause from the crowd gathered beneath the oak trees on the campus of the historically black college heavily damaged by the hurricane that hit on Aug. 29, 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,” she said.

Mrs. 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 Mrs. Clinton raised points that 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 Mrs. Clinton’s speech was simply more talk, he said: “If it’s heeded, it’s going to be tremendous.”

Katrina struck New Orleans and the Mississippi coast, flooding 80 percent of the city. 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.

Mrs. 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.

Nearly two years after the storm, about 40 percent of the city’s population remains displaced. Tens of thousands of residents cannot return, in part because homes and apartment buildings took a heavy blow.