Hollywood, Calif. ? In the shock and sorrow of national tragedy, America has, coincidentally and unintentionally, turned to an unlikely healer – television comedian Ellen DeGeneres.

The first time she was asked to host the annual Emmy Awards show, it was just before 9-11. This year, it was before Hurricane Katrina.

“I’m going to think twice before I agree to host something again, I can tell you that,” she said wryly in a recent interview.

Over the last few weekends, in between working on her hit daytime talk show, DeGeneres has been drafting a monologue for Sunday’s telecast hoping to again strike the right note in a time of tragedy.

“I have to acknowledge it,” DeGeneres, 47, a native of New Orleans, said of hosting the Emmys while the nation struggles to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. “At the same time, I have to make sure people are relaxed and want to laugh.”

DeGeneres said even her own friends and family who are recovering from the effects of the flooding have managed to fit humor in among their stages of grief, acceptance or bewilderment.

“For me, it’s the only thing we can do. You help people as much as you can. If you don’t have some break from it, some relief, it’s too much.”

Hosting the 2001 Emmy Awards show was a particularly delicate assignment, because it had been postponed twice after the terrorist attacks and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. DeGeneres won critical praise for giving the nation a way to laugh at a time when many people wondered whether laughing at all was appropriate.

In her monologue, she told the audience that the terrorists “can’t take away our creativity, our striving for excellence, our joy. Only network executives can do that.” She went on to say that she was an ideal host “because, think about it: What would bug the Taliban more than seeing a gay woman in a suit surrounded by Jews?”

Like other awards shows, the ratings for the Emmys have been dropping in recent years. This year, producers are trying new things, such as a sing-off with celebrities like Donald Trump, William Shatner and Kristen Bell. Hopes are also pinned on DeGeneres to set the tone and draw in the audience.