Posted on 08/14/2004 9:35:01 AM PDT by technomage
An interesting conversation was on Fox News this morning. Stuart Varney (sp) mentioned that for the two months after Hurricane Andrew hit Florida the National GDP actually dropped. Then, when recovery efforts really kicked in, the national economy benefited. Many feel this drop was one of the reasons Bush I lost the election.
The monetary costs of Charley will probably get close to, or exceed, the 27 billion dollar price tag of Andrew. This may cause the national economy to stall before the rebuilding efforts start in earnest and trickle into the economy. Might not be soon enough.
That's interesting...I'd never thought of it that way.
President Bush reacted "slowly" to Andrew for one simple reason: He didn't have the authority to react in any other manner. A President cannot simply show up and provide billions of dollars in Federal aid in a disaster area . . . by law, he can only do so after the governor of the state in question formally requests it.
The real difference between Andrew and Charley is that the governor of Florida is Jeb Bush, not Lawton Chiles or whomever the governor of Florida was back in 1992. The Democrats are learning that this political grandstanding works both ways: in the waning months of this campaign Jeb Bush probably had a pile of unsigned "formal requests for Federal aid" on his desk at any given time, ready to send out on a moment's notice whenever the opportunity arose.
My sentiments exactly!
We have to take Florida. If not we are toast.
BINGO! Give this Freeper the Best Analysis of the Week Award.
What did President Bush do in the first seven minutes after Hurricane Charley hit!
Why did President Bush allow Hurricane Charley continue on into The Carolinas even after he knew what damage he, Charley, had caused in Floridia!
Let's call this hurricane by its rightful name, Hurricane For Bush!
Thanks...... about what the link in the following post finds......
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1191542/posts?page=47#47
Just for thought -- a few years ago I looked at the historical vote for president, in particular, the percentage of the Voting Age Population candidate's receive.
IIRC, historically (going back to McGovern) dem presidential candidates receive between 23%-24% of the Voting Age Population. It does not vary widely and is virtually a straight line.
In contrast, the GOP percentage ranges from about 21% to 28%. That is, after Watergate and the two times Perot ran, the GOP got about 21%. Every other time (except 2000) the GOP got about 27%-28%.
So, IMHO, Perot probably cost Clinton about 1% of the VAP (5% of the dem's usual vote), while he cost Bush I and Dole about 7% of the VAP (25% of the usual GOP vote).
But naturally, the media and the dems have spun the story that Perot cost both equally.
The reason the % VAP in 2000 was so close was because the Clintons had given Gore CA on a silver platter. I believe much of the difference in vote totals between Bush II and Gore is from the large disparity in CA.
By the way, I've been looking for those % VAP figures for awhile, but have been unable to find them again. If any of y'all find those figures, please give me a ping, thanks.
The slow reaction to Andrew was mainly the fault of FEMA. They were ill prepared for a disaster of that magnitude. Florida already had FEMA trucks and supplies ready to go at a moments notice yesterday before the hurricane even made land fall.
in july unemployment was 4.7% in Fl. With 6-7 thousand construction projects in every town/sounty hit by the storm that would bring that number down another .3 or .4% If people are unhappy with remodeled homes and jobs then nothing will help the President.
Well, I agree with everything you have said!
LLS
And that infusion of insurance $$$ into the South FL economy will boost all kind of business including construction, TV, appliances, furniture etc etc.
The insurance money has to come out of the bond and stock market investments where the insurance companies keep their reserves. This will increase interest rates and depress stock prices.
His own dollars?
No?
I'm shocked.
This is stupid logic.
Kerry actually was going to come down here, before he changed his mind.
What if insurance stalls or won't pay and they have to live in a shelter until November?
Don't tell me it isn't the President's fault. I know that. Unfortunately people aren't always entirely rational, especially when they're suffering. Anyway, it's just speculation. The opposite could happen and people could be delighted with the quick response and cleanup, if that happens. There's no telling.
no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the AMERICAN public
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