Posted on 07/13/2014 1:32:16 PM PDT by Hojczyk
Cannon recalled how Bush’s critics erupted in indignation when the White House published a photograph of the president surveying the devastation from Air Force One. Entertainers like Michael Moore and Kanye West accused the president of racism and callousness. Bush’s Democratic adversaries in Congress, including then Senator Obama, were no kinder.
In hindsight, little of this seems fair. What Bush saw as he flew over the battered region shocked him. The next day, he publicly pledged $10.5 billion in federal aid, enlisted his father and Bill Clinton to help in recovery efforts, and spoke about the tragedy from the Rose Garden. The next day, he headed down there, where he literally put his arms around shell-shocked survivors, many of them black people. Bush returned again in mid-September and made a nationally televised address from Jackson Square in New Orleans.
When he ran for president, then-Sen. Barack Obama seemed to forget all that. All he cared to recall was the flyover, which is more than he’s done on the Texas border this year.
Bush’s approach to Katrina was criticized by his allies and opponents alike, and some of that criticism was deserved, but he never treated the situation in New Orleans as though it was a political opportunity. That is a grotesque abuse of the public trust, but this seems to be the calculation the president and his advisors made.
“Although Obama probably doesn’t have to go to the border personally to be an effective leader, he may owe George W. Bush an apology,” Cannon concluded.
Like Katrina, Obama’s successors will likely study his response to the situation on the border as a case study in how not to address a crisis. The border disaster is, however, not Obama’s Katrina. The president’s refusal to perform the responsibilities associated with his role as the nation’s chief executive makes this episode far worse.
Every word is subject to interpretation.
President Bush put a DemocRAT, Michael Browne, in charge of FEMA.
If Ubama put a Republican in charge of ICE, and then this happened, you might have a fair comparison.
Even Katrina wasn’t really Bush’s scandal. They were effective in making it out to be his and there was never any push-back.
The DNC machine in Louisiana failed completely to function and left millions of people at the mercy of the storm. The federal entities by and large worked as intended. And the rescue started once it was federalized. Nothing like that happened in the neighboring states because they weren’t run by Nagin and Blanco.
Even in Louisiana, nothing like that has happened in hurricanes since because, again, Nagin Blanco and the DNC weren’t in charge.
Bush didn’t create a hurricane and ship violent gang members in to NO.
The border crisis is worse because it is the effect of a direct dereliction of duty, while Katrina was a dereliction of duty on the part of the Governor of Louisiana, and the Mayor of New Orleans.
Bush did the right thing - waited until his help was requested before acting on Katrina.
Obama, per usual, is doing exactly the wrong thing by refusing to enforce a valid law. His treachery is a plague on the land.
Besides, it didn't help that Bush refused to defend himself.
Bush didn’t CAUSE the hurricane. ..
It’s Rick Perry’s Katrina as he watches any Presidential aspirations he might have had blow away in the wind.
Obama is the Chief Executive. He is responsible to the people of The United States. The people of The United States deserve a report from our Chief Executive on this and what he’s doing to help. But, instead, he plays pool and goes to parties. That is irresponsibility never before displayed by an American President. He is displaying a “I don’t give a s**t!” attitude that wouldn’t be tolerated from the fry guy at McDonalds.
There is no possible excuse for his behavior. He begged for this job.....twice. Now, he wants to party instead of work? How in the hell can anyone possibly defend his actions in this matter? Everyone knows he should be fired. If this is supposed to be some kind of challenge from the Democrats, then I say pick up the gauntlet and beat the snot out of them with it. Even the Democrat voters know you’re not supposed to be partying when you’re supposed to be working.
In the event of a natural disaster the role of the federal government is to provide assistance to the state and local governments. During Katrina the two main idiots in charge of foundering areas were the Governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans. Neither of those two demonstrated any capability to handle the problem. It was not in the President's normal powers to take over those functions without the request of the state and local officials. That handover takes time.
The problem in the RGV is completely the federal government's responsibility. The fact that Texas DPS is running heavily armed riverine craft and helicopters on the border demonstrates that the federal government is failing to do its duty. Having worked for a small organization within DHS, I can say that the leadership in the RGV is failing. The administration is failing. It is failing on purpose. You can't tell me that it isn't cheaper to move a couple hundred BP agents to McAllen on a temporary basis than it is to fly thousands of illegals out. If the problem is immigration judges, then swear in some more and send them down there. One stop shopping. Illegal kid gets caught. Put him in the system, get him checked over for medical problems, take him to the judge, take him to the airport for a chartered airplane ride home.
GWBush didn’t make job postings and hire people to create the hurricane
These aren’t Oklahomans invading Texas. These are foreign nationals invading one of our states. That’s a federal responsibility. This is Obama’s baby.
GWBush didn’t make job postings and hire people to create the hurricane...Six months before it happened.
Bush, staying away from the ground was, in my opinion, the right thing to do. So many people, police, fire people, emt’s, etc etc have to be solely at the care and well being of the president......N.O. had NONE to spare to baby sit an executive, they were taking care of people who needed care....
No doubt! Baby Barackdoc is a cat 5 disaster on the whole country.
And if Obama is not taking care of it and Rick Perry sees it lying along the side of the road, it becomes Rick Perry's baby --
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.