Posted on 08/18/2016 9:49:17 AM PDT by PROCON
EDGARTOWN, Mass. (AP) — President Barack Obama is unlikely to break from a New England vacation to survey flood damage in Louisiana, despite calls for him to visit and meet with responders and victims.
The White House insists Obama is not indifferent to the suffering of thousands who were washed out of their homes in the Baton Rouge and Lafayette areas of the state. At least 13 people have died as a result of the flooding, and at one point 11,000 were in shelters. That number has dropped as water levels have receded.
(Excerpt) Read more at bigstory.ap.org ...
But let's face it, this thing about a President having to immediately fly to a disaster site to hug people and pose for pictures looking very sad is flat out stupid. In fact, one can argue it's an unnecessary distraction for rescue and emergency responders, as Bloomberg did when he told Obama to stay out of NY after Hurricane Sandy hit.
It's this trend in American politics that was started with the pony tail guy at the Bush/Clinton town hall debate where people started thinking how a President feels is more important than whether they are actually competent. It served Clinton and Obama well, but not the country. In my opinion.
No one wants him to come, but a few words is what a decent man would offer.
It is best he stay away. A POTUS being there is only a photo op.
I’ve always wondered that. Growing up and watching “The Today Show,” Al Roker ALWAYS showed the weather conditions affecting the Northeast and then our local weather newsperson would come on. Now it makes sense.
No big deal. Ovomit can merely just part the waters.
“Remember the famous quote from Kanye West “George Bush doesn’t care about black people””
Indeed. Even somebody in a coma could imagine the immediate and nonstop howling if Taylor Swift, for example, were to tweet the obvious parallel today.
I don’t know why there is such a clamor for Obama to make another me-me-me photo op in Louisiana. Not seeing him ever again suits me.
At least he could go and fake compassion.
If Virginia was solidly red, you can bet Obama would be in Louisiana blaming Bush for not fixing the problem he started.
The rats don’t need the votes there so why bother caring?
Well said. You are absolutely correct.
Thanks for saving me the trouble of writing my own response to this story.
Didn’t have to immediately fly there, just had to give a damn.
Donate to Baptist Disaster Relief or The Salvation Army.
She should challenge Kanye to match her donation.
His staff said “go to the Gulf”.
He heard “go play some golf”.
Just remember what happened to Dubya when HE visited Louisiana after the flooding following Katrina. OF COURSE the Current Occupant would stay away, doesn’t want the negative publicity.
Considering how he got blistered for making a humanitarian gesture in August 2005, Dubya might have been better off if he had gone off to play golf. He would have been damned if he did, damned if he didn’t. It seem liked just about everything went downhill for Dubya after that. The media never let up on him.
Well he doesn't. But suppose he came to the cameras with his eyes full of tears and related stories about poor out of work mothers whose 11 children will have no roof over their heads and how he is losing sleep with worry over it, can't eat, he's just sick. Wipe another tear, end of press conference.
Would it make you feel he's a better president?
Katrina’s storm track was headed for Appalachicola on Friday afternoon. Not till Saturday was it clear that we were in the crosshairs. Not till the early hours Sunday morning did the storm blow up to cat-5 status that would make evacuation necessary. Nevertheless, hundreds of thousands did evacuate.
Do you seriously believe evacuation is a good disaster preparation model every time a cat-3 storm threatens to hit 150 miles away? Please try to consider the costs of that, and how soon government and citizens alike would become exhausted and bankrupt by such a policy.
You must be the last person on earth to not know that the full measure of the Katrina disaster was caused by a failure of the federal government’s flood control structures. I know you have your talking points, but please give it up. You have no clue what Katrina was all about.
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