Obama's Whistle-Stop Tour of New Orleans

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Today Obama will be making an extremely short stop in New Orleans. Or what my favorite NOLA blogger calls a "tinkle-stop tour." In New Orleans, he'll be visiting a charter school and participating in a town hall meeting in the Lower 9th Ward.

In contrast, his next stop will be San Francisco, where he'll be spending four times as much time--16 hours. This has caused HuffPo's Harry Shearer to say,

Total elapsed time in SF: sixteen hours. They must have experienced a hell of a federal disaster there. Four times worse, you figure?
Click to expand...

But the four hours Obama is spending in New Orleans means he won't:

*Be seeing any of the rest of of New Orleans' devastated areas--more of that city was damaged by the Federal Flood than merely the Lower 9th;

*Be checking out the work on New Orleans' levees--considered vitally important by New Orleanians and anyone else concerned about New Orleans' safety from future flooding. This is something he should keep abreast of as the Commander-in-Chief of the Army Corps of Engineers;

*Be flying over Louisiana's disappearing coast, which has been washing away at a rate of a football field every half hour;

*Be visiting Alabama, Mississippi and the Louisiana areas still struggling to recover from Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike--an omission which has been one of the most controversial things about the briefness of Obama's visit. Stan Tiner even goes so far as to ask,

Is the Mississippi Coast invisible?
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Indeed, Obama's whistle-stop tour is being compared to Bush's "fly-over" trip when he couldn't be bothered with visiting the disaster zone.

Some may blow what I have to say off by saying Obama as a Senator and a candidate made five visits to New Orleans--but nothing can match the prestige of a meaningful presidential visit with its symbolism of a presidential commitment to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. As long as such a tour is backed up by concrete action regarding the issues above.

It is a shame that while Bush of that first fly-over and his empty promises managed to visit Louisiana and Mississippi 13 times and made it to all three 8/29 anniversaries in both states, Obama is just making this whistle-stop tour after not having made it to the anniversary of Katrina and the federal flood. And the fact that Teddy Kennedy's funeral happened to take place on that day is immaterial--the point is that even had it not taken place, Obama had made no plans at all to visit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, instead planning to stay at Martha's Vineyard where he was on vacation.

So, he owes New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Region one--and it's time for him to get some skin in the game and live up to his promises there.
 
not only does he hate white people, he evidently doesn't think too much of black people either, unless he can buy their votes..
 
You got some of it wrong: The charter school was in the lower 9th and the Town Hall meeting was at the University of New Orleans (I was there).

As for the rest, he has had more eyes and boots on the ground in New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast with expertise to interact with the hurricane devastation, than in any other region in the country.

You say that his trip was largely symbolic. I agree. He's not an engineer, not a social worker, not any profession that could actually lend a hand here. But he sends those who can with the admonition to cut red tape and effect more of a recovery for the area. His trip was a return of the spotlight to one of the areas in this country which needs attention. But we're not the only one.

You contrast this short visit with Mr. Bush's flyover, largely symbolic, also. Somehow I see Mr. Bush's visits as guilt-driven. Not so with Mr. Obama. Just my opinion.

I was disappointed that he didn't specifically cite the Corpse (spelling on purpose) of Engineers for the flood after Katrina.

I am thrilled that the President spent a little time here. He saw what he needed to see and will get reports on the rest. And just as important, he was enthusiastically received by a population that was not part of his election, which makes me hope that the politician in him will be more likely to court the gulf coast in the future.

We do count. But so does everyone else.



Louisiana said:
Today Obama will be making an extremely short stop in New Orleans. Or what my favorite NOLA blogger calls a "tinkle-stop tour." In New Orleans, he'll be visiting a charter school and participating in a town hall meeting in the Lower 9th Ward.

In contrast, his next stop will be San Francisco, where he'll be spending four times as much time--16 hours. This has caused HuffPo's Harry Shearer to say,



But the four hours Obama is spending in New Orleans means he won't:

*Be seeing any of the rest of of New Orleans' devastated areas--more of that city was damaged by the Federal Flood than merely the Lower 9th;

*Be checking out the work on New Orleans' levees--considered vitally important by New Orleanians and anyone else concerned about New Orleans' safety from future flooding. This is something he should keep abreast of as the Commander-in-Chief of the Army Corps of Engineers;

*Be flying over Louisiana's disappearing coast, which has been washing away at a rate of a football field every half hour;

*Be visiting Alabama, Mississippi and the Louisiana areas still struggling to recover from Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike--an omission which has been one of the most controversial things about the briefness of Obama's visit. Stan Tiner even goes so far as to ask,



Indeed, Obama's whistle-stop tour is being compared to Bush's "fly-over" trip when he couldn't be bothered with visiting the disaster zone.

Some may blow what I have to say off by saying Obama as a Senator and a candidate made five visits to New Orleans--but nothing can match the prestige of a meaningful presidential visit with its symbolism of a presidential commitment to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. As long as such a tour is backed up by concrete action regarding the issues above.

It is a shame that while Bush of that first fly-over and his empty promises managed to visit Louisiana and Mississippi 13 times and made it to all three 8/29 anniversaries in both states, Obama is just making this whistle-stop tour after not having made it to the anniversary of Katrina and the federal flood. And the fact that Teddy Kennedy's funeral happened to take place on that day is immaterial--the point is that even had it not taken place, Obama had made no plans at all to visit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, instead planning to stay at Martha's Vineyard where he was on vacation.

So, he owes New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Region one--and it's time for him to get some skin in the game and live up to his promises there.
Click to expand...
 
egordon0315 said:
You got some of it wrong: The charter school was in the lower 9th and the Town Hall meeting was at the University of New Orleans (I was there).

As for the rest, he has had more eyes and boots on the ground in New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast with expertise to interact with the hurricane devastation, than in any other region in the country.

You say that his trip was largely symbolic. I agree. He's not an engineer, not a social worker, not any profession that could actually lend a hand here. But he sends those who can with the admonition to cut red tape and effect more of a recovery for the area. His trip was a return of the spotlight to one of the areas in this country which needs attention. But we're not the only one.

You contrast this short visit with Mr. Bush's flyover, largely symbolic, also. Somehow I see Mr. Bush's visits as guilt-driven. Not so with Mr. Obama. Just my opinion.

I was disappointed that he didn't specifically cite the Corpse (spelling on purpose) of Engineers for the flood after Katrina.

I am thrilled that the President spent a little time here. He saw what he needed to see and will get reports on the rest. And just as important, he was enthusiastically received by a population that was not part of his election, which makes me hope that the politician in him will be more likely to court the gulf coast in the future.

We do count. But so does everyone else.
Click to expand...

As usual, Liz, you bring a little sense to the discussion.
I have one question and it is this:
Katrina stuck on August 8 (?) 2005. It is now October 16 2009. The TV pictures showed streets of unrepaired, delapidated houses and moaning, whining citizens.
I've asked before and I'll ask again, in a country where people have arsenals of weapons, car parks filled with cars, pick ups and trucks, has no one got the ability to record these places for the insurance crooks, rip them down and rebuild. All we heard was 'we deserve....blah blah blah' and 'It's not right ... blah blah blah.'
Why dont they just get off their fat arses (almost to a man the interviewees were grossly fat) and DO something?
Even if they forfeit the extra insurance dollar would it not make more sense? Why aren't those agencies who are preventing immediate action disbanded? Why aren't those who are preventing progress sacked or hung by the neck from the last remaining trees with their own red tape?
I really dont think this would happen anywhere else in the world let alone America.
As for Obama's visit, he should be there to see your successes - not your failures!
Or am I wrong again?
 
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