President Obama's News Conference in the Gulf Coast (Video)

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I agree with Eugene Robinson about President Obama's visit to New Orleans

Hurricane Katrina was the one event that unraveled the Bush Administration. This horrible event unmasked what the Bush White House was all about and Bush lost the independent voters for the Republican Party by their uncaring, insensitive, don't carish attitude towards the people of the Gulf Region. We, Americans watched in horror as New Orleans unraveled and the Super Dome became a death trap, all LIVE on television. To this DAY, I will never forget the reporting of Jeanne Meserve, CNN, it was dark, night fall and she literally had to keep it together as you heard screams, cries for help, people trapped in flooded homes, etc. I will never, ever forget her reporting it brought streaming tears to my eyes.

Hurricane Katrina hardened Americans towards the Bush Administration and their total disarray and unpreparedness for what happened. And who can forget as President Bush was in a hangar in Alabama, telling the television crew that, "Brownie you're doing a hellava job." When the reality on the ground was that Brownie was not doing SHIT as FEMA Director. How can one forget how long it TOOK FEMA to get water, food, transportation into New Orleans and the hard hit parts of Mississippi? Who can forget Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans telling the federal goverment to, "Get off your asses"!!

The Republicans with Bush paid a price for their horrible handling of Hurricane Katrina and their lack of empathy and sensitivity. Now, President Obama who blasted the Bush Administration for their reckless handling of Hurricane Katrina, came into New Orleans, yesterday for a quick drive by. When I read he was only going to be there four hours, my first inclination was, "Who set this up?" Especially, when he left to go to a glitzy fundraiser in San Francisco? Obama White House, don't ever do this again. That whole Gulf Region is STILL A DISASTER AREA, it warrants more than a four hour drive by, while you are picking up gumbo, President Obama.

President Obama's brief display of drive-by compassion Thursday in New Orleans was, for me, by far the worst outing of his presidency thus far -- and the biggest disappointment.

I covered Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath -- the flood in New Orleans that drowned a great city, the storm surge in Mississippi that erased whole communities, the devastation, the agony. For weeks afterwards, I had trouble sleeping. I couldn't forget the scenes I'd witnessed or the stories I'd heard.

More than a year later, I covered a Senate subcommittee hearing in New Orleans on the lagging reconstruction effort. I watched as a young senator who was thought to be considering a presidential run -- that would be Barack Obama -- used his Harvard Law skills to eviscerate Bush-era officials for not doing enough to rebuild and revive the Gulf Coast region.
So it was strange and disheartening that Obama would wait nine months to make his first visit to New Orleans as president. It was stunning that he would spend only a few hours on the ground and that he wouldn't set foot in Mississippi or Alabama at all. But worst of all was the way he seemed to dismiss the idea that his administration could and should be doing much more.

I know that local officials say the Obama administration is more responsive and more effective than the Bush administration, but that's not saying much. What says more is that New Orleans still doesn't have an operational full-service hospital. And that an adequate flood barrier is still not in place.

"I wish I could just write a check," Obama said. If that was his message, he should have stayed home. We now know that our government can make hundreds of billions of dollars available to irresponsible Wall Street institutions within a matter of days, if necessary. We can open up the floodgates of credit to too-big-to-fail banks at the stroke of a pen. But when it comes to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, well, these things take time.

I doubt these are the priorities Obama wants to be remembered for.

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Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), doubts Obama's citizenship. Can we say ignorant?

Does anyone believe, BELIEVE, that this country will elect a person who is not a naturalized citizen?

We had to deal with the bullcrap of "Obama is not an American" during the election, even though the hospital in Honolulu put his birth certificate ON LINE.

Now we have a U.S. Senator doubting his citizenship? How long and ignorant will the Republican Party remain in the wilderness? Do they really want to stay an ignorant regional party for the duration of Obama in office? Obviously, they do.

At an event last week in Alabama, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) answered a question from a constituent in a way that indicates he still holds doubts, according to the Cullman Times.

Said Shelby: "Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven't seen any birth certificate. You have to be born in America to be president."

Yes, rolleye time and shaking your head time.

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Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) is running for Governor of Alabama

He needs to start NOW, we know the RED deal in Alabama.

h/t jjp

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Hurricane Gustav will deliver a punch to the Gulf and the GOP

Well, Gustav is no joke.

If you are in the Gulf, just "GET OUT", or "GET THE HELL OUT".

Don't play around with a storm of this magnitude, just don't. Here is the storm surge and the magnitude of Gustav.

Hurricane Katrina is a strong reminder. The images of the Bush Administration and their lack of response still resonates with the American public. It was this devastation that turned the public on the Bush Administration and got the media to finally do their damn job on reporting about the failure of this Administration.

Since the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina, which happened on the Republican watch, there should be no whoop-dee-do in St. Paul, Minneapolis for the Republican Convention. Most speakers have canceled appearances for the first day and there will be no evening speeches, just the gaveling in for party platform. The GOP is running on a "wait and see" aspect. The problem with that is that the Republicans will have to make some tough decisions. They can not have the press linger around when the media is not looking at this convention. It is a waste of time and man power, besides the public will want to know about the situation in the Gulf and what is needed for the region, not hearing or seeing any party time from the GOP. If the storm surge is strong and New Orleans is flooded, expect this convention to be scaled down enough for McCain/Palin to accept the nomination and any speeches to be given in a scaled back fashion. In other words, the convention practically canceled.

Brings me to James Dobson's "Focus on the Family" group. They actually was praying for rain on Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado. Yes, no joke.



Be careful what you wish for. No one want what is happening in the gulf region, again, those people don't deserve it. Many still putting their lives together, but remember God does not like ugly. And ugly is what the GOP has been for the last 8 years.

And BooMan says it perfectly:

I don't know if Hurricane Gustav is going to deliver a devastating hit to the Gulf Coast but it will be a significant storm that produces a lot of damage. And...it will be have political ramifications. The Republicans know that they cannot afford another failed response. The federal government needs to perform, and if they perform well enough they may even be able to turn it into a plus for them. More likely, however, the storm will simply remind the public of the Bush administration's second biggest failure. While New Orleans' levees failed and it citizens drowned, Condi Rice went shoe-shopping on Fifth Avenue and George W. Bush ate birthday cake with John McCain.

McCain knows he's vulnerable. That's why he is traveling to Mississippi with his running mate to send the message that they care. That's why Bush has canceled his Monday speech at the Republican convention. And that's why John McCain is saying he might deliver his nomination speech from the 'disaster zone'. The Republicans are in a bind because they can't allow themselves to be seen fiddling in Minneapolis while the Gulf Coast burns. But they also can't allow themselves to be seen as overcompensating for their failure during Katrina. An acceptance speech from the disaster zone is overcompensation.

We're all very concerned for Americans in the path of this storm. Yet, the timing of this storm is some kind of divine justice. It's as if all the souls that succumbed to the Katrina floodwaters have whipped up Hurricane Gustav and sent it to breech the levees protecting what remains of the Republican Party. Gustav will slam into the mainland just around the time the Republicans planned to start their convention, and that timing will not be lost on anyone that harbors even a modicum of superstition.

The best the Republicans can do is to show concern and make sure the federal government does a competent job of taking care of the victims. They seem to understand this but it remains to be seen if the Bush-led federal government is capable of competence. And McCain's making a mistake if he's serious about accepting the nomination from the disaster zone. That will be seen as exploitative and defensive at the same time.

Just a remembrance of Katrina, h/t to Muzikal203, also make sure you read what Obama proposes in helping this region by Muzikal203:



Lastly, Gustav will hit the gulf coast region as a category 3, just like Katrina, if you are in New Orleans, please heed what the local, state and federal government is stating and GET OUT.

Hurrican Gustav Information

Evacuation Number: 866-205-6485

This Week With Barack Obama will be posted tomorrow evening, spending some time with family and friends, tomorrow is Labor Day, enjoy this weekend and pray for the people in the gulf region

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