North American leaders in New Orleans

[Don Quixote]

President Bush, the the Prime Ministers of Mexico and Canada were in New Orleans yesterday for a big summit, I am sure you all know. I had a friend in one of my classes tell us that he served the three men dinner at a fancy restaurant somewhere Uptown.

He said he didn't remember what they had, but Pres. Bush had non-alcoholic beer. The other two had paired wine. He says the President was approachable, plain-spoken, and friendly, and got to shake his hand. I don't know if he got a picture. He told me that he was happy he didn't spill the food all over the President.

I'm glad they came and all -- but it annoyed me that they pretty much tied up traffic all day. I couldn't drop off or pick up my wife from work yesterday (she works in the CBD, about 3 blocks east of Canal St.). She had to walk from about a mile away, in heels! I heard about this later. She tells me that the Secret Service had that place locked down -- no traffic in or out, and they made everyone stay put while the motorcade went through.

So yesterday was hectic.

[Don Quixote]

I understand McCain is coming soon. Governor Jindal is supposed to take him through the 9th Ward.

I wish the Gubner would take McCain through other parts of town that the national media doesn't talk much about. I've never seen Jesse Jackson lead a march through Lakeview (10 ft of water in places), Gentilly Woods (6-8 ft.), or New Orleans East (anywhere from 6" to 8 ft.). I've never seen any out-of-towners ask me about St. Bernard Parish, which is down-river from the 9th Ward and got flooded just as badly, or lower Plaquemines, some of which took 15'.

I just hope he gets a look at the whole picture.

[boutons_]

thanks for the report.

dubya's disastrous peformance and failures far outweigh the private dubya and his personal life, as it would be if dubya had been a fantastic performer with his wake strewn with successes.

I only care about how an office-holder performs his office functions.

[PixelPusher]

Did they tip him with Ameros?

[Don Quixote]

Did they tip him with Ameros?

I'll have to get confirmation on that.

Come to think of it, I'm not sure the President ever carries his wallet, keys, money, or credit cards with him. It's not like he needs ID. He doesn't drive, and I'm sure travel and meals are covered by the White House.

What I want to know is, what kind of cell phone do they give him? He probably has several -- one for family and one for "work." They are obviously classified #s. And I'm sure the First Family gets sworn to all types of secrecy when they move into the White House.

I had a friend in the Air Force who was on the short list to do I.T. in the White House. That would have been sweet.

[clambake]

i'm surprised he didn't blow it off to play golf in arizona..........again.

[Don Quixote]

Who's he?

[clambake]

W. thats what he did when he so disgracefully ignored the needs of americans he's charged with protecting.

even mccain called his katrina efforts "disgraceful".

[Don Quixote]

Hmm. Can you get me a link on that McCain quote? And are you saying that Katrina was totally a federal mess-up? What about state and local politicans? Do they escape responsibility? Who is responsible for the botched evacuation? The communication problems after the storm? The local law enforcement who went AWOL? I'm not sure how President Bush is responsible for this.

Louisiana is a completely backward, corrupt, welfare-dependent, messed-up state. The people here had 40 years since Camille to do something about the levees. And the convoluted city's response falls on Nagin and the city council.

[SAGambler]

W. thats what he did when he so disgracefully ignored the needs of americans he's charged with protecting.

even mccain called his katrina efforts "disgraceful".

Please show me one damn article in the Constitution that charges the federal government or any employee of the federal government, with "protecting the public from natural disasters".

[clambake]

Please show me one damn article in the Constitution that charges the federal government or any employee of the federal government, with "protecting the public from natural disasters".

you're right, i'm sorry. i looked and couldn't find one.

i guess i would have done the same thing. golf>suffering.

[clambake]

Hmm. Can you get me a link on that McCain quote? And are you saying that Katrina was totally a federal mess-up? What about state and local politicans? Do they escape responsibility? Who is responsible for the botched evacuation? The communication problems after the storm? The local law enforcement who went AWOL? I'm not sure how President Bush is responsible for this.

Louisiana is a completely backward, corrupt, welfare-dependent, messed-up state. The people here had 40 years since Camille to do something about the levees. And the convoluted city's response falls on Nagin and the city council.

link? nah. just saw him speak on fox. to a crowd about the disgraceful handling of katrina. you don't need to look it up because you sound like someone thats been in the armed sevices.

[Spurminator]

http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSN24200780._CH_.2400

McCain sharply critical of Bush response to Katrina

By Steve Holland

NEW ORLEANS, April 24 (Reuters) - Republican U.S. presidential candidate John McCain on Thursday sharply criticized the Bush administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina and vowed, "Never again."

McCain, putting some distance between himself and fellow Republican President George W. Bush, said if he had been president during the 2005 catastrophe he would have immediately visited New Orleans during the initial shock aftermath of the killer storm.

"I'm just saying I would've landed my airplane at the nearest Air Force base and come over personally," he said.

Two days after the hurricane made landfall in August 2005, when immediate recovery efforts were chaotic, Bush surveyed the damage during a fly-over in Air Force One while returning from a trip to the West Coast.

On Thursday, McCain went on a tour of the lower Ninth Ward, a New Orleans neighborhood still struggling to recover from Katrina 2 1/2 years after the storm struck.

"I want to assure the people of the Ninth Ward, the people of New Orleans, the people of this country: Never again, never again will a disaster of this nature be handled in the terrible and disgraceful way it was handled," McCain said.

Later, talking to reporters on his campaign bus, McCain said "all levels of government are to blame for the catastrophe that took place."

"I'm not specifically singling the president out ... but he shares the blame, obviously," he said.

In Washington, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush "absolutely took responsibility for any failing on the part of the federal government."

"But at the same time there were problems at the state and local levels, as well, which they have admitted to," she said.

Biding his time while Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton fight over who will face him in the November election, McCain is trying this week to appeal to moderate voters by visiting places left behind by U.S. economic growth.

Campaigning in North Carolina, Clinton said McCain had suggested tearing down the Ninth Ward.

"The difference between Sen. McCain and myself is I have a long record of fighting to rebuild the Gulf and helping the citizens who live along the Gulf who were left to their own devices by their government," Clinton said in Asheville.

'IT'S NONSENSE'

McCain repudiated comments from a Texas television preacher, John Hagee, who has said God punished New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina for planning a gay-pride parade. Hagee has endorsed McCain.

"It's nonsense, it's nonsense, and it's nonsense," McCain told reporters after the liberal group MoveOn.org protested what it called McCain's "embrace" of Hagee.

McCain said he does not accept the views of everyone who endorses him. He said he appreciated Hagee's support for Israel.

The Arizona senator has made cutting government spending a top reason why he should be elected in November.

But he still said he supported billions of dollars of spending to strengthen New Orleans' levee system and rebuild the city.

The Democratic National Committee accused McCain of voting against emergency funding for the area.

"When John McCain is campaigning in New Orleans, will he explain to Gulf Coast voters why he voted against emergency funding to the area and against giving victims of Katrina access to Medicaid and unemployment benefits?" the DNC asked in an e-mail to reporters.

McCain said any such votes were against legislation that included "wasteful, pork-barrel spending" with projects that did not go through normal congressional review.

He said the United States should be prepared for more fierce storms because he believes global warming is creating conditions that are leading to more extreme weather. (Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Mohammad Zargham) (To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online here)

[ChumpDumper]

The people here had 40 years since Camille to do something about the levees.Who built and maintained the flood control system in New Orleans?

[boutons_]

The US Army Corps of Engineers legally owns all surface water in the USA.

It owns the rain as soon as it touches the ground and becomes runoff/storm water.

It has primary responsibility for water management, including dams, levees, dredging, canals.

The CoE the federal govt so is totally unaccountable, untouchable.

[Don Quixote]

Yes. I have seen & heard what McCain had to say. That guy infuriates me sometimes. Is he trying to tork off his base?

And, yes, the Army Corps of Engineers is largely responsible for the levee failures, so I guess that's a federal failure. And FEMA, like most gummint agencies, was a total mes. What else is new there? I'm still not sure how that makes President Bush responsible.

And should state and local officials get a pass?

[ChumpDumper]

Has Bush ever done anything wrong?

[Don Quixote]

Has Bush ever done anything wrong?

No doubt he has. My critique of him, unlike most, comes from the Right. But he is not responsible for Katrina, at least not solely.

[Spurminator]

And should state and local officials get a pass?

Who is giving them a pass? I don't think criticizing the Federal response to Katrina means you believe the State and Local authorities did everything right. McCain isn't running for Mayor of NO or Governor of Louisiana.

[Don Quixote]

Right. I'm not setting up an either/or dichotomy. More of a both/and. But the national media sure doesn't say much about our local and state officials' botching it. They tend to focus on Bush. That's my complaint.