An Ill Wind That Blows No Good

I'm following-up yesterday's rant with some pointed moments from President Bush's visit to New Orleans on Monday. The following news article appeared on Yahoo News today.

And, while you're feeling non-represented, Pam has a neat anecdote that demonstrates how wealthy people complain.

This is supposed to be funny, but I don't see the humor:

NEW ORLEANS - The president began a national day of remembrance for Hurricane Katrina victims by meeting with Mayor Ray Nagin in a neighborhood where homes are still stained with high-water marks. As Bush walked into the packed Betsy's Pancake House in New Orleans, waitress Joyce Labruzzo jokingly asked: "Mr. President, are you going to turn your back on me?"

"No ma'am, not again," he replied to laughter.

It was a lighthearted moment. But it could have been a metaphor for the Bush administration's poor response to the storm and the president's work since to make amends.

"Money is beginning to go out the door so people can rebuild their lives," Bush said Monday in Biloxi, Miss. "In Louisiana, it's been a little slower."

Money's going out the door, alright - you idiot - and nobody's slower than you.

Then, the First Lady asked and answered her own questions. I often wonder about people who do that:

Laura Bush appeared Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

"Was the federal government slow? Sure, probably. Was every government slow, state and local? Sure. But have they responded in a very, very helpful way? I think they have."

"I think we'll look back on it and we'll see it for what it was: the largest disaster that our country has ever faced and a huge disaster," she said. "Could we have done better? Sure, but are we doing what we can now? Absolutely."

She could run her own talk show. "The Laura Bush Show" starring Laura Bush.
Tonight's guest - me.

And now, a healthy epilogue to our little National tragedy:

The death toll in Louisiana from Katrina is close to 1,600, including nearly 300 who died in other states after fleeing from the hurricane. In Jackson Square last year, Bush offered three proposals to help fight poverty. One idea carried out, the Gulf Opportunity Zone, is giving $8.7 billion in tax breaks to developers of low-income housing, small businesses and individuals.

But worker recovery accounts, meant to help victims find work by paying for school, job training and child care, didn't materialize. Neither did the Urban Homesteading Act that would have given poor people sites to build homes they would finance themselves or get through programs like Habitat for Humanity.

Only half of New Orleans has electricity. Half its hospitals are closed. Violent crime is up. Less than half the population has returned. Tens of thousands of families still live in trailers and mobile homes with no real timetable for moving to more permanent housing. Insurance settlements are mired in red tape. The city still has no master rebuilding plan. And while much debris has been cleared, some remains as if the clock stopped when the storm struck.

So far, Congress has approved $110 billion in hurricane aid. The Bush administration has released $77 billion to the states, reserving the rest for future needs, but $33 billion of that has not yet been spent.

But whatever will poor Trent Lott do?

Meanwhile, Hurricane Ernesto is headed toward Florida. No worries, folks - another Bush is on the job! I'm sure the people of Florida feel better knowing that the Governor has an "in" at the White House. It's a shame that Governor Nagin does not.