McCain and Bush, having their cake when Katrina hit ....from the DNC

[madfloridian]

A year ago today, President Bush was attending pricey fundraisers and eating cake while the Gulf Coast was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.



Timeline of a Catastrophe from the DNC website

Bush and McCain were having cake and celebrating McCain's birthday while people were dying on rooftops.

Bush Stopped To Celebrate McCain’s Birthday At Luke Air Force Base. “Greeting Bush was Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)… The president paused on the tarmac to help celebrate McCain's 69th birthday, but on a blazing Arizona day, the cake melted before he could taste it.” Washington Post, 8/30/05

Bush In Arizona Campaigning Hard To “Pre-Sell” A Political Victory at 12pm ET. Bush talked to an invitation only audience of about 400 people at the Pueblo El Mirage RV and Golf Resort. The Arizona Republic said Bush came to campaign hard for his new Medicare plan. “The main focus of Bush's visit was to elaborate on the new Medicare drug benefit…Having high numbers of enrollees also will be a political victory for the president, since he pushed the Medicare reform measure through Congress in 2003. Members of the Bush administration have been on the road, going across the country to talk up the program…. ‘I think Bush would like it (the Medicare drug benefit) to play a role in the elections next year -- he's been touting it as one of the big accomplishments of his first term,’ David Mark, of Campaigns & Elections Magazine, said Monday.… Bush said Monday that he was in El Mirage ‘pre-selling’ the importance of enrolling for the benefit.” Arizona Republic, 8/30/05

[aquart]

1. How could they? It boggles the mind.

[Human Torch]

2. I'll bet Junior broke some stuff today...

...when he realized he wouldn't be getting any cake.

Probably yelled a few four-and-ten letter words at an intern or some other lackey and threw something made of glass at a wall, just to watch it shatter.

Being a dry drunk is no fun...especially when cake is NOT involved.

:evilgrin:

[rodeodance]

3. it seems like just yesterday-the cake the guitar, Nero, rooftops, yet

it was a year ago. Things seem rather to be in statis--waiting for something to happen (nov elections)---

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

4. So... will they pull this when the Republicans complain?

[madfloridian]

5. The DNC is not the one who pulls stuff off their site.

You have them mixed up with the DCCC or the DSCC. No, they will not pull this.

[madfloridian]

6. More statements from Dems:

We saw the "small man behind the curtain" during Katrina.


Statements about Katrina from Democratic Party leaders

Governor Howard Dean:

"Katrina and its tragic aftermath serve as a painful reminder that too many of our fellow Americans live and struggle in poverty. As we mark this anniversary, we should remember the words of Dr. Martin Luther King and others who spoke on the Mall in Washington some 43 years ago calling on each one of us as individuals and our nation to honor our obligation to one another as part of the American community. As Dr. King so eloquently stated, ‘we cannot walk alone.’

“Our message to the people of the Gulf Coast is that we have not and we will not forget you. We will work hard to ensure the Gulf Coast has the resources needed to rebuild its communities, and that the people of the Gulf Coast have the resources to rebuild their lives.

And this statement from Nancy Pelosi:
http://democraticleader.house.gov/press/releases.cfm?pressReleaseID=1755

One year ago, Hurricane Katrina made landfall, causing the tragedy, and exposing another. One year later, neither the tragedy Katrina caused – the flooding of New Orleans and the devastation of the Gulf Coast; nor the tragedy that it exposed – the extent of the federal government’s failure to provide a life of security and dignity to all of our citizens – have been adequately addressed. Hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens still await the help in rebuilding their hospitals, schools, businesses, and homes that was promised last fall.

“Throughout America, today must be a day of prayer, grief, and introspection. Though it is long past due, today is the day for a new direction in the Gulf Coast, where despair and destruction are finally replaced by hope and renewal. In that vein, members of the Congressional Democratic Caucus are in the Gulf Coast this week to renew our commitment to rebuilding communities.

And from Harry Reid:
http://democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=262177&

It has been one year since Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the Gulf Coast and ripped away the illusion that our government was prepared to respond to a national emergency. In that year, the residents of the battered region have struggled to move on and to rebuild. Unfortunately in Washington, too many have simply moved on.

“One year later, it is time for a new direction. Too many across the Gulf Coast still have not seen the reconstruction they deserve, and across America, too many are still waiting for the real security they demand. Now is the time for the government to keep the promises it made after the hurricanes. It is time to put aside the failure and incompetence of the last year and change the destruction and despair across the Gulf Coast to a new spirit of hope and recovery.”

[madfloridian]

7. While people died, Bush laughed talking about Medicare...picture.

U.S. President George W. Bush smiles during a town hall-style meeting at a retirement community where he talked about Medicare prescription-drug benefits for senior citizens in El Mirage, Arizona August 29, 2005. Bush on Monday urged skeptical senior citizens to sign up for a new Medicare prescription drug benefit program, touting a choice of plans with monthly premiums as low as $20. REUTERS/Jeff Mitchell

Found at MyDD August 2005

http://www.mydd.com/story/2005/8/31/9520/46323