Next time you hear "BP Oil Leak is Obama's Katrina".....

[HardWorkingDem]

I'm getting sick and tired of pundits and political opportunists calling this oil spill "Obama's Katrina."

For one thing, during Katrina, the Feds had ample time and prior warning to mobilize to help people in NO and failed. Then, from the time after Katrina, it was mainly known what the devastation was after it passed. There was no purposeful underestimation or glossing over the devastation.


So the next time someone pulls this idiotic claim, point them to this Richard Clarke essay from the Atlantic a few years ago.

(It's an excellent piece he wrote asking the reader to imagine the government was capable of a Katrina pre-mobilization effort and then points out it wasn't imagination because Bush did do such a thing for the Florida, but failed to do the same for Louisiana.


http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/11/things-left-undone/4297/

[TwilightGardener]

1. "Katrina" is kind of meaningless now, anyway--they've pulled that rabbit

out of the hat too many times for it to have impact. Haiti was Katrina, besides. Or something else that I'm forgetting. But I'm sure Obama's had at least several Katrinas, because the media and the GOP said so.

[ClassWarrior]

2. Naw, just laugh in their faces. Ridicule is the only thing that can get through their thick skulls.

NGU.

[eleny]

3. I'm going to tell them that it's Cheney's

[Oregone]

4. Sometimes, it seems like there is a larger effort to create talking points to debunk this...

than to actually protect the shorelines.

Its been over a month, and the Coast Guard is finally just approving some methods to protect the shores (ex. sand barriers)?

Can anyone claim the response from the federal government was 100% appropriate and timely?

[librechik]

5. "Are you saying BP is as powerful as God himself? Because God didn't make this spill

neglect and arrogance from irresponsible, greedy corporations did."

saith Librechik

[BeFree]

6. He was just asked that question

And he said that is up to the press.

Basically, I think Obama has turned to corner. He gets it now. He knows BP screwed him over and he's turning the screws. I said once that he was trapped by circumstance and now I believe he has broken free and he's off and running.

Methinks things will be getting better from this day forward.

'Katrina' has been averted.

Oh, he also said his daughter asked him if he had the hole plugged yet.

[HardWorkingDem]

7. Right now, grinning Sen Bill Nelson saying.....

if the leak is not plugged, "The President is going to have to do more than what he said today....".....


Now, here's my point.........TELL US SENATOR....do WHAT!?!?!?


All these pundits and politicians are climbing over each other to scream on the TV, "DO MORE." But that is all they can say.....they are adding nothing...

[ClassWarrior]

8. Fire Marshall Bill!...

NGU.

[TwilightGardener]

18. Bwah!

[SargeUNN]

9. YEAH As a Katrina Survivor myself

I am damn sick and tired of it. I went through Camille as well as Katrina and Katrina was no Camille because they were different in so many ways. Why must we lump things into an easy to recognize label no matter how different they are and then stay with it. That is part of the problem with the Immigration problems that just help make things worse and this comparison to Katrina isn't correct but also isn't going to do anything but add to preventing resolution of this hideous. Ah, but it is so much easier to just let people suffer and die when we can have our labels and blame someone. Clears the conscience.

[Swamp Rat]

16. Yeah you rite, SargeUNN!

:thumbsup:

[Dems to Win]

10. OK, let's call it "Obama's Vietnam"

Oh wait, Obama already has one of those, in Afghanistan...

Whatever we call it, it's a catastrophe for the Gulf and the country. Obama is in charge, so I ask him:

WHERE ARE THE TANKERS???? We need effective clean-up NOW!!

[SargeUNN]

12. why call it anything but what it is?

must we lump everything into some stupid comparison to some other event?

[phleshdef]

11. I'm sick of people using the victims of the Katrina negligence as political props.

Its fucking shameful at this point.

[Swamp Rat]

17. k&r

:thumbsup:

[gmoney]

13. "A month ago it was Obama's Katrina. Now it's Obama's Chernobyl..."

Heard that someplace...

[phleshdef]

19. Next Month it will be Obama's Clone Wars.

People are ridiculous.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

14. I fire off a technically perfect salute when I hear that.

:patriot:



Then I mutter "Hoow-wya" under my breath.

[EFerrari]

15. It was actually worse than that. The Feds knew the levees breached

a whole day before anyone else did and they didn't warn anyone.

Greg Palast interviewed a guy at NOAA about that and it's documented in "Big Easy to Big Empty".