Cao: Obama Administration ‘Has Been Tremendous’ For New Orleans On Katrina Recovery Effort

[ProSense]

Cao: Obama Administration ‘Has Been Tremendous’ For New Orleans On Katrina Recovery Effort

Last month, President Obama visted New Orleans for the first time since taking office and touted his administration’s focus on assisting the area’s still on-going recovery effort four years after Hurricane Katrina. “I’m pleased to report that we’ve made good progress,” he said. “We’ve got a long way to go, but we’ve made progress.”

But conservatives such as Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) criticized Obama’s visit calling it a “drive-through daiquiri summit,” while others “criticized the president for not touring the battered wetlands.”

Yesterday during an interview with Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA) — the lone Republican to vote for the House health care bill last week — Washington Times radio channeled the GOP criticism. “He didn’t even stick around very long during his trip,” the host said. But Cao defended what the administration has done for the area:

CAO: Well, I just want to set the record straight, that even though the President only visited New Orleans once since his election, it was a brief stay, but this administration has been tremendous for the people of the 2nd district. Secretary Napolitano has been down here three or four times, the secretary of HUD, the secretary of Education, they have been down here numerous times. <...>

So I guess for me, it’s not that important to have the visit of the President, its much more important for me that I have a good working relationship with the administration and have the commitment…from the administration to push all the recovery issues of the 2nd District forward and they have been doing that in the last 9 months.

Listen here:

<…>

Paul Rainwater, the executive director of the state-run Louisiana Recovery Authority, agrees with Cao’s approach. “I would say it’s more important to have your cabinet secretaries down here,” he said last month. Indeed, the White House said there were 22 visits by senior administration officials to the area from March to August, 13 of them by cabinet secretaries.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

1. I work at HUD and my colleagues here are working incredibly hard with FEMA

officials on disaster relief and to build "resilient" housing. HUD officials, well at least some of my colleagues, have been to the Gulf Region at least once a month to assist in the rebuilding efforts.

[ProSense]

2. Excellent. n/t

[quiet.american]

3. That's really good news. nt

[Hippo_Tron]

4. Cao hopes to ride Obama's coattails to re-election

But he probably won't.

[Hutzpa]

5. He is on the wrong side

want a career? you know what comes next, doncha?
I'm taking bets, who is up on the offer?

[RepublicanElephant]

9. he needs to hurry and make the switch before the primary season next year...

...unless a progressive dem enters the race.

[impik]

6. This president really needs a good publicist

He is doing so many great things, and no one knows about it.

[Drunken Irishman]

8. It's hard when the media is constantly working against you.

[Aramchek]

7. smart man.

[old mark]

10. Bush did a fly-over ans some photo ops, then gave it all to FEMA,

which dithered until Bush left office.
I have no doubt this administration has already done more for these areas than was done in the entire Bush regime.


mark

[quantass]

11. So why is he Repub...He's a Minority and Repubs hate them...Confused.

[ClarkUSA]

12. He's very socially conservative and ran against the Dem incumbent, who was corrupt as hell.

I'd be very surprised if the WH wasn't trying to get him to switch parties, especially since Club For Growth is searching for
someone to primary him. Cao was also recruited to counter the meme that the GOP was a party of white men. Fat lot of
good that did for the RNC via Michael Steele.

[hileeopnyn8d]

13. Remember when

elected officials could be honest like this, and it wasn't a career ender?

Okay, I'm not even sure if I remember that time. These days I'm just happy when Republicans don't lie and make things up, so when they actually tell the truth and even praise the administration, well then, I don't know how to react.

Cao is a Republican, but he's doing something that hasn't been seen in quite sometime from the GOP, hell for that matter the DNC. He is REPRESENTING his constituency.

[WI_DEM]

14. He should just switch sides he probably would have an easier time being re-elected

as a Dem anyway.