Mr. President, we know that you are determined to get that last summer vacation in before you leave office, but we join with the people of Louisiana and the people of California, and we encourage you to please come off of your vacation and visit the people in Louisiana who are suffering through a Katrina-like situation (that may last longer than Katrina), and visit the people of California who are going through hell on earth. –BCNN1 Editors
Now that the flood waters ravaging Louisiana are receding, it’s time for President Barack Obama to visit the most anguished state in the union.
Last week, as torrential rains brought death, destruction and misery to Louisiana, the president continued his vacation at Martha’s Vineyard, a playground for the posh and well-connected.
We’ve seen this story before in Louisiana, and we don’t deserve a sequel. In 2005, a fly-over by a vacationing President George W. Bush became a symbol of official neglect for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The current president was among those making political hay out of Bush’s aloofness.
Sometimes, presidential visits can get in the way of emergency response, doing more harm than good. But we don’t see that as a factor now that flood waters are subsiding, even if at an agonizing pace. It’s past time for the president to pay a personal visit, showing his solidarity with suffering Americans.
SOURCE: The Advocate Editorial
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