Right Wing World: "Obama's Katrina"

 

[Hey, look, it's a Right Wing World trilogy! Moving on to other subjects after this, promise.]

It's interesting, with all of the disastrous things that happened during the George W. Bush administration, that it's Hurricane Katrina that gets called out the most. I guess it did sort of put a button on it, in a way. At the time, there was a lot of poo-pooing of liberal complaints about Katrina, of course. But it's almost universally acknowledged to have been a dark part of the Bush era. And ever since President Obama was inaugurated, Right Wing World has been trying to affix "Obama's Katrina" to virtually everything.

Remember when they used to stage photo ops for everything? This
image was intentionally presented as one, but came to be remembered
for the detachment of Bush during Katrina.

What kinds of things? Well, a) Healthcare.gov, b) Hurricane Sandy, c) BP Oil Spill, d) H1N1 flu vaccine shortage, e) Ft. Hood shootings, f) Haiti earthquake, g) Christmas Day Underwear Bomber, h) Chicago housing policies, i) the financial crisis that Bush left him, and--wait for it--j) Benghazi!!! And now, it's the children immigrant problem. All Katrinas. Apparently.

[Excerpt]

Media Consecrate Their Latest "Obama's Katrina": Unaccompanied Minors Edition

Right-wing and even mainstream media have eagerly pushed the suggestion that the recent increase in unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border is "Obama's Katrina" -- an inane comparison that repeatedly surfaces inside the conservative media echo chamber. . .

Read more at: Media Matters

Spill, Baby Spill: Obama's Katrina?

Before you swallow the current right-wing line that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is "Obama's Katrina," first. . .well, first think about it a little.  Katrina was a hurricane, of course, and as such gave days of advance warning.  The explosion in the Gulf was sudden and unexpected.  Also, in Katrina, people were dying in alarming numbers, seemingly with no assistance coming.  With the oil spill, the livelihoods of people, and the viability of natural habitats are affected.  It is a huge disaster, and will continue to be for a very, very long time.  But the two events aren't very analogous.

But forget all of that.  The timelines don't match.

[Excerpt]

Memo to media: Timeline contradicts "Obama's Katrina" claim



A timeline of events following the catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill belies the absurd media claim that the spill represents "Obama's Katrina."

April 20 (10 p.m.): Oil rig explosion. An April 21 ABCNews.com article reported, "An overnight explosion in the Gulf of Mexico rocked the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the Louisiana coast, sending spectacular bursts of flame into the sky. . .

Read the whole timeline at: Media Matters

Should Presidents Go on Vacation?

Yesterday, I posted a piece about how current Presidents always get blasted by the opposition for doing the very same thing their predecessors did. Well, today's faux outrage is no different. The right is now blasting President Obama for going on vacation in August. Hmm, what recent President did the same thing? And yes, there is the whole health care reform thing right now, which is important. As was the terrorism briefing George W. Bush got while on vacation right before 9/11. As was the threat presented by Hurricane Katrina, again while Bush was on vacay.
Conservatives don't like the health care thingy anyway, so what's the big deal? Doesn't matter, they'd find something to bitch about either way.

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Hurricane Gustav and Its Effect on GOP Convention

Photo from source, Raw Story

One of the cries you'll hear shouted when anything bad happens, is "let's not play politics." I would agree with that on principle, except for the fact that the request is never heeded. Everything is fodder for politics, and if one side sits it out, the other side will clobber them, right?

Well, this time the "bad thing" is another hurricane headed toward New Orleans. If Katrina had never happened--or if it had been handled differently--there would probably be no thought given to altering the style or substance of the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis next week.

But Katrina was bungled badly. Whether you're like my Mom ("Yeah, right, George Bush made Katrina happen?") and think that President Bush was not to blame for anything, or if you're like me, and think Katrina underlined and bold-faced the incompetency of the Bush Administration, I think everybody can admit that it didn't go at all well. And so, having your big party pep rally while a potential Katrina-type disaster is happening again--well, Karl Rove can't let that happen, without some creative response.

There have been rumors that the convention would be postponed, or that George Bush would cancel his speech. The story excerpted below paints a much more likely picture. The Republican National Convention had the potential to pale mightily against last weeks Democratic one. But what if you turned it into a big Hurricane telethon?

[Excerpt]

Will McCain turn RNC into telethon for hurricane victims?

A top aide in the McCain campaign said officials may turn the Republican National Convention into a service event to aid possible victims of a hurricane headed towards the Gulf Coast, CNN reported Saturday. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

John McCain's Puzzling Response to Hagee Question

Photo from source, Think Progress

Barack Obama has been taking crazy amounts of heat over his pastor's comments about America. I find it tedious and stupid, but the tedious and stupid seem to find it endlessly important (particularly Sean Hannity). Getting less attention is John McCain's affiliation with crazy holy-roller John Hagee.

Hagee is most well known for calling the Catholic Church "the great whore." Nice. But that ain't all. No, he also thinks that Hurrican Katrina was God's retribution for a scheduled gay pride parade that hadn't happened yet. And in Hagee's excitedly fevered imagination, this parade was going to be soooo gay, that the likes of it had never been seen. Umm, in New Orleans. . . ? Whatever, dude.

Anyway, Hagee not only said this, but when given a chance to back-peddle, he strongly reiterated them instead. Finally, John McCain is starting to get questioned about his eagerness seeking, obtaining, and keeping Hagee's endorsement. It's only fair, right? McCain's response was, shall we say, something less than extemporaneous.

[Excerpt]

McCain on Hagee’s Katrina comments: ‘It’s nonsense, it’s nonsense, it’s nonsense, it’s nonsense, it’s nonsense.’

"It’s nonsense, it’s nonsense, it’s nonsense, it’s nonsense, it’s nonsense. I dont have anything additional to say. It’s nonsense, it’s nonsense, it’s nonsense, I don’t have anything more to say…it’s nonsense. I reject it categorically."

I think Cindy needs to change his batteries or something. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

John McCain: Let 'Em Eat Cake?

Hey, this just occurred to me, though I am sure I'm late to the party. Remember the bit of a stink that was raised over George W. Bush's behaviour during the lead-up to and ultimate failing of the levees in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina? There was a famous photo of Bush strumming a guitar with country singer, Mark Wills, and then there was one of Bush cutting a birthday cake, celebrating a Senator's birthday.

I'd forgotten the details, but in a blinding flash of the obvious, I realized the Senator in question was none other than John McCain. Yeah, like I said, I'm late to the party (pun intended). But it's quite an image.

[Excerpt]


Flashback: As Katrina hit, McCain celebrated 69th birthday with Bush.

It was Aug. 29, McCain’s 69th birthday, and on the tarmac, Bush presented his old political rival with a cake. The two posed, holding the cake up for cameras, and within seconds, went their separate ways. The cake, melting in the 110-degree Arizona heat, was left behind, uneaten. . .

Read more at: Think Progress