Obama's "Katrina" Moment? [Reader Post]

As the Mississippi River flooding continues, New Orleans, directly on the river, is in the path of flooding. Water is water, regardless of its source. Whether it comes from a flood or a hurricane (Katrina comes to mind), it damages.

Do you remember how President George W. Bush was castigated by the MSM after Hurricane Katrina? He was hit hardest by (the late) Tim Russert, Wolf Blitzer, Keith Olbermann, Brian Williams, and Jack Cafferty.

You can follow this link to be reminded of how the MSM blamed Bush.

The operative question now is:

Will President Barack Obama get the same MSM treatment (that Bush got) when the flooding in New Orleans from the swollen Mississippi River finally reaches New Orleans? Will the MSM tell us what Obama's plan of action is?

We see that Obama signed documents to make money available in Tennessee and Arkansas, but he remained in Washington D.C. to do so. Bush was excoriated by the MSM for not arriving on the disaster scene soon enough. Are we beginning to see a double-standard by the MSM?

On the morning of 10 May 11, I searched with Google and Bing for flood preparations in New Orleans. Some of the links I found are cited below.

• Christian Science Monitor
• Christian Science Monitor
• CBS News
• ABC News
• Discovery
• Bloomberg News

As you can see, there is no plan to be found – only pictures and words. Obama's disaster plan for New Orleans in particular and Louisiana in general does not look too promising.

From this link on 10 May 11, I found this quote:

In Washington, D.C., the Obama administration has granted only a partial disaster declaration for Louisiana, rather than the full declaration Jindal initially sought. The partial declaration allows state and local governments to receive direct federal supplies, but a full declaration is necessary for state and local entities to get up to 75 percent reimbursement for its expenses related to flood control. The Federal Emergency Management Agency could later expand the declaration. Jindal said he is seeking an immediate appeal, nonetheless.(emphasis mine)

This link will take you to another article that states, among other things, the following fact that the MSM also conveniently forgot to mention:

Before Katrina hit, President Bush called Governor Blanco and offered to federalize the Louisiana Guard. In cases of local emergency, governors must request such action. Governor Blanco waited 24 hours before saying “no” to the president's offer. She made that decision because federalized Guard units cannot be used for law enforcement and the governor wanted to preserve that option. But then she failed to use it.

Will Obama come up with a disaster relief plan? Will he visit (in a timely manner, whatever that is) the disaster sites? Will the MSM treat him the same way they treated Bush? Only time will tell.

On May 12th I searched again. Here is what I found:

• From New Zeland, no less: link
• From the New York Times: link
• From the AP: Obama in El Paso, still have not found link to what he plans to do in New Orleans
• From Newsmax.com: Obama on his way to El Paso

On May 14th:

• From FEMA I found a flood planning document. Lots of good questions and advice, but no specific answers.
• Here is another FEMA flood checklist, but again no specifics.
• Here is a link to the state of Louisiana's Disaster plan, but nothing (I can find) about flooding.
• I found Mayor Nagin's (updated in 2006) hurricane evacuation plan, but nothing about a flood.
• Here is an article I found about Govenor Bobby Jindal andNew Orleans preparations, but not a word about what Obama is doing or about what the federal government is specifically planning.
• From WDSU in New Orleans, a flood check list, but again not a word about what Obama is doing or about what the federal government is specifically planning.
• Here is an article about Obama speaking to flood victims in Memphis, but that is NOT why he is going to Memphis. Does the MSM castigate him? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…

May 16th:

• This article shows Obama meeting with Memphis residents before speaking at a high school commencement address, the reason why he was in Memphis. Yet the “Huffington Post” titles the artcle: “Mississippi River Floods: Obama In Memphis To Meet With Victims”.
• This article tells what is happening to protect Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
• Here is an article about people ignoring evacuation orders from St. Landry Parish President Don Menard.
• Here is an article about people on the Atchafalaya River heeding evacuation warning.
• This article annnounces that President Obama has declared an emergency for Louisiana, but not one word about his plans (if he has any) to visit Louisiana.
• All I can find about Obama and his visit(s) to Mississippi River flood victims is this article from San Francisco, entitled: “Obama to view Tennessee flood damage”.
• Here is an article about snubbing Rhode Island flood victims in April, 2010. Did we hear about it in the MSM? Noooooooooooooooooooooo. I searched Obama's visit to the Rhode Island flooding victims, but found nothing.
• Here is an article about Obama ignoring Tennessee flood in May, 2010, but did we hear about it in the MSM? Noooooooooooooooooooooo. Again, searches turned up nothing.
• Here is another article about Obama ignored Nashville and Tennessee.

May 17th

Here is an article, the first I've found, that says Bobby Jindal is “warmer” on Obama's flood efforts. The article is entitled, “Bobby Jindal praises President Obama on flood response” but nowhere in the article does Jindal praise Obama.

May 20th

• This article talks about Vicksburg and Talulah on the Louisiana side of the river.
• Here are some incredible pictures of what people, who do not wait on the government (of any level), can do.

May 23rd

• This article talks about tornados in Missouri, flooding along the Mssissippi River, and Obama in Ireland (BTW, not a word from Obama about tornado victims).
• This article talks (only) about Obama's concern for natural disasters.

Are we beginning to see a double standard here?

But that's just my opinion.