GOP Tries to Hide Behind Hurricane

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I just flipped on the television and saw President Bush in some bunker in Texas, walking around shaking hands and congratulating everyone in the vicinity on the great job they were doing about Hurricane Gustav. It was a near-perfect replay of that wonderful moment on the Mississippi tarmac when Bush uttered his immortal line, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”

I heard one report say the President might address the nation tomorrow night about Gustav. There’s no question Gustav is a significant storm, but so far it’s not shaping up into another Katrina. That could change, of course. But I think the GOP might over-do the concern act. People haven’t forgotten Katrina. People understand there’s an election coming.

Hurricane Gustav presented the GOP with a perfect reason to keep the POTUS and VPOTUS out of St. Paul. Instead, the GOP is using the convention to put on a great show of concern. They are already raising money for hurricane “victims,” for example, assuming there are any. Maybe the money could be sent to Katrina victims still waiting for help.

Today McCain and running mate Sarah Palin are in Mississippi pretending to be Doing Something and getting their pictures taken. Oh, and McCain accused Obama of “playing politics” with the hurricane.

The lesson, children, is that if you’re going to be hit by a natural disaster during a Republican administration, be sure it’s close to election time. Otherwise, you are SOL.

Stuff to read —

Mother Jones, “John McCain’s Miserable Record on Hurricane Katrina”

Paul Krugman, “John, Don’t Go”

Mike Madden, “Bush, McCain and the GOP try to dodge Katrina 2.0”

6 thoughts on “GOP Tries to Hide Behind Hurricane”

  2. In the meantime, where is Team Obama?

    The main page of Obama’s website is directing people to hurricane relief:

    http://www.barackobama.com/index.php

    Let’s not forget that Obama and McCain are still just candidates at this stage, and the situation won’t be helped by them falling over each other to be first on the scene the minute the winds die down.

    As of my writing this, the storm is still raging, and the media is focusing on it rather than the election. IMO, until the full extent of the damage is known and first-responders are allowed to do their work, the candidates should step back. I’ve seen several criticisms of McCain today, for going to (or wanting to go to) the disaster zone. (I’m not sure where McCain is at any given time, mentally or physically.) I’m sure Obama has enough sense to stay away.

  3. Moonbat-Stuart Shepard’s prayer for rain at Obama’s nomination, and the consequent delay of the Republican National Convention is an example of karma in action…One thing that hasn’t been reported in the national press is about the pre-convention detention of political protesters, although the press is knocking itself out over Bristol Palin’s pregnancy.

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