Why isn’t Sandy Obama’s Katrina?
Rabbi Shay Schachter, assistant rabbi at the Rockaways’ “White Shul” told me about the dire straits his community was in in the first nine days after the storm struck. FEMA only arrived the following Tuesday after the storm and initially had to rely on local relief groups like the Long Island JCC for information. Rabbi Schachter had been running groups of local students and volunteers into three 17-story buildings in his community, filled largely with poor and elderly residents. He told me that when they first arrived five days after the storm bringing food and water to residents “[they] looked at us like they haven’t seen food in five years.” Schachter was asked by many residents about how they could receive medical attention, medication and access to dialysis machines while trapped in their highrise apartments without working elevators. Before FEMA took over the building’s care a full ten days after the storm hit, one FEMA official told Schachter that he was certain they would find dead bodies inside, as elderly residents inside had no heat, food, or medical care.
After the storm, before the election, the only public discussion regarding FEMA centered around Mitt Romney’s statements during a GOP primary debate, which were misinterpreted and misrepresented to suggest he wanted to abolish FEMA. Romney came under fire for the remarks and unfortunately, as Jonathan pointed out the day before the election, little political attention has been paid to FEMA’s undeniably slow response to Sandy. The logic of Romney’s suggestion that FEMA cannot (and has not in the past) promptly offer relief to victims of natural and man-made disasters in the U.S. has yet to be discussed in the media or by government officials. More than two weeks after the storm, the situation is growing increasingly dire for residents of the Rockaways as temperatures plummet.









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Because Bammie is a god?
envycat on November 15, 2012 at 7:42 PM
Why? Because he’s not a Republican. Duh.
Stu Gotts on November 15, 2012 at 7:45 PM
The media cant criticize the Emperor God-King when their collective mouths are full of…
Jeddite on November 15, 2012 at 7:46 PM
Because the Media has ordained it not to be so.
michaelo on November 15, 2012 at 7:46 PM
why oh why?
wait, this is not satire?
sesquipedalian on November 15, 2012 at 7:46 PM
Because Democrats/Leftists will always be forgiven failure because:
a) they mean well.
b) they’re always working for the Greater Good (leftism) so any negative is merely a speed bump.
Dirt McGirt on November 15, 2012 at 7:46 PM
Allies in the press instead of enemies.
Makes all the difference.
cozmo on November 15, 2012 at 7:47 PM
Two words: “Old Media.”
Warner Todd Huston on November 15, 2012 at 7:47 PM
Because the leftists made Sandy political, and the Republicans just sat there and took the punches during Katrina.
If you won’t fight, you aren’t going to win.
sharrukin on November 15, 2012 at 7:51 PM
MSM
Silly question.
Almost as stupid as the one they asked McCain yesterday.
petefrt on November 15, 2012 at 7:51 PM
Because the Fourth Estate is the Fifth Column.
The Count on November 15, 2012 at 7:51 PM
Because Obama is a Democrat?
Browncoatone on November 15, 2012 at 7:51 PM
Right when Sandy hit, Obama addressed the nation, and said he wants to eliminate red tape as much as possible in the recovery from Sandy. For Obama, words create reality. Saying it makes it so. And besides that, it shows he cares. He wants to cut through the red tape, to bring more help to more people. That’s caring. The more government, the more it’s possible to cut through the red tape. See how that works?
Anyway … for Obama … words create reality.
Paul-Cincy on November 15, 2012 at 7:56 PM
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That’s a hilarious question!!!!!! I haven’t had a better laugh than this all day! Anyone that doesn’t know the answer to this question needs to review the history of media hatred and defenseless targets back to , oh Nixon or thereabouts.
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I agree that it needs to be brought up over and over,” day after day, and maybe after two years or so the population that votes will understand that media, with a few exceptions, has been co-opted by leftists and liberals, does the bidding of the Democrat Party (nothing else explains Joe “BFD” Biden), and owes its influence to the promotion of identity politics and the promotion of victimization and Politically Correct Speech and Behavior. One cannot say “Obama doesn’t care about white” people because he is half white, genetically.
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Of course, the liberal media is racist as all get out but they won’t admit that either.
ExpressoBold on November 15, 2012 at 8:00 PM
Pro-Obama media bias. It’s really not that complicated.
bluegill on November 15, 2012 at 8:02 PM
Because our media is corrupt and needs to be bankrupted by honest, truth-seeking Americans.
Punchenko on November 15, 2012 at 8:06 PM
are you denying the differential in treatment bw Sandy and Katrina by the statist-media-complex?
Firefly_76 on November 15, 2012 at 8:06 PM
Because the response has been better, because local politicians are supporting Obama, diminishing the story, and because Obama didn’t do dumb as rocks stuff like fly over in Air Force One looking concerned and saying that Brownie is doing a heckuva job.
Bottom line: Bush’s FEMA handled the disaster worse and Bush inflicted brutal PR wounds on himself.
Also, scandals work best when they play to preconceptions. After screwing up two wars, Bush was seen as an incompetent bungler who didn’t give a rat’s a** about poor people. Katrina confirmed that.
urban elitist on November 15, 2012 at 8:09 PM
urban elitist on November 15, 2012 at 8:09 PM
you brain-washed bufoon. rattling off talking points. the msm gives the bamster a hummer every time he appears in public.
is that a pearl necklace your wearing homey?
renalin on November 15, 2012 at 8:13 PM
If you don’t want a real answer, don’t ask the question. FEMA punted Katrina and Bush compounded the damage by his clueless behavior, which played to type.
urban elitist on November 15, 2012 at 8:22 PM
Soetero could fire a gun in between the eyes of somebody’s pet poodle on live TV at his next State of the Union address, and then eat the damn thing, and nobody would say a critical word about him the next day.
Down is up with this S O B. It’s one effed up world we live in now.
Right Mover on November 15, 2012 at 8:22 PM
Look, it’s totally unrealistic to expect New York-based news organizations to find someplace as remote as Staten Island.
Mr. D on November 15, 2012 at 8:23 PM
Really? How? Katrina was more powerful and killed more people, but in the aftermath FEMA’s performance has been remarkably similar — that is to say poor.
No, Obama flew into town in a bomber jacket and spouted platitudes for the cameras. Then promptly flew out to play golf. Completely different /s
Are you capable of any objectivity?
Firefly_76 on November 15, 2012 at 8:23 PM
It is but the legacy media outlets are subversive organizations….
d1carter on November 15, 2012 at 8:23 PM
You have to ask?
Resist We Much on November 15, 2012 at 8:23 PM
It is only his Katrina to the people who are living it. The press has this rainbows and unicorn picture of Obama and his all knowing and all caring down pat. Nothing to see here, move along people…
The only people who had an issue in Katrina were the ones in New Orleans. They can thank their then Governor, for that one. Haley Barbara is far from perfect and I dont even really like the man but he did a fine job for us in Mississippi. Our national guard, local and state governments, the private sector (from all over the country) and other state governments brought in tremendous help that we will forever be grateful. For that matter, President Bush did a great deal for us by just tossing out the red tap so the private sector and state government could get on with what had to be done.
I feel for those people and doubly so because they are the hands of a federal and state government that dont know how to deal with “hurricanes” in the classic sense. We are use to them, hell I can do the check list in my sleep.
A great deal of us that got a helping hand from generous and kind people (from all over the country and world), including those affected now are gathering up everything we think might come in handy and sending it as fast as we can.
It is going to be a long road for them.
Tilly on November 15, 2012 at 8:24 PM
You sure are useful. Pathetic.
CW on November 15, 2012 at 8:24 PM
Evidently, you don’t live here or you wouldn’t make such an ignorant statement.
Resist We Much on November 15, 2012 at 8:26 PM
has anyone noticed that Obama is black?
tom daschle concerned on November 15, 2012 at 8:27 PM
Because he is a black D dummy.
Schadenfreude on November 15, 2012 at 8:29 PM
Your ignorance would be stunning if it wasn’t so expected. Bushes response to Katrina was much better than Obama’s response to Sandy.
Count to 10 on November 15, 2012 at 8:29 PM
Intelligence is indignant. You can’t have more than two braincells in that box.
Schadenfreude on November 15, 2012 at 8:30 PM
A whitey doesn’t jump the hoops to bail out welfare blacks with an incompetent mayor- the horror.
Black rat-eared dog eating pResident does the same performance for white NY’ers? He’s a God.
You libs are racist. End of story.
wolly4321 on November 15, 2012 at 8:31 PM
Oh, and btw, I seem to recall
severe ice storms in Appalachia
floods in Tennessee, and
tornados in the south-midwest
killing hundreds of people. I don’t recall Obama doing much of squat after those events. But Bush just didn’t care about black people, apparently.
Firefly_76 on November 15, 2012 at 8:31 PM
Obama cancelled campaign stops, made bipartisan love to a Republican governor, and generally looked like he was president.
Bush looked annoyed to have been called home early from his vacation.
And the pictures from New Orleans were far more horrific, all politics aside, which makes a better story.
Ultimately, TriBeCa having a power outage is not the same as people being pulled of rooftops in the Lower 9th. I talked to a friend the other day who lives downtown. It wasn’t nearly the disaster that New Orleans experienced.
urban elitist on November 15, 2012 at 8:32 PM
yeah. He did a heck of a job.
urban elitist on November 15, 2012 at 8:32 PM
urban elitist on November 15, 2012 at 8:09 PM
How very conveniently you left out the black/D mayor of NO and the D governor, an utter dummy of the time.
Schadenfreude on November 15, 2012 at 8:32 PM
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Complicated lie to respond to a simple question. You have no option than to continue the pre-conceived misconceptions about President Bush and his fine presidency (4.6 unemployment rate, effective counter-terrorism infrastructure and policies still in place and expanded by lazy, clueless successor, and unheralded, virtually unrecognized public health initiative vis-a-vis HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa) because Democrat liberal orthodoxy demands it and because you are mostly a narrow-minded bigot.
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I hope the second Ø presidency rewards you as you should be rewarded – that will be sure justice, loser.
ExpressoBold on November 15, 2012 at 8:32 PM
I love you.
urban elitist on November 15, 2012 at 8:33 PM
Two words: Democrat Brotha’…
affenhauer on November 15, 2012 at 8:33 PM
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THAT WAS HILARIOUS !!!!!!!!!
ExpressoBold on November 15, 2012 at 8:35 PM
I thought we were talking politics here, not practical disaster relief. And, even given that the mayor – I blame the governor less — was a moron, that didn’t make Bush’s response any better.
Although Republican Governor Chris Christie didn’t necessarily distinguish himself, either.
urban elitist on November 15, 2012 at 8:36 PM
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Isn’t that like landing on an aircraft carrier in a flight suit and a flight jacket?
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Why, yes, EB, yes it is!
ExpressoBold on November 15, 2012 at 8:37 PM
New Orleans was a cat 5, dipwad. In a city below sea level.
And yes,, I called you a racist.
wolly4321 on November 15, 2012 at 8:37 PM
Urban fellatist gets much more milage out of those blinders than they’re rated…
affenhauer on November 15, 2012 at 8:38 PM
urban elitist on November 15, 2012 at 8:36 PM
None of them distinguished themselves. Obama made an appearance in the past, photo-op in ‘fighter’ jacket – the azz neither knows how to fly, nor how to shoot…then went to Vegas. Yes, politics and all other…he’s an utter disaster. I’d be ashamed of him, alas. You guys have no shame and no standards. YOU are the ultimate racists. To expect so little of the first half black president is very racist.
Your expectations are very low.
Schadenfreude on November 15, 2012 at 8:39 PM
On what grounds? I feel strongly that you’re projecting.
urban elitist on November 15, 2012 at 8:40 PM
Not exactly sure where you live but you dont live where Katrina hit and did not live it, otherwise you would stop parroting the Daily Kos…
Or you were being held hostage by Kathleen Blanco for the duration of the hurricane and the aftermath…
Go smoke another joint and finish uncle toms cabin would you…
Tilly on November 15, 2012 at 8:40 PM
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He’s only black from an external perspective. Genetically, he is “mulatto” or mixed race which has got to be a conundrum to a person of average intellect, like Hussein.
ExpressoBold on November 15, 2012 at 8:42 PM
It is fascinating to watch with what rapidity the national stupidity of the USA increases.
Schadenfreude on November 15, 2012 at 8:43 PM
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