When Air Force One flew over New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and a picture of George W. Bush looking out the window got released to the press, Bush was pilloried for not showing more concern for the flooded and battered victims in the city below. Last week, when Air Force One flew over the flooded Mississippi River, where thousands of people struggle to survive in the disaster area, no one got a picture of Barack Obama looking out the window as he flew to two Texas fundraisers. And there’s a reason for that:

President Obama doesn’t seem to have even peered out his Air Force One window to view the swelling Mississippi, a minimal show of interest for which George W. Bush was pilloried when he took a peek at the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. At least Bush bothered to look.

Obama is traveling today OVER the devastation being wrought by the Mississippi in order to get to events in Texas, where he will rally his Hispanic supporters with a speech on immigration in El Paso and then head to the Lone Star state’s liberal bastion of Austin for two fundraisers.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, who spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One, was asked whether Obama had bothered to get a view from above.

“I haven’t seen him do that but I haven’t been with him for the full flight so far,” Carney said.

Well, it certainly doesn’t sound like they were on the lookout for it, and it’s clear the plane is not intentionally headed over a particularly devastated area for a look-see.

Hey, don’t feel too bad in the flood plain, people.  Air Force One flew over the massive fires in Texas, and Obama didn’t bother to look at that either, although Keith Koffler reports that journalists could see the smoke from the airplane.

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!