Bush is Better than Clinton

Today the Daily Kos has a happy article about Katrina's impact on the US and how much he hates George Bush (no surprise here.) He thinks that Bush is ignoring the victims of the hurricane and is just out havin' a good ol' time.

First of all, George Bush is not on vacation. How can people really think that the President of the United States is ever on vacation? Sure, he's taking a few more mountain biking expeditions on his ranch (which, by the way, is not his vacation home, it's his only home) but it's not as if he's sitting around watching SportsCenter all day - he's the leader of the free world!

Anyway, the disaster in New Orleans reminds me of one of the largest natural disasters of the 20th century - the flood of 1993. Being an Iowan, I remember those weeks in the summer and how horrible it was for all that experienced it. In fact, the damage to Des Moines, Iowa left the most people without a supply of drinking water (over 250,000 for 19 days) until 2005 and hurricane Katrina.

My point is this, what do liberals want Bush to do? His presence in New Orleans won't save more lives, expediate the rebuilding process, or have any tangible benefit whatsoever. When Bill Clinton infamously showed up in Des Moine in 1993 (a publicity stunt at it's worst) he actually caused quite a stink with Iowans. I remember how the news reported the National Guard's disgust with Clinton's attempt to portray himself as the common man who was helping fellow Americans (from the Des Moine Register Archives):

Toward the end of his Des Moines visit, Clinton and his entourage halted the sandbag-filling operation at Fleur Drive for an hour or more. Clinton filled a sandbag or two, but the army of volunteers at the site quit working and started gawking.

No, not gawking at the President of the United States, gawking at the fact that his security had to halt the sandbagging the Guard was doing. For an hour.

The president's entourage and crush of onlookers created so much congestion that Penny Dawson had to wait before she could fill her gallon jugs at one of the water tanks. "I had hoped to see him. Now it's to the point where I just want the water," said Dawson.

Here's the full account of Clinton's publicity stunt in 1993:

When Clinton arrived on Fleur Drive he filled a few of the last empty sandbags left on the street.

A fresh shipment of 100,000 empty bags arrived shortly after Clinton did, but the truck carrying them wasn't allowed on the street until Clinton left. The National Guard soldiers driving the truck said they were forced to wait at the intersection of Bell Avenue and Fleur for nearly two hours.

For the hundreds of volunteers at the site, sandbagging ceased and sightseeing began during Clinton's stop. Instead of filling, tying, stacking, and loading sandbags as they had been doing Wednesday morning, the workers climbed to the top of the 10-foot-high pile of full sandbags in hopes of catching a glimpse of the president.

Satellite dishes lined the west side of Fleur and network anchormen milled through the crowd.
Clinton was handed a shovel. The crowd cheered as he filled a sandbag, some yelling the standard instruction to newcomers: "Three scoops."

Most of the crowd was happy to see Clinton, but Carol Fay of 6807 S.W. 15th St., sat dejectedly on a pile of sandbags behind the crowd. "I think it's a pain in the butt. We could have at least six trucks filled by now," she said. "We need workers; we don't need sightseers and interrupted time."

I'm glad that Bush isn't in New Orleans. I'm glad that he hasn't halted relief efforts to catch some attention from the press. I'm glad that he hasn't made early and unsubstantiated promises of relief without first getting the facts. Actually, I'm glad that the people of New Orleans have George Bush, and not Bill Clinton.