Day By Day August 30, 2010 – I Can Haz Understandingz
Day By Day by Chris Muir
President Obama traveled Sunday to New Orleans to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall on the Big Easy.
At the end of the First Family’s weeklong vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, Obama was met at the airport by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu (D), Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-La.) and Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.).
The president’s motorcade took a lunch break at the Parkway Bakery and Tavern, a 100-year-old restaurant in the Mid-City neighborhood. Katrina dumped six feet of water in the bar and 10 feet on the street. The restaurant was able to reopen 46 days after the hurricane struck, and the owners built the rear of the building 19 feet higher to prevent flooding damage.
Obama, who apologized for cutting in line at the restaurant, ordered a shrimp sandwich and mingled with customers.
“We’re still here and we’re just gonna keep on building. We’re going to keep on working, all right?” Obama said, according to reports.
Obama to the rescue?
Or is it all symbolism over substance?
Obama’s speech on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina addressed the rebuilding of New Orleans and his commitment to clean up the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but did not mention his administration’s decision to halt deepwater offshore exploration until Nov. 30.
The White House is reportedly considering an early end to the ban but Jindal wants to see a “greater sense of urgency” from the president. “The experts all agree, we can end this moratorium before six months,” he said. “Let’s put our people back to work.”
Jindal said he was going to meet on Monday with former Florida Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), who co-chairs the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling Commission, to make that point. The first-term governor said he’s fine with increased inspections of the rigs off Louisiana’s coast; “what we’re saying is, a one-size-fits-all moratorium doesn’t make sense.”
The President is good at playing to a crowd but when it comes to policy he votes PRESENT. That is his UNDERSTANDINGZ.
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