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Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
President Barack Obama, center, meets with local residents during his tour of the Bridgewood neighborhood in LaPlace, La., in Saint John the Baptist Parish, as he tours the area to survey the ongoing response and recovery efforts to Hurricane Isaac on Monday.
NEW ORLEANS, La. – At the end of a four-day trip filled with campaign events, President Barack Obama put politics aside to visit a Louisiana town hit by Hurricane Isaac and talk with local officials about the recovery effort.
In brief remarks after touring part of the town of LaPlace in St. John the Baptist Parish, the president said he was impressed by the resiliency of the residents.
“There is enormous faith here, enormous strength here you can see it in these families,” he said. “They were just devastated a few days ago and they're already smiling and laughing,” he said.
Residents struggle with the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac, which has left behind feet of standing water. In Louisiana, about 2,500 people are still in shelters. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reports.
Local reports say St. John the Baptist Parish experienced up to 18 inches of floodwater from the hurricane, an unprecedented level of flooding for the parish, according to an administration official.
Before his tour of the neighborhood, the president was briefed by local parish officials about the situation in the area and noted that the biggest concern was helping those who had been displaced.
“Obviously, right now we’re still in recovery mode,” he said.
Obama was accompanied by Republican Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who met him at the airport alongside a bipartisan group that included New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Sens. Mary Landrieu and David Vitter, Reps. Cedric Richmond and Jeff Landry and FEMA administrator Craig Fugate.
Thanking the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Obama subtly referred to the recovery efforts to mitigate the damage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 under former President George W. Bush, which were widely viewed as a failure.
“In the past we sometimes haven’t seen the kind of coordination needed for these kinds of disasters,” Obama said.
But he also emphasized that this type of natural disaster transcends political labels.
“When disasters like this happen we set aside whatever petty disagreements we might have,” Obama said. “Nobody’s a Democrat or a Republican.”
The president returns to Washington, D.C. on Monday evening. He heads Tuesday to Norfolk, Va. for a campaign event.
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Romney visited last week while Obama was in his perpetual campaign mode. Obama has left the whole country a disaster area.
Romney's only job is to run for President. Obama actually is the President, and visiting disaster areas, while nice, doesn't really help much.
Mitt's visit was a photo-op, and he interfered with Search and Rescue. To top it off, he asked the Search and Rescue team, and the Mayor of New Orleans "Where did all this water come from?"
The look on the mayor's face was priceless, and the S & R team just walked away.
Obama had to good sense to wait until Monday and allow S&R to do their jobs. Wasn't it the last GOP president who did a "flyover" New Orleans after 6 days during Katrina?
For heaven's sake, people. Since when does the President of the United States step in and personally run multinational companies? As long as jobs are outsorced (which is, and will continue to be legal regardless of who is president) and as long as people are unemployed or underemployed (which has to do with the employers) people will spend less money in this country.
The only way the President can personally increase employment is if he pursuades Congress to increase government spending by hiring more government workers, or by letting out more government contracts (war, anyone?). At the same time, the US governement needs to increase revenues (taxes) and reduce expenses (contractors, military spending and such.) And that only happens when Congress enacts and approves a budget or legislation.
Then why did Obama buy GM and Chrysler?
HAHAHA... I'm surprised he showed up... Romney once again beat him to the punch and its because of Romney that Obama even bothered to go there... this FRAUD is SOOOO out of touch with what is important in America...
RR 2012
.
GO SEE 2016 for our children and America...
When Romney showed up for his photo op with Jindal since he couldn't be there. Why don't you ask the woman Romney talked to when she said I just lost everything and Romney told her there is assistance out there why don't you go home and call 211, really go home to what? What part of the conversation he didn't hear I just lost everything?
Mitt's visit was a photo-op, and he interfered with Search and Rescue. To top it off, he asked the Search and Rescue team, and the Mayor of New Orleans "Where did all this water come from?"
The look on the mayor's face was priceless, and the S & R team just walked away.
Obama had to good sense to wait until Monday and allow S&R to do their jobs. Wasn't it the last GOP president who did a "flyover" New Orleans after 6 days during Katrina?
REPUBLICANS:
NO to jobs
NO to disaster recovery
NO to the middle class
NO to high-speed rail
NO to veterans
NO to health care
NO to the unemployed
NO to students
NO to seniors
NO to choice
NO to the poor
NO to ga.ys and les.bi.ans
NO to science
NO to children
NO to the homeless
NO to equality
NO to teachers, police, firemen, and first responders
NO to corporate oversight and regulation
NO to responsibility
NO to voters rights
YES to tax increases on the middle class
YES to the corporate welfare
YES to the super rich
YES to Wall Street
YES to Big Oil
YES to Big Pharma
YES to Big Insurance
YES to peeking in your bedroom
YES TO VOTER SUPRESSION
No kidding.
Mitt's visit was a photo-op, and he interfered with Search and Rescue. To top it off, he asked the Search and Rescue team, and the Mayor of New Orleans "Where did all this water come from?"
The look on the mayor's face was priceless, and the S & R team just walked away.
Obama had to good sense to wait until Monday and allow S&R to do their jobs. Wasn't it the last GOP president who did a "flyover" New Orleans after 6 days during Katrina?
Romney is just there for a photo shoot with Jindal. The President has been back and forth checking with his FEMA director. The President was the one who got the troops on the ground before the storm. He was talking to everyone to get things in order , before the storm hit, a lot more proactive than Bush during Katrina. He released the funds for the state of emergency that Jindal asked for , got and will deny. The President was in contact with all the people involved in cleaning up this mess left behind.
I find it quite interesting...
Katrina lasted 48 hours and 7 years later, they are still cleaning up and rebuilding.
George W lasted 8 years, and 3 1/2 years later the Republicans are complaining that Obama has not finished cleaning up and rebuilding.
Strange math the Republicans use.
Exactly say what. Bush left us in the gutter and what are we supposed to do stay there no! The President has been working everyday to get the country back on track. But it's never enough for them.
Do you know how to tell Romney from a leech?
One is an ugly, slimy, bloodsucking, disgusting creature, and the other is a harmless earthworm like animal.
This is merely a description of every politician regardless of party affiliation.
The U.S. will always be a storng ally of Israel. Case closed. Go find out why Paul Ryan lied about running a marathon in less than 3 hours. That should be more of a concern for Jews who think Obama has thrown Israel under a bus.
If Romney should get the chance to repeal ObamaCare, it would PROVE that Romney DON"T care!
Gotta love Biden...he tells it like it is:
GM IS ALIVE......BIN LADEN IS DEAD (great bumper sticker!!)
General Motors said today that it plans to release its next earnings report on Oct. 31, setting up the company's third-quarter performance to become a talking point in the last week of the presidential campaign. Election Day is Nov. 6.
A good financial report could be further ammunition for President Obama, who has repeatedly said he "saved" GM with the 2009 bailout.
Analysts are projecting solid profits in North America and more losses in Europe, where a sovereign debt crisis is pummeling the economy.
x
538blog:
Electoral Votes: Obama 308.2 Romney 229.8
Chance of Winning: Obama 74.8 Romney 25.2
Popular Vote: Obama 51.1 Romney 47.8
Sorry, Mittens, back to your Prancing Pony!
I hope you all got to hear the keynote speaker at the DNC, Julian Castro. He gave a
magnificent speech, no rhetoric, and best of all, no lies. He talked about America's
future, not the past.
Talk about enthusiam! The arena is alive and rocking! Not like the stuffy GOP
convention last week.
Beware GOP...this man is a future US President.....VP to Hillary in 2016, and on to
the presidency. He is warm, personable, enthusiastic, and honest, with integrity
genuine concern. Not at all a Paul Ryan or Mitt Romney, THANK YOU LORD!!!
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012
Every commentator, on every outlet, is raving about the speakers tonight at the DNC...Every one of them hit home runs, the Keynote Speaker, Julian Castro, and the First Lady, hit grand slams!
Clinton will hit another out of the park...as will Obama!
Two commentators mentioned that the election may very well have been won tonight.
Honesty, integrity, no name-calling, they dealt with issues head-on....something the GOP did not do....abortion, women's rights, the economy, jobs, healthcare, education, you name it...all handled and handled well.
Of course, the haters, birthers, name-callers, those in denial, will all throw their BS against the wall, but. guess what? It isn't sticking. The GOP is in for very long 4 year wait to try again, and they better find a candidate with some quality....in 2016, they have Hillary and now Julian Castro to deal with!
OBAMA / BIDEN 2012
ROMNEY / RYAN 1912 (Like the Titanic)
You might be a republican if you believe that the rich are in more need of tax cuts than the poor are of food.
You might be a republican if you believe that the government should stay out of your life! Unless of course, it's at the doctor's office, at the church, in the bedroom, involves a restriction on guns, or a woman's body.
Republican values begin at conception, and end at birth.
You might be a republican if you believe that guns don't kill people, but never question why we spend 800 billion a year on the military.
You might be a republican if you are absolutely pro-life from the nano-second the man creates the sperm and the woman creates the ova, but as soon as the child is born, it is on it's own.
You might be a Republican if you're violently opposed to gay sex, yet have gay sex with every boy who'll stand still long enough.
538blog:
Another giant leap upward for President Obama.....
Electoral Votes: Obama 310.9 Romney 227.1
Chances of winning: Obama 76.3 Romney 23.7
Popular Vote: Obama 51.2 Romney 47.7
Republicans for Romney is like Roaches for Raid