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| Delicate Mix of Compassion and Politics as Obama Heads to Louisiana Floods | Delicate Mix of Compassion and Politics as Obama Heads to Louisiana Floods |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| WASHINGTON — Nearly 11 years to the day after a hurricane devastated New Orleans, a president will visit flood victims in Louisiana — once again at a fraught political moment. | WASHINGTON — Nearly 11 years to the day after a hurricane devastated New Orleans, a president will visit flood victims in Louisiana — once again at a fraught political moment. |
| President Obama landed in Baton Rouge on Tuesday to see the devastation left by historic flooding in the past week, and to demonstrate, in part by his presence, that the federal government will deliver help to those who lost everything. He was met on the tarmac by the governor and lieutenant governor and other officials. | |
| Local and state officials from both political parties have praised the federal response in Baton Rouge, drawing a sharp contrast with the much-criticized delays by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser of Louisiana, a Republican who frequently criticizes Mr. Obama, said in an interview that federal officials had done “an excellent job” responding to the floods. “They’ve gotten good at it, and they actually do care,” he said. | Local and state officials from both political parties have praised the federal response in Baton Rouge, drawing a sharp contrast with the much-criticized delays by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser of Louisiana, a Republican who frequently criticizes Mr. Obama, said in an interview that federal officials had done “an excellent job” responding to the floods. “They’ve gotten good at it, and they actually do care,” he said. |
| But Mr. Obama arrived four days after Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, visited flood-ravaged areas around Baton Rouge, and some Republicans and distraught locals have criticized the president, who was vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard this month, for waiting more than a week to visit the tens of thousands of residents affected by the floods. More than 7,000 people were forced into 37 shelters across a vast stretch of the state by the rainfall, which has been blamed for 17 deaths. | |
| “If the president can interrupt his vacation for a swanky fund-raiser for fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, as he did on Monday, then surely he can make time to show up for a catastrophe that’s displaced thousands,” The Advocate, a local newspaper, wrote in an editorial last week. | “If the president can interrupt his vacation for a swanky fund-raiser for fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, as he did on Monday, then surely he can make time to show up for a catastrophe that’s displaced thousands,” The Advocate, a local newspaper, wrote in an editorial last week. |
| Mr. Obama will receive a briefing from federal officials, state and local politicians, and emergency workers in the area. He also plans to tour East Baton Rouge parish, one of the area’s affected communities, and meet with people whose homes have been lost to the fast-rising waters. | |
| In the long run, the success of Mr. Obama’s visit will be judged in two different contexts: first, the political imagery that has become a vital part of White House planning since President George W. Bush was photographed gazing down on New Orleans from Air Force One, and second, the gritty reality on the ground for people struggling to rebuild. | In the long run, the success of Mr. Obama’s visit will be judged in two different contexts: first, the political imagery that has become a vital part of White House planning since President George W. Bush was photographed gazing down on New Orleans from Air Force One, and second, the gritty reality on the ground for people struggling to rebuild. |
| The White House has spent much of the past eight years trying to focus on disaster recovery for ordinary residents. In 2009, when Mr. Obama made his first visit to New Orleans as president, he recognized the impatience of those affected by the hurricane and promised that “we are working as hard as we can, as quickly as we can” to help Katrina victims. | The White House has spent much of the past eight years trying to focus on disaster recovery for ordinary residents. In 2009, when Mr. Obama made his first visit to New Orleans as president, he recognized the impatience of those affected by the hurricane and promised that “we are working as hard as we can, as quickly as we can” to help Katrina victims. |
| That led to a yearslong effort to overhaul FEMA. Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, praised W. Craig Fugate, the agency’s administrator, on Monday for improving the federal government’s relationships with state emergency officials across the country. | That led to a yearslong effort to overhaul FEMA. Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, praised W. Craig Fugate, the agency’s administrator, on Monday for improving the federal government’s relationships with state emergency officials across the country. |
| “In some ways, that is a vestige of Hurricane Katrina, but certainly one that the people of Louisiana benefit from,” Mr. Earnest said, adding that the lesson of the 2005 hurricane is “to focus on what steps the federal government can take to support the state and local officials who have the primary responsibility for responding to disaster situations like this.” | “In some ways, that is a vestige of Hurricane Katrina, but certainly one that the people of Louisiana benefit from,” Mr. Earnest said, adding that the lesson of the 2005 hurricane is “to focus on what steps the federal government can take to support the state and local officials who have the primary responsibility for responding to disaster situations like this.” |
| Mr. Obama’s challenge is to deliver help to residents while effectively managing what Mr. Earnest called the “all-too-common temptation to focus on the politics and to focus on the optics.” | Mr. Obama’s challenge is to deliver help to residents while effectively managing what Mr. Earnest called the “all-too-common temptation to focus on the politics and to focus on the optics.” |
| As a candidate in 2008, Mr. Obama was eager to focus on the politics of Mr. Bush’s flyover of New Orleans, denouncing him during a rally for being “a president who only saw the people from the window of an airplane instead of down here on the ground, trying to provide comfort and aid.” | As a candidate in 2008, Mr. Obama was eager to focus on the politics of Mr. Bush’s flyover of New Orleans, denouncing him during a rally for being “a president who only saw the people from the window of an airplane instead of down here on the ground, trying to provide comfort and aid.” |
| Now the spotlight has shifted to Mr. Obama’s actions. While the precise location of the president’s visit is being withheld for security reasons, White House officials were quick to say on Monday that Mr. Obama would be “on the ground,” not just flying over the floodwaters. | Now the spotlight has shifted to Mr. Obama’s actions. While the precise location of the president’s visit is being withheld for security reasons, White House officials were quick to say on Monday that Mr. Obama would be “on the ground,” not just flying over the floodwaters. |
| But politics can be tricky when it comes to Louisiana disasters. At one point, Mr. Earnest offered effusive praise of Mr. Fugate, practically inviting a comparison to Mr. Bush’s comment soon after Katrina struck that Michael D. Brown, the FEMA administrator at the time, was doing “a heck of a job.” | But politics can be tricky when it comes to Louisiana disasters. At one point, Mr. Earnest offered effusive praise of Mr. Fugate, practically inviting a comparison to Mr. Bush’s comment soon after Katrina struck that Michael D. Brown, the FEMA administrator at the time, was doing “a heck of a job.” |
| “It sounds like you’re saying, ‘Heck of a job, Craig Fugate,’” a reporter told Mr. Earnest, who quickly sensed the potential political danger. | “It sounds like you’re saying, ‘Heck of a job, Craig Fugate,’” a reporter told Mr. Earnest, who quickly sensed the potential political danger. |
| “I think it sounds like Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, a colorful, noted Obama critic and the highest-ranking Republican official in Louisiana, is saying that FEMA and Administrator Fugate have done an excellent job in supporting the people of Louisiana in their time of need,” Mr. Earnest said. | “I think it sounds like Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, a colorful, noted Obama critic and the highest-ranking Republican official in Louisiana, is saying that FEMA and Administrator Fugate have done an excellent job in supporting the people of Louisiana in their time of need,” Mr. Earnest said. |