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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 2 hours 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. BATON ROUGE, LA. — Nearly 11 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, President Obama’s visit with flood victims in Louisiana on Tuesday came 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. Mr. Obama landed in Baton Rouge to see the devastation left by flooding in the last 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 Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana 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. Later, standing amid rubble in front of flooded homes, the president lamented that so many people’s lives were “upended” by the floodwaters that swept through communities with devastating force. But he praised the response and expressed optimism that the people of Baton Rouge would recover and thrive again.
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. “I know how resilient the people of Louisiana are and I know you will rebuild again,” Mr. Obama, dressed in a blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up, said after touring several homes. He pledged that the federal government would support the victims of the community for the long run. “These are some good people down here,” he said. “They got a lot of work to do and they shouldn’t have to do it alone.”
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 Katrina.
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. In a tweet on Tuesday, Mr. Trump mocked the president for failing to cut short his Martha’s Vineyard vacation last week. “President Obama should have gone to Louisiana days ago, instead of golfing. Too little, too late!” Mr. Trump wrote.
Some Republicans and distraught locals have also criticized the president, 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. Frustration over the president’s absence, merging with a widespread sense that the disaster has been unjustly overshadowed in media coverage of the Summer Olympics and the presidential election, has ranged from the hot anger of The Advocate editorial to a more subdued disappointment.
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. “When there’s a crisis anywhere and the federal government’s involved there needs to be a presence,” said Evita Couvillion, 59, whose props, sets and books from her 35 years as a school drama teacher were piled in black bags out in front of her flood-ruined home in Baton Rouge. She said she had not watched much news since her rescue on a boat a week and a half ago, but saw the negativity across Facebook.
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. Officials should come in and roll up their sleeves and help, not just stay for a photo op, she said. “I’m thankful that they’re here,” she added of the presidential visit, but of the three hours scheduled, added: “That doesn’t seem like much.”
Florence Lucas, 79, was in an unusually disadvantaged position to judge the government’s response, having lost everything in Hurricane Betsy in 1965, lost her home during Katrina and then had her home flooded this summer. She stood in the kitchen as a construction worker discussed the rebuilding timeline, a needlepoint Home Sweet Home sign still hanging above the door to the hallway.
“Politics should be out of this,” Ms. Lucas said, adding that an earlier visit by the president would have just complicated the work of local responders and police. “What can he do? He can’t come and get rid of the water.”
Mr. Obama received a briefing from federal officials, state and local politicians, and emergency workers in the area and toured East Baton Rouge parish, one of the area’s affected communities, and met with people whose homes have been lost to the waters.
Mr. Edwards, a Democrat, issued a statement after meeting with the president saying that he had formally requested additional help for his state.
“While we do not doubt the ability of our citizens to recover, we need the help of the federal government,” Mr. Edwards said in the statement. Mr. Edwards, who had urged the president not to visit the state when the rescue operation was in full swing, said the federal government so far has been “responsive to all of our requests.”
Mr. Obama was in Baton Rouge for about three hours before heading back to Washington. White House officials said the president also planned to meet briefly with the family of Alton Sterling, the African-American who was shot while being held on the ground by Baton Rouge police officers, as well as families of officers killed and injured in an ambush in July.
But 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 last 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.”
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.
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.” After touring the damage, Mr. Obama pledged that “even after the TV cameras leave, the whole country is going to continue to support you and help you until we get folks back into their homes and lives are rebuilt.”
“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.