Barbara Bush: Evacuees Better Off

So. I was channel surfing through the cable news shows and came across Larry King, suck up extraordinaire, interviewing George Sr. and Barbara. No newsworthy information of course - more of a commercial for how great their son is. He has a strong heart, he's determined, he feels people's pain, he's a man of faith. Uh huh. Parents get to brag on their kids. Of course, when the kid is the President and their bragging on Larry King while the devastation from Katrina is still being uncovered, it's a bit much. I hit my threshold when Barbara said that she'd talked to some evacuees in the AstroDome and they told her that when Bush Jr. flew over the area, it made all the difference in their lives.

REALLY?!? Imagine. Your home city is flooded and you're stranded on a spit of highway. You have no food or water for days. People around you are dying. When food and water are finally delivered, you hear promises of rescue, which doesn't happen for another day. Or two. Or maybe you followed the directive to go the sports arena because you didn't have the means to get out of New Orleans. You suffer heat, dehydration, filth, and violence. You're scared, thirsty, hungry, and locked in. You're promised evacuation. And when the buses come, they're turned away. Finally, you get on a bus in the same clothes you've been wearing for days. You ride for hours in order to be safe, to have food, water and shelter. Whether you come from the highway or the arena, would you really say upon learning that Bush flew over the Gulf Coast that it made all the difference in your life? I think not.

I might excuse this as a poor attempt by a mother to support her son. I was working my way towards that view when I heard that in a different news segment Barbara said: "So many people in the Astrodome were underprivileged anyway so this is working really well for them."

Are you kidding me? This is the statement of someone so fundamentally out of touch with the common man that they really shouldn't let her near a microphone. Does she really think that living in an arena, having gone through a terribly traumatic ordeal, having lost the few possession you had and possibly lost people you love... does she think that's better than living in poverty? That living in a public space on the charity of others with no privacy, no ownership, hundreds of miles from the place you know, sleeping next to strangers in the noise of thousands under lights that are always on... this is better than living in poverty?

I'm ashamed that someone so callous and assuming and uninformed and disconnected was our country's first lady.

Comments

[Streak]

Jaw dropping. Just stunning. I think we don't have to look very far to see where the lack of compassion comes from in this family.

[Matthew C. Aycock]

Did you listen to this complete radio show? I'm just curious.

[Kathy]

I didn't listen to the whole Larry King interview or the entire radio interview. I'll confess that I get so mad listening to paeons of praise for George Jr. that I switch it off in an effort to avoid a total loss of objectivity.

[Mick]

The apple don't fall far from the tree, do it?

BTW, the buses were turned away from the Astrodome so they could be sent to the Hyatt Hotel to pick up 700 people who'd had running water and food during the entire emergency, and to Tulane University where the student body is white and fairly wealthy rather than Xavier University where the students are black and fairly poor.

This administration has made its inhuman priorities perfectly clear during this crisis: rich over poor, property over people.

PS Welcome back.

[Matthew C. Aycock]

Kathy, I recommend that you listen to the interviews before jumping in bed with someone similar to Michael Moore in their ability to selectively quote people.

Now, I'm the first to admit that Barbara gives her son way too much credit. Every mother should. But do you think she is a complete idiot? If she actually said things how this author wants you to believe, the backlash from her comments would not be recovered for a LONG time. She knows this. Even if she is an evil bitch that believes what this guy claims she said, she is too smart to state it publicly.

[Kathy]

I don't have to listen to the entire interview if I actually heard what I said I heard here. And I did hear her say it and I'm not the only one. I heard her make BOTH statements. And I listened long enough to hear any qualifying statements. And there weren't any. Of course, how could you possibly qualify these to make them less offensive.

This isn't selective, taken out of context, or misrepresentative. She said it. Period. No spin in the world can undo that.

If you have any basis for justifying the accusation that I'm misrepresenting her or that I'm being selective a la Moore, then dish it up. Otherwise, this is just another "attack the messenger" strategy to blur the truth and shift the focus from the actual issue to the character or integrity of the person calling attention to it. A solid Republican strategy, I'll admit. But not one I'm prepared to play patsy for.

[Matthew C. Aycock]

I took it nothing like you are indicating. To me, I felt as if she was trying to give an optimistic outlook on a serious problem. I believed that she was merely pointing out that it was much better for them in the Astrodome than it was for them in New Orleans AFTER the hurricane...a fact to which I don't think anyone would dispute.

[Kathy]

Matthes - Well, I don't see it that way. She said, "so many of these people were underprivileged anyway so this is working out for them." In my view, that isn't a comment specific to their situation during the crisis, but refers to the general situation.

Mick - Thanks for the welcome back. I've missed being here and seeing you in my comments.

[Mick]

I think the kicker is a phrase that's on the tape but was cut from the transcript until complaints came in. She mentioned that a number of evacuees had expressed a desire to stay in Houston and added, '..which kind of scares me...' One is sorta forced to ask why (which didn't stop Larry from not asking). What's so scary about it?

PS I missed you, too, kid. There was a palpable empty spot in my stomach every time I clicked over and saw no new posts. But I appreciate what you're doing in the real world and support it, so I guess I'll just have to live with my disappointment a while longer.

BTW, you should be aware of this BS if you're not.

[Matthew C. Aycock]

Mick, while it sounded bad, I really don't believe she meant it that way. I can tell you that it IS scary to have an influx of 250,000 people in a couple of days. It's not as scary as the hurricane itself, but it takes some serious planning and coordination to make it work. If they want to be here longterm, it is even scarier because we won't have New Orleans the way it used to be.

[Mickey]

All you gotta do is look it up. And when the White House declines to comment, that means they know they fucked up.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0906katrina-barbara06-ON.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1455529.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/07/national/nationalspecial/07barbara.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050907/ts_alt_afp/usweatherbushhouston

http://www.itn.co.uk/news/714590.html

[Alonzo]

That is all fine and dandy but please let's take the blinders off. The Bush family's greatest hardship is that Bush sr did not get elected again. They have never had to deal with not getting a cab, have white women clutch their purses when you walk by or deal with the harsh reality of life without privilege or the stigma of being a minority ( which in America is two strikes against from birth). Make excuses for her and them all you want until you have been in my shoes you cannot tell me that I am better off.

[Alonzo]

That is all fine and dandy but please let's take the blinders off. The Bush family's greatest hardship is that Bush sr did not get elected again. They have never had to deal with not getting a cab, have white women clutch their purses when you walk by or deal with the harsh reality of life without privilege or the stigma of being a minority ( which in America is two strikes against from birth). Make excuses for her and them all you want until you have been in my shoes you cannot tell me that I am better off.

[Matthew C. Aycock]

I know plenty of minorities that have had as good or better lives as the Bush family. Bush is no racist and this is definitely not a race issue.

Want to see a racist? Read what Dean is saying about minorities and women:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,169326,00.html

"So the argument that I would make with both the president and John Roberts is they may not be overtly racist, but their actions contribute to harm for vulnerable people. And that includes women, it includes members of minority groups, including Hispanics and African Americans."

Most of the women and minorities I know would be justifiably offended by being labeled as "vulnerable".

[Alonzo]

Dean is just as idiotic as the rest. Both the left and the right are run by white males who have no idea what it means to be a minority. Everyone who says that people don't care about race has never lived in my neighborhood and never will unless forced and even then the police would probably come through more if there was a few white poeple living here. The majority in our country only see what the news tells them. They do not live in these trenches everyday. No one believed that cops were beating up Blacks until Newsweek (or was it US News) put it in their magazine. So please save the we are the world speech for someone else. I live this everyday. I am a college student and not some hood who does not read the papers, watch CNN & FOX news and all the other channels that the news comes on. I am informed and to some degree have a good head on my shoulders. I suggest you watch the movie Soul Man and get an tiny glimpse of what I deal with everyday all the time. Don't get me wrong I love America but I do not have the rose colored glasses you look through. Mine are smudged and dirty due to the tan I was born with.

[Matthew C. Aycock]

Ever see White Man's Burden? I think that movie does an ample job of putting things into perspective.

While I don't dispute that racism IS a problem, it certainly is not one here.