Obama vows support after “cameras leave”
Some flooding victims angry president didn’t interrupt his vacation
zachary, la.» S tanding amid piles of waterlogged debris, President Barack Obama on Tuesday promised a sustained national effort to rebuild floodravaged southern Louisiana “even after the TV cameras leave” on a visit aimed in part at stemming campaign-season criticism that he’s been slow to respond to the disaster.
As he toured a battered neighborhood and spoke to local officials, Obama tried to buck up beleaguered residents of the water-soaked region.
“This is not a one-off. This is not a photoop issue. I need all Americans to stay focused on this,” he said. “I know how resilient the people of Louisiana are, and I know that you will rebuild again.”
Eleven years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, Obama’s visit was a reminder of the political dangers and opportunities natural disasters pose for politicians.
The president has been criticized for waiting until after he returned from his New England vacation to tour the Gulf Coast flooding. The timing, amid a heated presidential campaign, drew barbs from some local officials and Republicans political opponents, including GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Trump visited Baton Rouge on Friday, enjoying a warm reception and allowing him to cast the president as golfing while Louisianans suffered. It was a sentiment echoed Obama offered sympathy to residents as they took a break from the cleanup.
“I wish I was coming at a better time,” he told one resident, as he put his arm around her and walked into her home for a brief tour. “But I’m glad to see everybody is safe, at least.”
Obama is hardly new to the potent politics such moments. As a candidate in 2008, he was a sharp critic of President George W. Bush’s response to Hurricane Katrina. And in 2012, the year of his re-election effort, he rushed to Louisiana to show solidarity with victims of Hurricane Isaac.
Now a president eying the end of his second term, Obama was neither emotional nor particularly defensive in relaying his message to residents. He said flatly he doesn’t “worry too much about politics” and that he is focused on improving the speed and efficiency of the federal response.