By FITSNews || Ask former President George W. Bush … nothing good ever comes from a flyover.
Bush, who was famously (and deservedly) mocked for flying over the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005, apparently didn’t warn President Barack Obama of its pitfalls, though. How come? Well, several top Obama administration officials (but not the President himself) are leading a U.S. Senate delegation in a flyover of the areas affected by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Look, we have nothing against politicians doing flyovers. We’re sure that valuable information and perspective can be obtained by getting a birds-eye view of a disaster area.
Having said that, politicians and bureaucrats who participate in flyovers have to acknowledge that they send an awful message. Words like “disengaged,” “distant,” “uncaring” and “elitist” come to mind.
Seriously, if you’re going to visit a disaster area, roll your damn sleeves up and lend a hand.
In the case of this disaster, scrub some oil off of a rock or a bird or something while you’re getting your “intelligence briefing.” If you’re like most politicians, it may be the only useful thing you ever do.
By Ohmaar May 24, 2010 at 9:19 am
Leave the rocks and birds alone. The most environmentally damaged portion of Prince Williams Sound was the stretch of beach they “cleaned”. It took that portion many years longer to recover than the rest that was left to nature.
By Mike at the beach May 24, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Ohmaar,
Right on bro! I thought I was the only other person in America to read that coverage (you certainly won’t hear about it much in the MSM)…
By SnakeMD May 24, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Why the hell didn’t they just let it burn? We could have called it the “Devils Cigarette Lighter.” An eternal torch to the folly of man’s dependance on oil. Burn baby burn!!!
By Clara May 27, 2010 at 11:56 pm
On the day that Pres. Bush flew over New Orleans, he was told that the security that would be required would hinder the rescue of the people that needed help. He wanted to land in Baton Rouge and was advised by the Secret Service that it was not secure enough for him at that time. Don’t forget the rules and regulations that go along with a Presidential visit following the Kennedy Assasination. But it is different with Obama because they are not rescuing other persons. The security sweep has been done one time and will not be hard to do a second time. Let him get out and smell the fumes. Where is Michelle my belle? She could put on her $500 sneakers and wade out and help clean up some of the mess. I am sick and tired of everyone portraying Pres. Bush as a person that only did a fly over. Time will tell all what he went through to even get to do that. At least he headed back to Washington right away to handle what needed to be done. O didn’t even respond for 8 days. He lied again today when he said that he called a meeting immediately after the rig blew up. Where was he? Not in Washington so how could he? And he had a big golf game to play the next day. And I am sick and tire of the Boots on the neck comment. Ken Salazar is the biggest idiot of all time. Thank God Obama got him out of the Senate.