Media largely ignored relief delays caused by Bush's New Orleans visit
In reporting on President Bush's September 2 visit to New Orleans to survey damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, most national media outlets* have ignored reports that helicopter flights were banned for the duration of Bush's stay, stalling relief efforts and preventing sick and injured survivors from being airlifted to treatment centers.
Citing Rep. Charlie Melancon's (D-LA) chief of staff, a September 3 New Orleans Times-Picayune article reported that crews were unable to deliver three tons of food for hurricane survivors in Louisiana's St. Bernard Parish and Algiers Point on September 2, as "air traffic was halted because of President Bush's visit to New Orleans." The food, secured by Melancon and Bob Odom, Louisiana's agriculture commissioner, "baked in the afternoon sun as Bush surveyed damage across southeast Louisiana," according to the Times-Picayune. A September 2 Associated Press article reported the difficulty Melancon had in contacting Bush regarding federal aid for refugees in St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes and also noted Melancon's claim that the restriction on air traffic hindered getting aid to those parishes. According to the AP:
In St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, just south of New Orleans, victims of the hurricane are still waiting for food and water and for buses to escape the floodwaters, Melancon said. And for the entire time Bush was in the state, the congressman said, a ban on helicopter flights further stalled the delivery of food and supplies.
"I thank the president for his visit today, but it was more show than substance," Melancon said. "Frankly, we needed action days ago."
Another September 2 AP article cited a paramedic who reported that helicopters transporting sick and injured refugees to a makeshift treatment center at New Orleans' Louis Armstrong International Airport were "stopped" upon Bush's arrival, though the AP did not indicate the duration or effect of their grounding. According to the AP: "Helicopters flying patients in for treatment were stopped Friday when President Bush arrived. But the president didn't enter the airport, which swelled with armed guards during his visit, [paramedic James] Teague said."
A Nexis search of national print and broadcast news reports from September 2-6 revealed that, aside from the AP, no other major news outlet reported the claims regarding the effect of Bush's visit on the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Citing White House press secretary Scott McClellan, The New York Times reported on September 6 that Bush "did not want to disrupt continuing relief efforts" in New Orleans during his return visit to Louisiana on September 5 but failed to note Melancon's claim that Bush had disrupted relief efforts three days earlier.
From the September 6 New York Times:
Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, said Mr. Bush did not go to New Orleans Monday because he had visited it on Friday. On that visit, however, he did not go to the Superdome or the convention center, where tens of thousands of largely poor and black victims had been desperate for food and water for days, and some older evacuees had died in their wheelchairs. Mr. Bush did speak at the New Orleans airport and visit the repair work under way at the 17th Street Canal, where he met with workers, some of whom had lost their homes.
Mr. McClellan also said Mr. Bush steered clear of New Orleans Monday because he did not want to disrupt continuing relief efforts.
"Today, he wanted to visit citizens of New Orleans who have been evacuated and are in need of continued assistance, as well as volunteers who are helping them," Mr. McClellan said in an e-mail message.
*Media Matters for America's search included major newspapers and news wires (The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Knight Ridder), and network news programs.
I think the general media wishes its audience to believe in the illusion of wonderful apple pie, can-do, USA leadership, it is in their best corporate interest (you don't want to upset the consumers, don't you know).
What is VERY interesting is how even this philosophy can't spin out of the failings of BushieCo on this disaster. Even the Rovians can't change a recorded time line (so the blame game begins).
Don't misunderestimate the power and efficiency of the Flying Monkey Machine. I predict that Bush will emerge unscathed, at least with his lemming base. We've already seen them on this forum, dutifully repeating the talking points, blaming the victims, the mayor, and the governor; praising Puddinhead George for his "leadership". The only thing that can stop them is if the "liberal media" awaken from their Post-9/11 slumber and go after these criminals with everything they've got.
But, that ain't gonna happen.
Any day now, a group called "Shrimp Boat Captains For Truth" will launch a media campaign extolling Duhhbya's courageous leadership.
I wouldn't be surprised if one of their commercials includes a clip of Duhhbya in the right seat inside Air Force One's cockpit, pilot's glasses and headset on, and his hands firmly on the controls.
Contrast this with the phony Clinton Haircut Airport Delay story from the 90's. The former, completely bogus, and even if true, no one died. The later, obviously true, and any delays in NOLA rescues could obviously cause unneccesary deaths
I was just about to say that. The media made such a big hullaballoo about the non-existent delay at LAX while Bill Clinton got his haircut for TWENTY minutes. Rush Limbaugh ranted about this non-event for a long time and even "liberal" reporters like Mark Shields and Al Hunt said this was a political liability. It is simply amazing how lenient they are on Bush. Clinton could have stepped on a bug and the press would have turned it into a personal attack, yet Bush can JEOPARDIZE LIVES and it is taboo? What is wrong with this country?!
I heard that Laura's visit shut down one of the only communications centers still operating in the city for something like 8 hours.
nola.com, the Times-Picayune web site, had the following a few days ago:
Here's the link.
"All I know is that at the time, I was told by folks at the EOC that air traffic was grounded. I have since been told by The White House this was not the case. Due to an apparent miscommunication, food and supplies unfortunately had to wait to reach people in desperate need."
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Another poor schmuck takes a bullet for the president's PR.
Does anyone know what EOC stands for? (Emergency Operations Center, maybe?)
I seem to recall the Mayor of New Orleans DEMANDING that Bush come to town. The N.O. mayor said on the Today show that Bush needed to be on the ground and NOT flying over head. Can I get some outrage for that?
the media has largely ignored most of the things bush has done or not done. they portrayed the 9-11 commission report as being equally critical of clinton and bush. but there was praise for clinton in places, the arrest and conviction of the first wtc bombers and all the warnings preceding the millennium when the plot to bomb los angeles international was stopped, and at the same time pointing out the failures of the bush administration when warning after warning was ignored. the press ignored bush's incompetence and insisted everybody was responsible, so nobody was responsible. we have turned the world upside down and we're pretending that nobody could have known. chris matthews called 9-11 "almost an act of god". so we have built a huge expensive infrastructure called the department of homeland security instead of pointing out that the president and his administration refused to hold meetings on terrorism, as clinton did constantly. richard clarke said clinton was always urging people at those meetings to "shake the trees" to see what they could turn up on any threats. the same shinola from the press on wmd. let's turn the cia inside out and "reform" it, when the fact is there were plenty of analysts saying at the time the evidence wasn't there.
"He didn't want to DISRUPT continuing relief efforts." Oh, that's great spin. Wonder if Rove stayed up all night to come up with that one. Or, more likely, he's been at it so long it rose off the top of his head directly into McClellan's mouth.
Oh, that's rich. The President of the United States couldn't return a mere 3 days later for fear of counterproductively interrupting the hard work of others. At least Bush didn't say it himself. I'm sure it would have come out all mangled.
No, Dr. Pepper, we're just tired of the disparity in coverage between the last president and this one. I'm glad Bush went to N.O., but why didn't he go to the Superdome and give one of his speeches like he did after 9/11?
I think it is better for the community spirit to have Bush tour the area. Of course when he visits, some air traffic is stopped or detoured, but I think that he should have gone there, and the benefits to those that he might have cheered up outweighed the cost.
The President should visit scenes of catastrophes like this.