THE NEW YORK TIMES WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 - As President Bush battled criticism over the response to Hurricane Katrina, his mother declared it a success for evacuees who "were underprivileged anyway," saying on Monday that many of the poor people she had seen while touring a Houston relocation site were faring better than before the storm hit. "What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas," Barbara Bush said in an interview on Monday with the radio program "Marketplace." "Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality." "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway," she said, "so this is working very well for them." Mrs. Bush toured the Astrodome complex with her husband, former President George Bush, as part of an administration campaign throughout the Gulf Coast region to counter criticism of the response to the storm. Former President Bush and former President Bill Clinton are helping raise money for the rebuilding effort. White House officials did not respond on Tuesday to calls for comment on Mrs. Bush's remarks. __________ If I was a local Compassionate Conservative, I'd also be thinking about all those poor staying in Texas. After all, the poor in NO didn't lose anything of value. They're better off basking in Mrs. Bush's hospitality than recovering their lost families, friends, relatives, pets, and ancestral homes.... I guess Barbara believes in the White Man's Burden.
I would bet Barbara a crisp dollar bill that we could take one of them "underprivileged" outta the dome and have him switch places with good ole George Jr.........and that the "underprivileged" feller would take control of the presidency and provide some badly needed leadership, accountability, and fiscal acumen.......while poor little Georgie would suffer a complete mental breakdown, resorting back to drugs and booze whilst getting the living shht kicked out of him by the other "underprivileged" (lucky for him, karateman bleeds on the inside!).....
Wow, you don't need to be a psychologist to start putting the pieces together. Compassionate conservatism...
I didn't believe it at first until I heard if for myself... Very disappointed in her, I cannot for the life of me comprehend how she could say something like that considering what happened.
Let them eat Cake . . . . . The Bushes are so far up economically. . .that they truly have no real comprehension of the everyday life of the poor. . . . much less in this type of situation it is just foreign to them Rocket River
John Nichols 1 hour, 32 minutes ago The Nation -- Finally, we have discovered the roots of George W. Bush's "compassionate conservatism." On the heels of the president's "What, me worry?" response to the death, destruction and dislocation that followed upon Hurricane Katrina comes the news of his mother's Labor Day visit with hurricane evacuees at the Astrodome in Houston. Commenting on the facilities that have been set up for the evacuees -- cots crammed side-by-side in a huge stadium where the lights never go out and the sound of sobbing children never completely ceases -- former First Lady Barbara Bush concluded that the poor people of New Orleans had lucked out. "Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them," Mrs. Bush told American Public Media's "Marketplace" program, before returning to her multi-million dollar Houston home. On the tape of the interview, Mrs. Bush chuckles audibly as she observes just how great things are going for families that are separated from loved ones, people who have been forced to abandon their homes and the only community where they have ever lived, and parents who are explaining to children that their pets, their toys and in some cases their friends may be lost forever. Perhaps the former first lady was amusing herself with the notion that evacuees without bread could eat cake. At the very least, she was expressing a measure of empathy commensurate with that evidenced by her son during his fly-ins for disaster-zone photo opportunities. On Friday, when even Republican lawmakers were giving the federal government an "F" for its response to the crisis, President Bush heaped praise on embattled Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown. As thousands of victims of the hurricane continued to plead for food, water, shelter, medical care and a way out of the nightmare to which federal neglect had consigned them, Brown cheerily announced that "people are getting the help they need." Barbara Bush's son put his arm around the addled FEMA functionary and declared, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." Like mother, like son. Even when a hurricane hits, the apple does not fall far from the tree. Originally posted in this thread.
This reminds me of the presidential debate in 92 when everything went down hill for Bush I. He was asked by a participant how he could relate to her since Bush had been rich all his life. He basically answer the question. I think it was the same debate he kept looking at his watch.
maps.google.com Search "new orleans" and a red "Katrina" button will pop up allowing you to see before and after satellite imagery. Unreal. Having been to New Orleans so often to see family/friends, it's staggering to see the damage.
Barbara Bush is an elitist airhead, she made previous comments in the past that were along the same lines as this stupid comment she made. She is an old dumby, she's insignificant, I honestly could care less what she says, even when she said this: "But why should we hear about body bags, and deaths, and how many, what day it's gonna happen, and how many this or what do you suppose? Or, I mean, it's, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?" - Barbara Bush on "Good Morning America," 3/18/2003
you know she maybe elitist and so on and i'm not defending the way she spoke, but her words seem to be the mindset of many who were evaced. a lot of what i heard (of course this is all anecdotal) is that since they have nothing left that they now have a chance to start over in different cities that are not poverty striken like NOLA. and lets not be too politically correct about the poverty level in NOLA...it was crappy for a lot of these people and maybe they have a chance to change their lives in a different town now.
I think this says it better than I could: And you know, it's just so great to live in a giant sports stadium. Heck it's even more fun to have that little bit of independence taken away. Dispute it? How about you try and defend it?
I don't think you guys have seen the conditions in New Orleans before Katrina. It was one of the poorest cities in the nation with high crime, drug and illiteracy rates. Many of the people at the astrodome did not have 'ancestral homes' and instead were living on the streets or barely surviving. Now with their children in Houston and other cities we may begin to break that cycle with quality education for their children and opportunities that were not available in New Orleans. I don't think she is saying she's happy this happened. But I think some people have never been outside of New Orleans and realized that other cities offer better education and more opportunities and may never return. I really think we just have to do our part. A program that I have done w/ Rotary in the past is to sponsor a family. This does not mean support them financially, but it means to oversee their financial and educational life. Help them to make better decisions and review and assist the children's homework. If the parents are not educated the child's chances must not be taken away as well.
I am not trying to defend Barbara, but New Orleans was a pig stye....people well below poverty level, rampant drugs, houses falling down, the downtown, french quarther and Garden district was ok, but a lot of the rest was simply slum ridden. Absolutely right that people lost everything, including family & pets are not better off, but there may be a silver lining for some that is a fresh start elsewhere that they might not have gotten without the devestation. I think some indeed are better off, but a good deal more are not...it was not a well thought out comment, but certainly an understandable one. DD
You might be right. But the overwhelming elitism and lack of concern/pity demonstrated by this administration, and in particular Bush & family, is disgusting. These people aren't feudal-era serfs goddamit. So no, I don't think it understandable. I don't think it can be justified that poor people who are now displaced, homeless, and dependent on volunteer aid are somehow "better off". Even if this does help a few get a new "start", I wouldn't chuckle about it or assume them grateful for the opportunity.
You know this may not relate, but one time I was in New Orleans around New Years eve and was walking back to the hotel, and there was a group of young teenagers in like a cut out area of a stores entrance on Canal street. They were sort of dancing to music etc...and I kind of grooved a little as I walked by (obviously coming from Bourbon St) and one of them came up from behind and clocked me in the head...then faded into the crowd....I turned looked, and could not tell who did it, and simply went on my way. That city had a weird - scummy - seedy vibe.... I took my wife there in May and we had a good time, but you never felt completely safe. Like there were problems brewing just below the surface..... I hope they pull themselves up, certainly will be a lot of job opportunities as they rebuild the city....better to spend our tax dollars here in the good ole USA than in Iraq. DD
This thread is hilarious. It's funny that the liberals will get outraged by anything that any Bush family member says. You guys are funny. Helpless liberals screaming to nobody again, what a shock!
