There are lots of power lines and flooding. this will be a mess from North Carolina to New York. The scope of the hurricane is huge. It is cutting a long swath through some of the most heavily populated areas in the country. The area covered in huge. I would not downplay the complexity in dealing with the cleanup.
It will be a mess, but to compare it to Katrina is ridiculous.
I think the cost of this one can pass Katrina. But so far only 3 have died.
There is no possibility that the cost of clean up and restoration from this storm will surpass that of Katrina. None.
The possiblity of the death toll surpassing Katrina is even lower than that.
Its good to know you have the inside track. I agree the deaths will be less. I thought you could follow that.
Obama will get bashed by many for handling the Irene aftermath poorly regardless of what he does.
Or, alternately, if things go really well, we’ll hear about how Obama knew it wasn’t going to be that bad but hyped it to make himself look good when the expected fizzle followed.
Or, he just threw money at the problem like a typical Democrat.
Whichever. Won’t matter. Maybe in the next year he can recognize that instead of kowtowing to a bunch of people who will always hate him.
-Joe
If things go well, then it was not as big a problem as we thought. If the clean up gets boggled, then it was his fault. Rightys have an out and will use it. The government can not win. That is why government workers ignore criticism and just do their jobs.
The restoration of power and the opening of roads will take some time. FEMA people are on site and working now. But with the area involved, there will be some people disgruntled because it will take time. Some will be without power for a long time.
Koxinga - are you going to revisit this and share whether you think it is a Katrina moment for Obama in Irene’s aftermath?
Speaking as a GOP supporter, I think it would look very bad for Obama detractors to be very vocal now that it’s obvious that Obama handled the situation passably.
In fact, I wonder if this will not help Obama win (as much as I don’t want him to.) I am thinking of not even voting in the next election considering Obama will definitely win.
Perhaps it would be a better strategy if Koxinga renounces any support for Obama opponents in the wake of this spectacular hurricane performance, and even gave some token money to the Obama campaign in order to show that there are no hard feelings!
And I say this as a GOP supporter. Honest.
I’m also idly curious if Obama and his team watched the hurricane to the OP’s satisfaction.
Doesn’t look like it. Mayor Bloomberg might have come off looking a little overcautious though.
It’s an awful fine line you’re looking for. Fortunately, Bloomberg’s a Republican.
No, he’s Independent.
Bloomberg was elected twice as a Republican, left the party in 2007, and was elected for the third time as an independent. Of course he only joined the Republican Party in 2001 because their primary field was less crowded. He was a Democrat before that. I am not sure where that leaves this discussion.