“You should be hurt, but don’t sink into despair”, he urged. And most of all, do not somehow communicate to our children here in this city that they’re going to be saddled with problems for the rest of their lives, because they will not. “And some kids are going to be fine, and they’re not going to be affected”.
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President Obama stated that “kids are resilient” and that “every kid in Flint is special and has capacity and can do great things”.
While under control of a state-appointed emergency manager in 2014, the financially strapped city switched its water source from Detroit’s system to the Flint River to save money.
The president said his visit was prompted by a letter from an eight-year-old Flint girl who asked to meet with him personally to discuss the crisis.
Obama said last week he wanted to “shine a spotlight on the fact that Flint, although extreme, is not unique”.
“I understand why you’re frustrated”, he said.
“It’s a mindset that believes that less government is the highest good, no matter what”, he said.
He said the water crisis stemmed from a broader issues, the hard times and neglect that had gripped Flint long ago. It leads to carelessness and callousness. After someone brought him a glass and he took a sip, explaining that filtered Flint water is safe to drink for everyone except pregnant women and children under the age of six. “It’s not too much to expect of all Americans that their water is safe”.
Obama drank filtered Flint water during his visit, to confirm that the water was drinkable if a filter was used.
But he also suggested that some lead exposure in children wouldn’t necessarily lead to dire consequences. It might take two years.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder greeted Air Force One at Bishop International Airport in Flint, ending days of speculation about whether the governor would participate.
Earlier, Snyder was loudly booed and heckled as he apologized to the large crowd and vowed to fix the water problem in Flint.
“Like you, I’ll use my voice to call for change and help lift up your community”, he wrote. “I want to come here today to apologise”, he said. And despite his apology for his administration’s failure to prevent or address the crisis sooner, some locals are left questioning why Snyder hasn’t been held to account.
Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have called on Snyder to resign, and the crowd seemed to agree with that sentiment.
Also facing charges of evidence tampering, misconduct in office and safe drinking water violations are Michael Prysby, a former district engineer with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and Stephen Busch, a supervisor in the department’s drinking water office. CNN sponsored a March 3 primary debate between Hillary Clinton and Sen.
“He was here. Flint counted”, Edwards said. “And this kind of thinking, this myth that government is always the enemy, forgets that our government is us. It’s us. That it’s an extension of us, ourselves”. He said he chose to visit Flint after receiving a letter from a concerned 8-year-old girl in the city. “Government failed you”, he told the crowd.
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“I really did need a glass of water”.
