“But we don’t see that as a factor now that flood waters are subsiding, even if at an agonizing pace”. “The President’s presence is already late to this crisis, but it’s better later than never”.
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While “torrential rains brought death, destruction and misery to Louisiana, the president continued his vacation at Martha’s Vineyard, a playground for the posh and well-connected”, notes the editorial.
The president also praised his work on fighting climate change, calling it “a genuine existential threat that we all face and, more importantly, our children and our grandchildren face”.
Declaring he was exhausted of talking about Donald Trump, President Barack Obama urged Democrats on Monday not to grow too confident about their prospects in the 2016 election despite Hillary Clinton’s strong position in the race for the White House. Fourteen people were arrested Sunday after protesters lit six businesses on fire, including a gas station, torched squad cars, and heaved rocks at officers, wounding at least seven deputies. The White House said he has been receiving regular updates and briefings on the situation throughout the vacation, including from Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.
“It evoked the precedent of the passive federal response to the state’s agony in 2005, a chapter of history no one should ever repeat”, it added, referring to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when President George W. Bush was criticized for a slow response to the devastation.
To be fair, Obama occasionally goes out at night when he’s at the White House, for dinner with the first lady and friends, or just alone with his wife.
“Michelle is very strict about me actually taking a vacation when I get a vacation”, he said. “She gave me a special dispensation for this evening because she understands, just as all of you understand, how important this is”.
The newspaper editorial said Thursday that “if the President can interrupt his vacation for a swanky fundraiser for fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, as he did on Monday, then surely he can make time to show up for a catastrophe that’s displaced thousands”.
Obama has not commented on the flooding.
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The Advocate acknowledges Obama’s quickness at “officially declaring a disaster for the flooded part of the state, a key step in advancing federal aid”.
