Obama Inspects Flood Damage Caused by Irene
EmailABC News’ Tahman Bradley Reports:
With communities along the East Coast still dealing with the devastation caused by Hurricane Irene, President Obama traveled to New Jersey today to meet with residents and inspect damage caused by Hurricane Irene.
Obama toured Paterson, which is cleaning up from flooding caused by the Passaic River.
The president also visited Wayne, which has residential areas suffering from flooding caused by the Pompton River.
In Paterson, the President walked from house to house for a couple blocks.
“How high did the water come up?” the president asks one resident whose house had been badly damaged.”
“Are you okay?” he asks another. “I’m so sorry.”
Stopping to make remarks on a bridge, the president said the country should not underestimate the heartache that is going through communities cleaning up after Hurricane Irene.
“Well, obviously visiting Wayne and Paterson gives you a sense of the devastation that’s taken place not only here in New Jersey, but in upstate New York and Vermont and a whole range of states that were affected by Hurricane Irene,” Obama said.
The President said the federal government will do all it can to help East Coast communities cope.
“The main message I have for all of the residents, not only of New Jersey but all those communities that have been affected by flooding by the destruction that occurred as a consequence of Hurricane Irene, is that the entire country is behind you,” said Obama. “And we are going to make sure that we provide all the resources that are necessary in order to help these communities rebuild.”
Mr. Obama thanked FEMA as well as state and local officials for what he called an “extraordinary responsiveness” to the storm. He said Washington politics should not stand in the way of getting people what they need.
“As president of the United States I want to make it very clear that we are going to meet our federal obligations because we are one country,” said Obama. “When one part of the country gets affected, whether it’s a tornado in Joplin, Missouri or a hurricane that affects that eastern seaboard, then we come together as one country and make sure that everybody gets the help that they need.”
The President received an update on the ongoing response and recovery by FEMA administrator Craig Fugate and FEMA’s Federal Coordinating Officer Bill Vogel.
On Sunday afternoon, Obama was greeted in New Jersey by Gov. Chris Christie and Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez after Air Force One landed.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One that Paterson is one place the president could visit to see the severe impact caused by the storm, and that the president looks forward to meeting with the federal response team as well as local officials about what’s happening on the ground, according to a pool report.
In a non-hurricane piece of news, Carney told reporters the president spent the weekend putting the finishing touches on the jobs speech he plans to deliver Thursday night before a joint session of Congress.
“He is very far along,” Carney said, according to a pool report.
White House Loves Aggressive Journalism ... Abroad 
Virginia Ultrasound Bill Hits Nerve
“He said Washington politics should not stand in the way of getting people what they need.”
********************
Exactly, Mr. President. Thanks for clearing that up with your political statement.
——————–
“’He is very far along,’ Carney said, according to a pool report.”
********************
What a relief to know President Obama didn’t spoil his summer vacation by working on a silly old speech. He must been great at last-minute cram sessions in college.
Posted by: Oliver Shagnasty | September 4, 2011, 4:05 pm 4:05 pm
What a relief to know President Obama didn’t spoil his summer vacation by working on a silly old speech.
Posted by: Olivcaer Shagnasty | September 4, 2011, 4:05 pm 4:05 pm
Talk about a dim-witted comment. The President took 9 days vacation (cut the 10 original days short by one) and two of those days were weekend days anyhow. ie. – he took about 7 working days off.
If the Republican right could get their heads out of their cavernous, stench-filled bottoms long enough to breath some fresh air, they might be able to make sensible comments instead of repeatedly dumb attacks.
Posted by: Ben | September 4, 2011, 5:08 pm 5:08 pm
What the president continues to say is….not having any money shouldn’t prevent people getting everything their heart’s desire. And this is why we have the Nanny State. Thank you FDR, and LBJ!
Posted by: s | September 4, 2011, 5:11 pm 5:11 pm
What the president continues to say is….
Posted by: s | September 4, 2011, 5:11 pm 5:11 pm
Really? I think you’re lying.
Posted by: Tami | September 4, 2011, 5:16 pm 5:16 pm
You’ll get your relief when we get our bill thru on electric cars, that democrats are holding hostage …Nothing political though
Posted by: President Zero | September 4, 2011, 5:57 pm 5:57 pm
Good Job Mr. President. Show Americans once again that you care
Posted by: TV | September 4, 2011, 6:00 pm 6:00 pm
Mr. Obama is truly remarkable. He still continues to blame politics for his weak leadership and limited knowledge and experience.
Posted by: young_voter | September 4, 2011, 6:04 pm 6:04 pm
It is great that Obama going to have the federal government bail out the flood victims. Just a reminder to him that after his job speech this week we will probably
have to raise the debt ceiling again.
Posted by: deadwrestler | September 4, 2011, 7:02 pm 7:02 pm
young_voter, So true. 0bama does blame everyone else for his failures. None of it is ever his fault. That’s why he can’t run on his loser record, but can only place blame on others for him being a loser and hope that gets him re-elected.
Posted by: TexBork | September 4, 2011, 7:10 pm 7:10 pm
HEY, YOUNG VOTERS! Republicans seek to suppress voting by targeted groups. The POLL TAX, a Reconstruction era tool, abolished by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, is being revived in 2011 on the local and state levels by the GOP in over 40 states. It is unconstitutional. [See Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, 383 U.S. 663 (1966)].
This Tea Party-backed agenda that initially targeted minorities, dutifully pushed by the GOP, now also extends to young voters. It requires the purchase of identification in order to vote. Government-issued IDs are not free. South Carolina, for example, no longer permits college students to use their college-issued IDs, even from state colleges, to vote. South Carolina’s college students have to “buy” IDs just for voting. In other words, a POLL TAX, because these students now have to, in effect, PAY TO VOTE, or face suppression of their voting rights. African-Americans, Latinos, the disabled, the unemployed, Senior citizens, and in particular, young people, are targets of this “new” GOP political scheme-. It is called the Jim Crow (oops!) . . . Jim DeMint Voter Suppression Project.
Posted by: i-vote | September 4, 2011, 8:57 pm 8:57 pm
I-vote, you know better. My state, for example, does require ID to vote. It makes sense and prevents voter fraud. And it also has a provision for obtaining a FREE state ID. Every state whose legislation I have studied on this issue (and yes, I’ve looked into it) has a similar provision. This is NOT a poll tax. It is not an attempt to suppress the vote of any legitimate voter. It is an attempt to prevent voter fraud. Don’t you want a clean, honest vote? I do.
Look at your list of the supposedly targeted, for openers. “Old people”– they will have their medicare/social security ID. Unemployed? What ID do they need to obtain unemployment checks? they can use that. Young people? Most have drivers’ licenses, among other things. And what on earth makes you think that Latinos and African Americans are any less likely to have an ID such as a drivers’ license than people of any other ethnic group? Your comments are confused at best and disingenuous at worst.
Posted by: moderate | September 4, 2011, 9:46 pm 9:46 pm
Ben, hon, are you saying the president shouldn’t have to work on the weekends, even when there is a major issue that needs his attention? Sorry, for four years, whoever holds the office can put in some long hours when the need arises. And you keep harping on the “shortness” of the Martha’s Vineyard vacation, a mere week, tragically (in your view) cut short by a day at that. Don’t worry, he got to camp david this weekend, and he hasn’t missed many golf rounds lately. I don’t begrudge politicians vacations, but having only a week at a luxurious retreat on the vineyard is hardly debilitating.
Posted by: moderate | September 4, 2011, 9:51 pm 9:51 pm
Posted by: moderate | September 4, 2011, 9:51 pm 9:51 pm
Didn’t say anything like that ‘Moderate’. Those are your rather dumb projections.
What I said is the Republican right posters here are hypocrites for attacking Obama for taking 9 days vacation – when by this time in his presidency Bush had taken a full four months more vacation that Obama.
Shall I repeat that again for you . . . Bush had taken A FULL FOUR MONTHS MORE vacation time than Obama. You understand what that means don’t you? Not four more days vacation, or four more weeks vacation, but a full four more MONTHS vacation.
You get the hypocrisy yet, or too dense for that to sink in?
Posted by: Ben | September 5, 2011, 12:22 am 12:22 am
Posted by: moderate | September 4, 2011, 9:46 pm 9:46 pm
Voter fraud is not an issue, not as much an issue as people being able to get to the correct government office and get the proper ID, especially for the old and infirm, the handicapped, the illiterate, the poor and those unfamiliar with or alienated from bureaucratic government procedures.
Voter fraud as studied under Bush constituted .00007 per cent of votes cast. A miniscule amount.
It’s a phony issue being pushed by the Republican right to disenfranchise as many poor, disable, elderly, illiterate and alienated voters (among others) as possible.
Only a daft fool would be arguing against this.
Posted by: Charles | September 5, 2011, 12:31 am 12:31 am
“Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital.
Capital is only the fruit of labor,
and could never have existed if labor had not first existed.
Labor is the superior of capital,
and deserves much the higher consideration.”
~Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America
Posted by: Dane | September 5, 2011, 12:52 am 12:52 am
With 17 months to go on this President job, he better look what is happening in Libya
right now. The press reports are not nice. Jobs are not going to save him at this point. All his shovel ready jobs have to go threw EPA, and local Governments with the Army Corp of engineers checking flood plains before construction. All those regulations. The housing market is dead. One term bring on the next savoir.
Posted by: deadwrestler | September 5, 2011, 1:50 am 1:50 am
“Only a daft fool would be arguing against this.”
Posted by: Charles | September 5, 2011, 12:31 am 12:31 am
Only a daft fool would be a Progressive.
Posted by: Chuck | September 5, 2011, 9:16 am 9:16 am
“It is great that Obama going to have the federal government bail out the flood victims.” – DeadWrestler
What! There is no such thing as flood insurance?
Why does anyone buy disaster insurance when the Federal Nanny State Government will come to your rescue?
Posted by: Charles | September 5, 2011, 12:31 am 12:31 am
Hey Charles, maybe the answer is a national voter competency test.
If we could get that done perhaps we’d stop electing daft fool Representatives, Senators and Presidents.
Posted by: Noz | September 5, 2011, 10:35 am 10:35 am
Glad to see the new civility is alive and well here. Let’s start with Ben, who calls me dumb and daft. He keeps fussing that the president only took a 9 day vacation and yet he caught grief for it. He claims any republican who complains about that is a hypocrite because Bush had spent more days on vacation by this time in his administration. You miss my point, Ben, but I will not insult your intelligence as you insulted mine by calling you names. The problem with martha’s vineyard is the OPTICS of going to an exclusive island retreat for a week after saying you have a plan to increase employment, but will not be sharing it until after said vacation. I personally have never complained about the amount of time the current president spends on vacation, as I never complained about the amount of time previous presidents spent. Trying to make the tired comparison of numbers of days spent out of the WH by Bush and Obama is just not terribly useful, in my opinion. Bush did not go to Martha’s Vineyard or Hawaii on his vacations, he went to his ranch in Texas and unwound with bike riding and brush clearing, as Reagan used to go to his ranch in california and unwind with horseback riding and brush clearing. Why doesn’t Obama go back to Chicago when he has vacation time? Why not take the girls back to see their chicago friends and neighbors? And do we really measure downtime by the amount of time spent sleeping under a roof other than 1600 pennsylvania ave? Is a day spent on a Washington area golf course followed by a return to the WH any more productive than a day on Martha’s Vineyard spent in meetings with top counselors? See, I am more than willing to admit that the president, any president, can work while he is on vacation and that they are never really off the job. But for this president at this time to go to Martha’s Vineyard was not a good idea. Symbolism is an important part of the modern presidency and the symbolism of that move was terrible.
Posted by: moderate | September 5, 2011, 6:20 pm 6:20 pm
And now we have Charles, who calls me a daft fool. Well, he tried to call me a daft fool but I think his syntax was a bit garbled. Anyway, Charles argues that voter fraud is not a real problem, because studies have shown it to be miniscule in scope. What on earth makes you think, btw, that the “old and the infirm,” the handicapped, etc. will not vote Republican? Is identity politics really that ingrained in your thinking? I want all the votes to be counted, and all the votes to be cast by legitimate voters. I really don’t see why that is such a big deal. Oh, and by the way, I am not part of the ‘far right’ or even of ‘the right.” I am a republican, a moderate one, like my nom de post says.
Posted by: moderate | September 5, 2011, 6:27 pm 6:27 pm
It’s Bush’s fault.
We never had hurricanes in this country before the anti environmental policies of George W Bush.
Posted by: Joe White | September 6, 2011, 1:33 am 1:33 am