86amanda86

I don't know if anybody else watched it, but I watched it and then watched it again when they aired it later. I liked it. I thought it was sincere, heartfelt, and very positive. I'm not the only one who thinks so either....

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Friday, September 16, 2005
What They Are Saying: Presidential Address On Katrina


"Evacuees At A Shelter [In Louisiana] Said They Took Comfort Thursday Night From Both The Substance And The Symbolism Of The Speech President Bush Gave In The City Many Of Them Had Fled." (Susan Saulny, "Evacuees Find Comfort And Encouragement In Speech," The New York Times, 9/16/05)

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA): "Innovative And Bold." ("Reaction To Bush's New Orleans Address," The Associated Press, 9/15/05)

Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu (D-LA): "...Give [The President] Very High Marks ..." (NPR's "Special Coverage," 9/15/05)

Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard: "It Was Compassionate. It Was Specific About Relief, It Gave Hope. This Is What We Need More Than Anything Right Now, Is Hope ... I Was Glad To Hear It. Thank You, Mr. President." (ABC's "ABC News Special Report," 9/15/05)

Talk Show Host Hugh Hewitt: "Perfect Pitch Returned Tonight, And The President's Looks Backward And Forward Were On Target." (Hugh Hewitt Website, "A Good Speech By A Good Man", hughhewitt.com, 9/15/05)

Former Clinton Advisor And Pundit David Gergen: "[A] Strong, Confident Speech, And I Do Think It Will Give Reassurance To The People Of The Gulf Region ..." (CNN's "Larry King Live," 9/15/05)

The New York Times: "A Speech That Will Reassure Many Americans That He Understands The Enormity Of The Event And The Demands Of Leadership To Come." (Editorial, "Mr. Bush In New Orleans," The New York Times, 9/15/05)

Former Clinton Advisor Dick Morris: "Fantastic ... [A] Seminal Moment In Our History And I Think Bush Rose To The Occasion Magnificently." (Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes," 9/15/05)

The New York Times Columnist David Brooks: "Excellent." (PBS' "NewsHour," 9/15/05)

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD): "[I] Never Thought I Would Be Defending The President - But I Think What He's Trying To Put Forth Is A Plan To Resurrect A City And To Resurrect The Gulf Coast And Communities That Have Been Basically Destroyed And People Left With Nothing ... He Gave The American People The A-Plus They Deserved. ... Excellent Proposals ..." (MSNBC's "Presidential Address," 9/15/05)

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL): "All Good... I Like The Fact That He's Talking About Creating Tax Incentives For Businesses To Relocate; Training Accounts For Workers; Schooling For Kids; Homesteading..." (NPR's "Special Coverage," 9/15/05)

Melissa Block, NPR's "Special Coverage," Host: "Sounds Like, By And Large, You're Supporting The President's Proposals..." Durbin: "Yeah." (NPR's "Special Coverage," 9/15/05)
ABC's Ted Koppel In Response To A Focus Group: "If The National Response Is Reflected By That Small Group Of People In The Parking Lot Of The Astrodome, The President Has Made Some Major Progress Tonight." (ABC's "Nightline," 9/15/05)

The Washington Post's Charles Krauthammer: "[The President] Showed His Seriousness, Soberness, Ambition. He Wants To Rebuild And Make It Better. ... He Did A Good Job. ... He Did What He Had To Do And He Did It Well ... He's Setting A Very High Bar." (Fox News' "Special Report," 9/15/05)

Power Line Blog: "[A]t His Best ..." (Power Line Blog, www.powerlineblog.com, Accessed 9/16/05)

Los Angeles Times: "Impressive Array Of Initiatives Undertaken To Help Evacuees." (Editorial, "Bush's Rescue Mission," Los Angeles Times, 9/16/05)

Time's Jay Carney: "Effective And Pretty Powerful ... Novel Ideas ... The Most Creative Was The Urban Homesteading Act, Which Is A Really Creative Way I Think Towards Giving Home Ownership To Poor People." (CNN's "Larry King Live," 9/15/05)

The Boston Globe's Nina Easton: "[The President] Addressed The Racial Issue And ... Did So Well." (Fox News' "Special Report," 9/15/05)

The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol: "[A] Pretty Compelling, I Thought, Compassionate Conservative Agenda." (Fox News' "Fox & Friends," 9/16/05)

Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC): "Will Go A Long Ways ..." (PBS' "Charlie Rose," 9/15/05)

Former Speaker Of The House Newt Gingrich: "A Very Solid Speech...Did A Very Solid Job Of Communicating The Concept Of The 'Gulf Opportunity Zone,' The Concept Of Urban Homesteading ..." (Fox News' "On The Record," 9/15/05)

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What are your thoughs on his speach?

VU&NICO

Well, the speach was moving and actually well written by someone beside him who CAN write and/or think (Bush can't, of course)...but it was too late. TOO LATE.

mh67511

I thought it was a good hopeful speech, albeit a little strange coming from a Republican, i.e. financing. 'm not concerned about money, but I can see why people might question where the money is going to come from. Then again, it's nothing new that Bush ISN'T fiscally consevative. I hope that the programs he talked about become a reality and they can turn this tragic event into a postive one for many families.

Lexis

Have you got a link for the list Amanda?

Erin

Exactly....too little, too late.

mh67511

I just don't see how this is too little....the speech talks about major efforts, we're talking hundreds of billions of dollars. How is that "too little?"

As far as being too late, I agree that parts of the speech were. But as far as discussing resconstruction efforts, it takes time to develop a resconstruction plan. With the amount of money we're talking about, they BETTER have a clear plan as to where money will be going, etc. The worst thing to do would be to quickly throw together a crappy plan.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washing...ina-text_x.htm

There's a link to the speech.

StrayFromTheWater

Well, whatever, Bush SO caused the Hurricane and then made the local and state governments in LA and Miss. completely mess up the prep and relief efforts. AND it's all because he can't read or write. If he could, maybe he could've like sent them a letter or something about it?

Geez people, I don't like the guy, but can we say biased one-sided exaggerations?

Lain

Does anyone have the link for Bush's speech or could happen to post it up in the thread?

Obviously, I have never heard the speech so I can't really give my two cents worth...yet. But when I went online on AOL, its poll on this matter showed that Bush's speech didn't seem that inspiring. Well, not surprisingly, Bush hasn't done a lot of things right ever since the beginning of his term.

LiteratiFan0624

"Tonight I propose the creation of a Gulf Opportunity Zone, encompassing the region of the disaster in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Within this zone, we should provide immediate incentives for job-creating, investment tax relief for small businesses, incentives to companies that create jobs, and loans and loan guarantees for small businesses, including minority-owned enterprises, to get them up and running again. It is entrepreneurship that creates jobs and opportunity, it is entrepreneurship that helps break the cycle of poverty and we will take the side of entrepreneurs as they lead the economic revival of the Gulf region."

It seems to me that Bush is implying that by trying to "eliminate" poverty in the Gulf Coast is going to make things so much better. Newsflash, Mr. Bush - poverty is everywhere, and many of the people affected by the hurricane were poor BEFORE the hurricane.

It seems that it takes a great tragedy for our government to take action. With 9/11, we only started securing our airports more after the attacks, and with Hurricane Katrina, we are only now going to build up the levees and fight poverty. I'm sorry, but that is pretty pathetic to me.

mh67511

Don't get me wrong, I'm not longer a fan of Bush, but I'd rather have them start ACTUALLY addressing poverty issues than not.

Lain

You mean you used to be a fan of Bush?!? No kidding.

No, I was just joking around since everyone has their own point of views on Bush. Poverty has been adressed time and time again and I agree that at least someone should address the issues of poverty without letting the issue fade in and out like it was no big deal.

Oh...sorry, didn't notice you put the link for Bush's speech before my other reply. I'll read it later but thanks anyway.

dawnie

I'm going to reserve my opinion until I've been back home for a few months and see if any of this really comes to pass. When I have power again I'll let you know how it all worked out and if any of these programs are really being put into place...

Erin

Nobody has ever said that Bush caused the hurricane, and if they did, they are idiots.

The fact remains, not enough was done AT THE TIME. And yeah, local and state government officials are to blame as well, but the man is the President. The leader of our country. So yeah, he is going to be the one the blame ultimately lies with. The hurricane obviously couldn't have been avoided, but the levee's breaking? The amount of time it took to get the evacuees out? There was a serious breakdown in communication that never should have happened.

I have defended Bush in the past, but even I am having trouble with this one. Like dawnie said, we'll see. The speech may have been a good speech, but they are just words. We'll see if they actually come to pass.

In Fair Verona

UnsilentMajorty

I read that if Bush were to repeal the tax cuts for the wealthy that he passed that this alone could rebuild New Orleans, let alone help the country start paying down the debt...

But of course, that isn't going to happen