Devastating ice storms have rocked Kentucky, prompting Gov. Steve Beshear to seek disaster aid, USAToday reports. And yet the Obama administration has remained silent on the issue.
This marks Kentucky’s largest and most extensive natural disaster in history: 25 are dead, 600,000 are without power, and people by scores are holed up in shelters.
Yet, in spite of the suffering of hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans, Obama hasn’t said a word.
To be fair, he did sign disaster declarations; but these are pro forma and done by staff at the request of the states affected. The situation warrants much more.
Where is the outrage? The president should have at least dispatched the vice president to the region if he himself could not make it.
As the president was at his Super Bowl party at the White House, thousands of Kentucky residents sat in darkness waiting for help, as power had yet to be restored to many parts of the area.
If President Bush had done the same thing, he would be vilified by the press and rightfully so.
While Obama was campaigning, he was brutal about the Bush administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina. He talked at length about the necessity of comforting those in need, and the importance of letting citizens know their government has not forgotten them. He often spoke about proper response time should disaster strike.
Obama also stated many times that government should be capable of handling many issues at the same time.
Where is the change he pledged? He said many times that “we are not red states, we are not blue states, we are the United States!”
He has faced his first challenged and by all accounts he has failed. His administration lacks the caring and understanding necessary for the tens of thousands of Americans who are suffering.
Bradley A. Blakeman is a former member of President George W. Bush’s senior staff.
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