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Hurricane Katrina was seen as former President George W. Bush’s downfall. Now we have commentators from around the country asking a similar question. Is this the event that crumbles the Obama Presidency? The American people tend to take notice of leaders during times of such crisis.
Everyone has come across the pictures and videos of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico unabated but few really know the gravity of the damage that this spill has done to the environment and to the economies of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. With that being said, what could have possibly been done differently that would have changed any of this? By asking this question, it helps to realize the mistakes that were perpetrated during a similar crisis, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Former President Bush was immediately applauded for how he handled the disaster in a poll taken two days after the hurricane hit. Two weeks later, polls showed that the majority of Americans disapproved of his handling of the crisis. In the end, he took the brunt of the criticism for failings that were mostly out of his control. The media showed daily pictures of the people inside the Superdome and around New Orleans struggling to get supplies. These images were shown just as the video of oil spewing into the gulf was shown on various news channels. The judgment of the American people comes from the perception of what they see on their television sets.
The facts of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are often forgotten. Such as the fact that the President urged the leaders of Mississippi and Louisiana to get everyone evacuated and issue a national disaster so that aid could begin to mobilize in a large way. Most of the responsibility falls on the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Louisiana that failed to get their people properly evacuated and prepared.
An independent investigation is under way currently that will aim at finding the cause of the explosion on the oil rig, but there are many areas of concern that need to be addressed. The federal watchdog that is supposed to inspect the rigs for safety and viability was shown to have taken large kickbacks in the form of sex and drugs. This made it so that the safety guidelines were easily bypassed by BP. The brunt of the blame should go to BP and its CEO Tony Heyward. President Obama didn’t cause this accident but the cleanup is under his watch. It took Obama over 40 days to meet with Heyward to discuss cleanup. Even the editorial board of the New York Times wrote a scathing critique of his poor leadership during this crisis. They said, "The president cannot plug the leak or magically clean up the fouled Gulf of Mexico. But he and his administration need to do a lot more to show they are on top of this mess, and not perpetually behind the curve.”
The Times have a reputation for leaning left and they have taken jabs at President Obama in recent days criticizing his leadership and also his thin-skin. He has deflected blame in this crisis, most memorably on the Today Show when he was looking for, “whose ass to kick.” Most Americans knew from day two of this mess who to blame.
These things are extremely tough; the largest oil spill in almost 40 years, but that is what the top executive in this country is for. We elected him based on the fact that he would lead in these bad times. So far he has shown poor leadership skills and the Times points out his promise to the American people of bipartisanship was naïve.
There is no time to waste and the governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, has repeatedly asked for federal help to stem the crisis but hasn’t received any assistance. Former President Bush was criticized for taking too many vacations but President Obama was seen at two rock concerts in his honor in Washington D.C. with it also being reported that he has played almost 40 rounds of golf since the beginning of his term a year and a half ago. One might ask what the big deal is, but when the President declares that it will be his ‘biggest priority’ except concerts, golf, and fundraisers of course.
It was just reported in the last few days that Governor Jindal decided to take matters in his own hands and ordered that a wall be built between the barrier islands to help block the oil from coming to the coast of Louisiana. He has mobilized many to help in the cleanup. For Obama though, he must mobilize recovery at a rate far superior to the resources available to just Louisiana.
Former Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney wrote a piece most recently that was critical of Obama’s leadership but more importantly advised ways of helping in the cleanup. Obama could get the best minds in the world to come together to help gather ideas on how to stem the oil spill and the following cleanup process if this was his top priority
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Author, "Diary From the Dome, Reflections on Fear and Privilege During Katrina"