Obama takes charge at hurricane command center

[AntZ]

Obama takes charge at hurricane command center

AFP


http://i.imgur.com/aQZZM.jpg



US President Barack Obama warned Saturday the US east coast was in for a "long 72 hours" as he led his government's response to Hurricane Irene at a disaster command center in Washington.

Obama chaired a meeting at the National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) set up at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) headquarters in Washington, which is marshaling federal and local hurricane-relief efforts.

"This is going to be a tough slog getting through this thing," Obama said during a video teleconference including senior federal officials and local government agencies in the east coast path of Irene.

"It's going to be a long 72 hours. Obviously a lot of families are going to be affected ... the biggest concern I'm having right now has to do with flooding and power," Obama said during the videoconference.

"(It) sounds like that's going to be an enormous strain on a lot of states" that could last days, or even longer in some cases, he said.

Officials said the NRCC brings together multiple government agencies and departments to coordinate disaster response with federal, state and local groups around the clock.

The White House said Obama heard updates from governors and emergency management officials in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont.

The White House appears to have carefully considered the lesson of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when a botched response effort and confusion between state and federal agencies inflicted a heavy political price on president George W. Bush.

Obama returned home one night early on Friday from his island vacation on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts and appeared keen to be visibly in charge as the response to Hurricane Irene unfolds.

Earlier on Saturday, Obama held a conference call with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, FEMA administrator Craig Fugate and other senior emergency management officials.

"The president reiterated that we know that this storm's impacts will continue to be felt throughout the weekend and that we still have work ahead of us to support potentially impacted states and communities," the White House said.

Sustained winds of 85 miles (140 kilometers) an hour lashed coastal areas as Irene made landfall near the southern end of a chain of barrier islands that ring the North Carolina coast, the National Hurricane Center said.

Cities along the east coast of the United States -- from Washington to New York to Boston -- braced for the impact, with hundreds of thousands of people ordered to evacuate low-lying areas.

[KevinD]

Cat 1 or smaller..piss off you wankers!

[Loser]

:wank:

[Griffin]

Obama couldn't take charge of 12 year olds going the wrong way in a skating rink.

[KevinD]

Obama couldn't take charge of 12 year olds going the wrong way in a skating rink.


Sure he could...as soon as he started talking, all the hot air would melt the ice....lol

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Man, this guy can't win for losing....you guys bitch that he goes on vacation and then he cuts his vacation short and heads to FEMA HQ during the hurricane and you bitch about that.

:rolleyes:

I personally can't stand Obama and can't wait until he is out of office, but this bitching about EVERYTHING he does is getting more than just a little old and repetitive.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Hey I know, maybe next we can start a thread about how he reads the newspaper wrong, or how he orders his cheeseburgers wrong :tup:

[DemonGeminiX]

I sure do hope the people effected by this storm turn out ok.

[KevinD]

I'm not poking any more at Obama than I did Bush or Clinton. I just wasn't active here (or AS) then...

[Hal-9000]

Hey I know, maybe next we can start a thread about how he reads the newspaper wrong, or how he orders his cheeseburgers wrong :tup:

We already had one about how he read a teleprompter wrong and then was critiqued for using one....

gee, a president that has to read his speeches....how unique :rolleyes:

[AntZ]

gee, a president that has to read his speeches....how unique :rolleyes:

Actually, it is! Can't think of a single president that required one for every speaking event including talking to grade school children!

But you right, it's disrespectful and mean spited to criticize such an incompetent and ill equipped president while the country continues to falter under his lack of any kind of leadership!

We should start posting more threads about how stupid the Republican candidates are! I wonder when the last time one was posted? Like Bachmann! :-k

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Actually, it is! Can't think of a single president that required one for every speaking event including talking to grade school children!

But you right, it's disrespectful and mean spited to criticize such an incompetent and ill equipped president while the country continues to falter under his lack of any kind of leadership!

We should start posting more threads about how stupid the Republican candidates are! I wonder when the last time one was posted? Like Bachmann! :-k

If you (and others) insist on posting anti-Obama shit over and over and over on a daily basis, I will continue to find articles you don't like ;)

And trying to compare a couple of articles critical of Bachman with the 10 zillion anti-Obama threads posted here is lame.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Or better yet, I can just ban all political discussion on this forum period, how's that sound? Up to you guys....

[DemonGeminiX]

I'm all for it.

:thumbsup:

[Muddy]

Cat 1 or smaller..piss off you wankers!

Get out of here with that mess.. We had 2 million people without power.. My neighbor has 2 crushed brand new cars, and I damn near need a tractor to clean up this debris..

[Acid Trip]

Or better yet, I can just ban all political discussion on this forum period, how's that sound? Up to you guys....

I guess I'm the only with one with enough balls to answer you so here goes.

How you react to other people (in this case you get mad when people bash Obama) is your problem. You choose to read the replies and then choose to get mad about them. Half the people here are mods so let them moderate the political discussions if Obama bashing gets to you that mad.

You must be having one hell of a Monday.

[AntZ]

If you (and others) insist on posting anti-Obama shit over and over and over on a daily basis, I will continue to find articles you don't like ;)

And trying to compare a couple of articles critical of Bachman with the 10 zillion anti-Obama threads posted here is lame.


First off, any article about Obama from any credible news source will appear to be negative because the state of the country. I criticize him based on his job as president, where others seem to attack Perry and Bachman on their religious beliefs. I'm all for judging a politician on their job or lack there of.

If you feel you need to ban topics because you don't like them, that's entirely up to you.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I guess I'm the only with one with enough balls to answer you so here goes.

How you react to other people (in this case you get mad when people bash Obama) is your problem. You choose to read the replies and then choose to get mad about them. Half the people here are mods so let them moderate the political discussions if Obama bashing gets to you that mad.

You must be having one hell of a Monday.

Obama bashing doesn't get me mad, I can't stand him personally as I have stated multiple times. What gets me mad is having to see thread upon thread upon thread on a daily basis bashing Obama over the pettiest of things. That's what tries my patience...especially when someone tries to equate a couple of stories critical of Bachman with the hundreds of threads criticizing Obama.

And "my problem" becomes everyone else's problem because this forum is co-owned by me. It's not a democracy, it's a private forum. And if people feel the need to continually beat a dead horse and then feign being offended when an opposite view is presented, then things will obviously change, and not to some people's liking. ;) And believe me, that's a last resort because the last thing I want to do is ban certain topics from being discussed, but I can see why many forums have put politics and religion on the verboten list.

But thanks for the reply, I was wondering if anyone was gonna say anything.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

First off, any article about Obama from any credible news source will appear to be negative because the state of the country. I criticize him based on his job as president, where others seem to attack Perry and Bachman on their religious beliefs. I'm all for judging a politician on their job or lack there of.

If you feel you need to ban topics because you don't like them, that's entirely up to you.

This article wasn't negative per se....until you tagged it with EPIC FAIL". Please explain to me what the epic fail is behind the President doing his job?

And I love politics, I discuss it all the time, but I am at the end of my rope with the same things being beaten over and over. You don't like Obama, I get it and that's fine, there are a lot of people that don't like him, including myself. However, I don't need to see every article that nitpicks him apart every single day. And as I already stated, if this continues, then I will keep finding articles criticizing the republican candidates.

And then if it continues to devolve, then things will need to be changed.

[Hal-9000]

Actually, it is! Can't think of a single president that required one for every speaking event including talking to grade school children!

But you right, it's disrespectful and mean spited to criticize such an incompetent and ill equipped president while the country continues to falter under his lack of any kind of leadership!

We should start posting more threads about how stupid the Republican candidates are! I wonder when the last time one was posted? Like Bachmann! :-k

I'd love to research who has used a teleprompter for speeches in terms of American presidents but I think the point may have been lost on you...
I agree with Lance.No matter what this person does, no matter how small the issue...it's examined and critiqued here.And Lance is no fan of Obama.

It's almost like a Klan-hunt ffs some days around here :lol:

[KevinD]

I didn't respond, cause I was busy watching a rentload of Thor (great flick btw)
So, here's my take. Instead of banning discussions on Politics, religion or other subjects, how about we stick to the rules ..no name calling, flames, personal attacks etc. If some one breaks the rules (even heaven forbid, a Mod) then enforce the penalties.
There are times where I get mad at how someone views my post(s) and perhaps I step out of line sometimes too, however, no one is forcing me to come here and read the posts by persons that may upset me. For the most part, we all seem to get along fairly well, though we have vastly differing views on some subjects. I'm not a co-owner, mod or anything else here, but would really hate for things to get so bad that things would be blacklisted.


Titties and Beer dammit!

[AntZ]

This article wasn't negative per se....until you tagged it with EPIC FAIL". Please explain to me what the epic fail is behind the President doing his job?


Sure, I'll explain! It was an EPIC FAIL because it was a photo op! He left his vacation to sit in a Hurricane command post, have quick updates and get his picture taken. There is NOTHING for a president to do in a hurricane center! EVERY Cat 1 and above hurricane in HISTORY has never had a sitting U.S, President sit and watch storm pictures on a screen from a command post. Why? Because there are better things for him to do! This is no different then the late Lady Diana being driven to a mine field wearing a helmet and flack jacket, she gets out and points, then a hundred pictures are taken and she is rushed back to the nearest 5 star hotel. I would have had no problem if O went back to the WH and was monitoring the storm. Just as every president has done since the birth of this country when storms have been tearing up the Gulf and East coast. Now is this nitpicking, maybe on my part, I just dislike the song and dance!

I posted no comment! Just as I do in 90% of the articles I post. I do pick icons for a laugh or even to be sarcastic! If that is what upset you, I'm surprised, because I would think that long profanity laced rants would have been more of a problem.


PS.. I HATE nothing more then when politicians do the "Rolling up the sleeves, so I can get to work" BULLSHIT!! That, and the fact that he went there for no reason is what annoyed me so much.

[KevinD]

PS.. I HATE nothing more then when politicians do the "Rolling up the sleeves, so I can get to work" BULLSHIT!! That, and the fact that he went there for no reason is what annoyed me so much.

Don't vote for Perry then...lol

[DemonGeminiX]

Get out of here with that mess.. We had 2 million people without power.. My neighbor has 2 crushed brand new cars, and I damn near need a tractor to clean up this debris..

Glad you and the family are ok, bro.

:tup:

[DemonGeminiX]

Sure, I'll explain! It was an EPIC FAIL because it was a photo op! He left his vacation to sit in a Hurricane command post, have quick updates and get his picture taken. There is NOTHING for a president to do in a hurricane center! EVERY Cat 1 and above hurricane in HISTORY has never had a sitting U.S, President sit and watch storm pictures on a screen from a command post. Why? Because there are better things for him to do! This is no different then the late Lady Diana being driven to a mine field wearing a helmet and flack jacket, she gets out and points, then a hundred pictures are taken and she is rushed back to the nearest 5 star hotel. I would have had no problem if O went back to the WH and was monitoring the storm. Just as every president has done since the birth of this country when storms have been tearing up the Gulf and East coast. Now is this nitpicking, maybe on my part, I just dislike the song and dance!

I posted no comment! Just as I do in 90% of the articles I post. I do pick icons for a laugh or even to be sarcastic! If that is what upset you, I'm surprised, because I would think that long profanity laced rants would have been more of a problem.


PS.. I HATE nothing more then when politicians do the "Rolling up the sleeves, so I can get to work" BULLSHIT!! That, and the fact that he went there for no reason is what annoyed me so much.

If I do recall correctly, Bush did go to the Gulf Coast to survey the damage done by Katrina. Just sayin'. And don't say he didn't. I know he did. It was probably a week after the fact but he was still there. And he went back a year later to see the recovery progress. You can verify that yourself. There are articles to that effect floating around the web.

As far back as I can remember, every President has done that. In fact, I think every politician holding office has done that... and every politician running for office has done it if it was an election year. That's kinda what they do. I agree, it's bullshit, but I guess it makes some people feel better. If it didn't, they probably wouldn't be doing it. I suppose the idea that your leader actually cares enough to show up is good enough for some people.

[Hal-9000]

Get out of here with that mess.. We had 2 million people without power.. My neighbor has 2 crushed brand new cars, and I damn near need a tractor to clean up this debris..

Yeah I was reading how people are criticizing the emergency measures saying that they weren't needed.Tell that to half of the country who just went through hell....

[Muddy]

Glad you and the family are ok, bro.

:tup:

Thanks! It was a little scary at one point.. We stayed down at the river during the thing to make sure the sumps stayed running in the lower section of the house.. At one point we got stuck down there because so many HUGE trees were across the road..

[DemonGeminiX]

Thanks! It was a little scary at one point.. We stayed down at the river during the thing to make sure the sumps stayed running in the lower section of the house.. At one point we got stuck down there because so many HUGE trees were across the road..

That does sound kinda scary. I stayed through a category 2 a while back even though we were ordered to evacuate and I've got nothing but trees in the back yard. Watching them sway back and forth wondering where their breaking point is... so I can relate.

So... no Seadoos on the roof of the house?

[redred]

yes MG glad to see you back on the forum :tup: hope it didn't stress the family out too much and you get everything back to normal as soon as

[AntZ]

If I do recall correctly, Bush did go to the Gulf Coast to survey the damage done by Katrina. Just sayin'. And don't say he didn't. I know he did. It was probably a week after the fact but he was still there. And he went back a year later to see the recovery progress. You can verify that yourself. There are articles to that effect floating around the web.

As far back as I can remember, every President has done that. In fact, I think every politician holding office has done that... and every politician running for office has done it if it was an election year. That's kinda what they do. I agree, it's bullshit, but I guess it makes some people feel better. If it didn't, they probably wouldn't be doing it. I suppose the idea that your leader actually cares enough to show up is good enough for some people.

O.K.??

Even though this has NOTHING to do with what we are talking about here!

But because you brought it up, lets look at Bush's trip! He was told that the airport had just been reopened, they were flying in rescuer's and needed food and water. If he was to go survey the damage, it would shut down the airport for security reasons. The 747 and his team of helicopters would take over the airport. He said NO, in fact he sent in the Marine One's to help in the rescues!

http://i.imgur.com/jWeFx.jpg


Rove writes that the Bush administration mishandled several aspects of the response to Katrina, including allowing the president to survey the devastation from Air Force One. Rove says it was a mistake to allow Bush to fly over the storm-ravaged area, which resulted in a photograph of Bush that critics said showed him as aloof in his response.


He eventually did go survey the damage several days later after being blasted from everyone in the media.

Now where exactly did I say that no President ever surveyed disaster damage?

I did say:


There is NOTHING for a president to do in a hurricane center! EVERY Cat 1 and above hurricane in HISTORY has never had a sitting U.S, President sit and watch storm pictures on a screen from a command post. Why? Because there are better things for him to do!

No President has shown up at a command center and declared taking charge while the storm is in progress!

[DemonGeminiX]

Don't tell me it has nothing to do with what we're talking about. It's the same exact thing. It's making his presence known in light of events that are affecting parts of the nation. If nothing else, it's Obama looking to improve on the image that Bush had during times of hardship. Recall the bad press that Bush got when being accused of taking too long to take any action whatsoever. He got it during Katrina and 9/11. Obama wanted to avoid that bad press and he did.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

You're criticizing Obama for going to FEMA just because (in your opinion) it was nothing more than a photo op?

This right here:

http://i.imgur.com/o74Kf.jpg

Flying on board an aircraft carrier in a military jet instead of arriving by chopper and then giving his speech from the deck is more of a blatant photo op than anything Obama has done so far.

[AntZ]

Don't tell me it has nothing to do with what we're talking about. It's the same exact thing. It's making his presence known in light of events that are affecting parts of the nation. If nothing else, it's Obama looking to improve on the image that Bush had during times of hardship. Recall the bad press that Bush got when being accused of taking too long to take any action whatsoever. He got it during Katrina and 9/11. Obama wanted to avoid that bad press and he did.

O.K., fair enough! But this is just "appearances"! Bush NEVER did the right thing no matter what he did, he was attacked by every news broadcast, paper, and comedian.

Since Obama has been pres., he has shown to be primarily only interested in vacations and golf. And anyone will agree, he only gets a hair line fraction of the bad press Bush ever received.

[AntZ]

Flying on board an aircraft carrier in a military jet instead of arriving by chopper and then giving his speech from the deck is more of a blatant photo op than anything Obama has done so far.

And he was criticized by half the worlds population! Who has attacked Obama for his photo op, besides myself and a couple other posters here?

[Teh One Who Knocks]

And he was criticized by half the worlds population! Who has attacked Obama for his photo op, besides myself and a couple other posters here?

:-k :-k

After the Bush press conference aboard the carrier:


Chris Matthews on MSNBC called Bush a “hero” and boomed, “He won the war. He was an effective commander. Everybody recognizes that, I believe, except a few critics.” He added: “Women like a guy who’s president. Check it out. The women like this war. I think we like having a hero as our president. It’s simple.”


Bob Schieffer on CBS said: “As far as I’m concerned, that was one of the great pictures of all time.” His guest, Joe Klein, responded: “Well, that was probably the coolest presidential image since Bill Pullman played the jet fighter pilot in the movie Independence Day. That was the first thing that came to mind for me.”

[FBD]

hah, I'm glad this is the first I opened this thread.

agree w antz, there is jack to be done while the disaster is going on. similar, but not exactly the same as surveying and getting in touch w folks after the fact. and wrt katrina, I thought it rather funny people bash bush's "not having an immediate response" when his immediate response was the appropriate states-rights one - if they ask for help, send it, its not the fed's place to jump right in and automatically take control of a situation like that.

wrt other bush o comparisons...yeah, I dont need to go there :D

[Pony]

:-s

:-k

:outtahere:

[Griffin]

I have on occasion been asked for my opinion.
I jokingly say, "I don't need an opinion because my wife has enough for both of us and is not not a bit selfish in sharing hers!"

...I guess admins here are like wives. no joke.

[deebakes]

...I guess admins here are like wives. no joke.

so they don't put out either? :(

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I have on occasion been asked for my opinion.
I jokingly say, "I don't need an opinion because my wife has enough for both of us and is not not a bit selfish in sharing hers!"

...I guess admins here are like wives. no joke.

Here's an opinion for you, sarcasm will not earn you any points. How's that one?

Oh wait, that's not just opinion, that's a fact.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I am done discussing this situation, everyone knows where things stand and if they have a problem with it, things will happen.

Thread closed.

[Goofy]

...I guess admins here are like wives. no joke.

The admins here pay for this forum you choose to post at, if you don't like the way we run things then you know where the door is :)

Personally i have no interest in politics/politicians whatsoever, as far as i'm concerned they're all a bunch of wankers. We're all adults here i assume........ the way some people go on and on and on about Obama's shortcomings is pretty childish and severely boring to me though, it even pops up in threads that have nothing to do with him. Get a life!

So, just so you all know where you stand, if Lance decides Political discussion is gonna be blacklisted then i'll support him 100% - its just like religious discussion, it causes rifts :)