Wow how surprising it is to see the President take an active interest in the Gulf Coast. It seems oh so convienent that he decides to visit the area when his new poll numbers came back as less than favorable. With all the talk of the Iraq situation and its almost inevitable civil war to the federal budget and it's less than generous amounts to causes that actually matter such as Medicaid and food stamps. It's difficult to take his rhetoric seriously since we have already heard it before. It seems all too coincidence that he is now trying to get an extra 5.4 billion to help the homeowners re-build their houses yet the most devastated areas in New Orleans are still being cleaned up. This whole charade of nonsense is so transparent that it evokes outrage instead of images of a strong leader.
A lot has been said and discussed about the mis-handling of Hurricane Katrina. The nation saw the devastation first-hand and were appalled at what we saw. Issues such as racism and poverty were hot-button issues for about two months than they died down. Now that the President is seeing how the public is losing almost complete faith in his ability as not only a President but a leader of the free world, he has to do major damage control. The whole trip to the Gulf Coast area was nothing more than a PR stunt used to increase faith in this administration. But they may start to slowly realize that the same justifications for the the slow progress in the area isn't going to appease anyone anymore. The people of this area are still displaced and are continuing to have to jump through red-tape in order to get any assistance. The lack-luster attitude that this administration continues to pose only shows how the president and his cabinet are disconnected with the general public. This trip may have been used to try to bolster support for the president, but what it may have done is only solidfy the governments incompetence when it came to this situation as well as showcase our failure to truly help and support the thousands affected by this disaster.