August 29th was also the day that Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, while John McCain and George W. Bush was laughing it up on the airport tarmac with a huge birthday cake in front of them.
An American city was lost on that day, and the Bush administration was slow in responding to one of the worst natural catastrophes ever. So was John McCain. America needed a strong, decisive leader during this national crisis, and where was John McCain? Eating cake with President George W. Bush.
The only press release his Senate office released on that day was about how to make air travel more efficient.
And no speeches in that month of August as well, and no articles about the victims of Hurricane Katrina in August or September either.
McCain finally comes out with an opinion editorial on September 16th, taking his sweet time to respond 22 days after Hurricane Katrina hit, about the need for first responders.
And there are no floor statements about the victims of Hurricane Katrina, except for one on September 13th, 19 days after Hurricane Katrina hit, about the need for first responders again.
And now, what did Senator Obama do? Let's count the many ways what he did below:
Just five days after the hurricane hit, Senator Obama held a press conference, asking his constituents to help out the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Senator Obama was there to meet victims from New Orleans on September 5th, when Presidents Clinton and Bush announced their Hurricane Fund, and went to the Houston Astrodome to visit the Katrina evacuees.
Moved by what he saw at the Houston Astrodome, Senator Obama decided he had to speak out against the inequities he witnessed.
Obama also continued to address the need for addressing the urban poverty that stopped Katrina victims from evacuating:
Senator Barack Obama worked from the start of the September on several bills to help keep families together in an event of national disaster, helping the medical communityby establishing a national emergency volunteer corps in the wake of natural disasters, requiring emergency preparedness plans in each community to help protect society's most vulnerable
He also reached across the aisle to Senator Tom Coburn to increase oversight of financial activities regarding Hurricane Katrina funds. Senator Obama also responded strongly to President Bush's speech in New Orleans.
It's clear that Senator Obama took action immediately after the disaster hit New Orleans and its residents in comparison to John McCain who ate cake on that day. Is McCain going to eat cake the next time a disaster hits on his birthday? And McCain wants to announce his Vice-President on his birthday? Talk about chutzpah.
What the Obama campaign should do in seizing the newscycle about McCain on that day, is to make what McCain sees a positive into a negative (his birthday, which he'll try to mark the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina):
- Hold two events in the day, the morning and the afternoon, preferably with the VP pick, in New Orleans, to mark the tragic anniversary of that day. Obama should talk about where he was on that day, what he was doing, and what he felt when he saw the news coverage. This forces the media to cover the specifics of WHERE John McCain was on that day, and WHAT he exactly was doing---eating birthday cake with President George W. Bush.
- It also would be nice to highlight what the Vice-Presidential pick said on that day, like erm, Senator Joe Biden, and his legislative actions on this issue?
- There also should be a vigil to the evening event in memory of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Obama needs to blast George W. Bush for his failure to lead, and say these lines that he did in his response to George W. Bush back in 2005:
"In the months to come, as the waters recede and the cameras turn away, will we have the courage to follow through on the convictions that were voiced tonight? Will we hold on to some of that shame we all felt during those first few days, when the scenes of helplessness and neglect reflected an image of America that we knew wasn't us?
"I hope that we will - and I will be working to ensure that we make real the promise, 'never again.' Never again will we leave any American behind. Never again will we forget that we rise or fall together as one American family."
- Keep the media focused on what McCain did on August 29, 2005, and what his vice-presidential pick did on that day and in the weeks to come. This helps steal any positive light off his vice-presidential/birthday pick.
Let's get those rotten bastards, kossacks! DIGG THIS!!!