Barack cannot afford to look as flat-footed in response to Gustav as he did in response to the Georgia invasion. Some suggestions about what Obama can do to show how he would handle a crisis as President.
Senator McCain has now suspended all but the necessary business of the Republican National Convention. He will now be seen as a man of bold action, while Obama will be portrayed as a typical Democrat, only capable of reacting, if that. Video of McCain's statment (which mirrors my suggestion for what Barack should have said) is below.
UPDATE:
Finally got an e-mail from the Barack campaign - clocked in at 1:51 pm, today, 9/1, with a link to the Red Cross. I still think Barack was a day late (why couldn't this have been done yesterday?) but I made a donation using his link, so I was not a dollar short.
McCain announcing suspension of political activities
When the Russians invaded Georgia, I thought Obama was correct in taking a low-key approach. John McCain acting like he was already the President was presumptuos and needlessly added to tensions between the U. S. and Russia.
Gustav is a completely different issue. Throughout the Democratic Convention, almost every speaker, and especially Obama, made a point of slamming Bush for his failure to respond to Katrina in a competent way. So far though I have not seen or heard anything substantive from the Obama campaign on Gustav. Instead, I'm continuing to receive emails asking me to contribute to the Obama Campaign.
I know that Obama is going to need the money. He's not only running against the 82 million dollars that the McCain campaign will have, he also has to spend money to counter an expected untold number of right wing 527's that'll make the "Swift Boat" campaign look like a kiddy ride at an amusement park. In addition, it will probably cost $80 million just to combat the Fox "all lies, all the time" News smears. But, because of his stance on the Reublican failure in response to Katrina Barack needs to show that his concern for those victims, is more than just words, especially now, when New Orleans seems close to being whacked again.
You can bet your bottom dollar that if Gustav does causes widespread damage, McCain or Palin will be invited to come along with Bush to make statements "from the front lines of storm relief efforts" while Obama and anyone affiliated with his campaign - even local Democratic officials are intentionally excluded.
My advice, Barack:
Turn off your ability to accept internet donations. Make a public statement urging the Red Cross to set up a special Gustav relief fund, and then ask your supporters to donate to that fund, instead of donating to you. Pull all your ads that have already been paid for and run one in which you say something like "In a national emergency like this, we must set partisanship aside and help our fellow Americans" or the like. Do this quickly, even before the storm hits and it will show off the Commander-in-Chief ability, that you know how to anticipate events and react to them, even before those events cause any damage. You might want to consider making a donation of blood, it's always needed, especially in the summer, and it makes a great photo-op.
Whatever money you lose in donations will be more than made up by the good publicity you get, especially if your campaign donates a million or two (if it's legal) to kick off the Gustav relief fundraising. If we judge George Bush harshly because of how he mishandled Katrina, we risk the same harsh judgement if our candidate for president seems to be offering a tepid response, to what looks like an emergency of huge proportions.
Many have already responded that Barack is working with "local officials" and organizing some kind of effort through his email list, the question is when? In addition, most relief organizations have made it clear that what they need most to respond effectively is cold, hard cash. If nothing else Barack has shown himself to be a money-rasing machine. If that's one of his best skills, that's how he can best help others