I'm not going to link to any articles - you all know what I'm writing about. I'm not going to blockquote anyone - this isn't something where some other article or individual I've spotted has done this any justice. This is just a meta-diary of me recording my absolute pure emotional response to the state of things right now.
I'm furious that John Sydney McCain is in Mississippi right now, prancing around with his new bff Sarah "Former Mayor of Town Smaller than 'Nowhere' (i.e. Ketchikan)" Palin, and talking to the news media like he's the man in charge of the hurricane preparation and relief operations.
He's not.
John McCain is the Senior Senator from the State of Arizona. The. State. Of. Arizona.
This is ridiculous.
Look people. Hurricane Gustav, though thankfully slightly weaker than we'd expected at this point, is going to plow through Louisiana and probably wreak godawful havoc on New Orleans. This is no joke. And if the current track holds, or he moves even just slightly east of it, which seems to have been the case for a while now, this could be even worse. We're talking about the absolute destruction of a major American city, twice in four years.
I do not want to see this happen. And seeing as I'm thousands of miles away, there doesn't seem to be much I can do but watch and find ways to contribute some money to the relief effort.
Seriously, though, John McCain altered his campaign plans to go to Mississippi to be briefed by former Republican National Committee Chairman and current Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, and no one, absolutely NO ONE, in the press is calling him on this? They're treating it as if it is perfectly logical that McCain would be in Mississippi. Meanwhile, our actual President is locked down in some FEMA office somewhere looking freaked out and telling everyone to run.
People. John McCain is running for office. He's not actually in that office. He doesn't even represent a part of the country that's in relative proximity to that geographic area. He's not on any Senate committee that appropriates funds for these things. He's not a hurricane or meteorological expert. He offers absolutely ZERO expertise, logistical support, or other assistance to this effort.
John McCain is in NO position to help.
Got that?
I'll repeat it again.
John McCain is in NO position to help.
At best, he could follow Obama's lead and ask his supporters to contribute and encourage people living there to get the hell out. At neutral, he's just an annoying gnat that will eventually get out of the way and do no harm. At worst, he could tie up needed resources and just be exploiting the pain and suffering of thousands of red-blooded Americans to try and give himself a bump up in the polls.
This is freaking ridiculous.
Someone call him on this shit. I'm over it.