Coming Up Short
Then there's this: the underlying story that so many of those trapped in New Or leans or Gulfport or Biloxi were stranded because they didn't have enough money to leave. They are poor, mostly black; now they are destitute. (So much for the GOP outreach to African-Americans.) Now they need charity and federal assistance. And we need to know why they were left to suffer and die. George W. Bush needs to tell us and to find a way to help them put their lives back together while they mourn their dead. That's what presidents do. No bullhorn amid the rubble, just an outstretched hand and palpable help.
After the president flew over the affected areas last week, he told ABC: "The image that sticks in my mind the most is somebody sitting on a rooftop waving a flag saying, 'Come and get me.' " So why didn't we?
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