In a press release issued Saturday, September 3rd, 2005, Democratic Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana claims that President Bush staged a photo opportunity, at the breached 17th Street levee, by having equipment quickly moved into the background during the event. Senator Landrieu says the equipment was dispersed elsewhere the next day, but did not provide details.
Landrieu says in her press release, ” … we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment. The good and decent people of southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast — black and white, rich and poor, young and old — deserve far better from their national government …”
The President and Senator Landrieu toured the 17th Street levee on Friday, and held the photo-op. Senator Landrieu said she believed the repair effort was legitimate, at that time. Less than 24 hours later, she discovered only “one lonely crane” working on the site, while giving an aerial tour for ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. A video of her tearful comments, during that tour, has been circulating around the internet (WMV).
Senator Landrieu made no specific accusations about the photo-op during the ABC tour. However, neither does her press release describe any measures taken to verify that equipment was in-fact pulled from other projects for the purpose of the photo-op, nor where the equipment is now. The canal wall breach, near Hammond Highway, was later shown Sunday on CBS’ 60 Minutes with dump trucks and a power shovel building a single-lane pathway across the gap. The breach was closed Monday.
Notably, Senator Landrieu was herself criticized by Anderson Cooper (CNN) on Thursday, after she responded to a question by rattling off a list of “thank yous” to other politicians (WMV, transcript). Democratic pundits have excused such detachment as an attempt to gain more federal assistance during the tragedy. Senator Landrieu’s press release partially confirms this interpretation by attempting to simultaniously ask the president for more aid, while accusing him of misusing existing resources.
In related news, Germany’s ZDF News reported that the president’s visit to Biloxi was largely a staged event (video). Their onsite crew claimed that an “open air food distribution point Bush visited in front of the cameras was torn down immediately after the president and the herd of news people had left”, and alleges that others were being set up were abandoned at the same time. Christine Adelhardt of Germany’s ARD Tagesschule said “the extent of the staging is shocking me [as much as the disaster.]” She also claimed that, for the purpose of such photo-ops, heavy equipment was being moved to areas which would not require it (video). Senator Landrieu has not complained about any other staged photo-ops, nor has the American press accused the president’s press team off any impropriety.
Mayor Nagin has apologized to the president for his earlier accusations of poor federal support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
