Obama to visit FEMA to discuss hurricane season

Obama to visit FEMA to discuss hurricane season

By Maria Recio | McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will highlight his concern about hurricane preparedness — and draw sharp contrasts with his predecessor — when he visits the Federal Emergency Management Agency's headquarters for the first time Friday.

Hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30.

Obama, who was critical of President George W. Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina, will be briefed by newly installed FEMA chief Craig Fugate, a Florida emergency response veteran.

"It's important for the president to go and recognize FEMA," said Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., who lost his home to Katrina and was a relentless critic of former FEMA head Michael Brown's botched response to the 2005 hurricane. "We all learned the hard way why it was such an important post."

"It's good the president is giving it the emphasis it needs," Taylor said. Brown was a Bush loyalist whose job experience was primarily running an Arabian horse association.

Katrina, along with the war in Iraq, defined the Bush presidency in a way that never enabled him to recover. Bush left the White House as the most unpopular president in history, according to polls. Dan Bartlett, who was counselor to Bush, said of the hurricane in Vanity Fair earlier this year, "Politically, it was the final nail in the coffin."

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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/politics/story/69032.html

A regional director or something. He said Fugate was a great choice by Obama, a real pro with a ton of experience.

Good to know now that I am down here in FL.

:thumbsup:

:thumbsup:

.... "yay! His first hurricane!" the other day when I saw it spinning on the radar?

I know .... bad Clio, bad.

Sorry, but yes. :spank: :D

nt