Bush Sets the Bar Low, Still Nobody Gets Over It

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Bush Sets the Bar Low, Still Nobody Gets Over It
Posted January 29, 2008 | 04:31 PM (EST)

In this week's State of the Union address, President Bush remedied an omission in last year's address: He actually deigned to mention New Orleans. There are those, among them Senator Mary Landrieu, who saluted the fact of a mention, much like those who salute the fact that Sen. John Edwards used the Lower Ninth Ward as a backdrop for the photo-op announcement of his candidacy.

For the record, here's the entirety of what Bush said on the subject of New Orleans:

Tonight the armies of compassion continue the march to a new day in the Gulf Coast. America honors the strength and resilience of the people of this region. We reaffirm our pledge to help them build stronger and better than before. And tonight I'm pleased to announce that in April we will host this year's North American Summit of Canada, Mexico, and the United States in the great city of New Orleans. (Applause.)

Too bad the armies of compassion are being outnumbered by the navies of not-caring and the marines of malfeasance. Still, that's one paragraph about New Orleans more than has been uttered by any of the Presidential candidates, R or D, in any of the debates thus far. Yes, John Edwards uttered the city's name, only to say it shouldn't be "picked on" for the state of the Lower 9th (which was, for the record, filled with African-American homeowners before the flood washed them away). And, in fairness, the summit the President has announced will benefit the New Orleans economy, by attracting hundreds, if not thousands, of anti-NAFTA protestors.

But the bar has been set pretty low with this address. Which candidate will have the hops to get over it?

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