Frank Rich: Has A 'Katrina Moment' Arrived?

New York Times:

A CHARMING visit with Jay Leno won't fix it. A 90 percent tax on bankers' bonuses won't fix it. Firing Timothy Geithner won't fix it. Unless and until Barack Obama addresses the full depth of Americans' anger with his full arsenal of policy smarts and political gifts, his presidency and, worse, our economy will be paralyzed. It would be foolish to dismiss as hyperbole the stark warning delivered by Paulette Altmaier of Cupertino, Calif., in a letter to the editor published by The Times last week: "President Obama may not realize it yet, but his Katrina moment has arrived."

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[Bramble8]

12:10 PM on 03/24/2009

Give me a break. What a disappointment.

[vsign]

08:03 AM on 03/24/2009

Obama's giggles equal Bush's smirk. Inappropriate and telling of a problem in the character of a President.

[motherfather]

08:42 AM on 03/24/2009

There is no similiarity between the two. One (Boosh), smirked because he was a privileged school boy who had everything including the presidency handed to him by his papa and friends. He had no compassion for the average person and pretty much laughed at us , you included for thinking he cared. Presdent Obama laughs because he cant believe some of the inane sh y t that you and others jump on him for just to have a reason be negative towards him. He knows there are bigger fish to fry and the smallness of people like you is amusing. Keep it up.

[vsign]

09:09 AM on 03/24/2009

" One (Boosh), smirked because he was a privileged school boy who had everything including the presidency handed to him ..."

Like I said - O is just like Bush. O has had every bit of power handed to him. Has O ever employed anyone? YOu know - worked and contributed to others having jobs? He is a celebrity President. Bush had more experience but yes, he too had it handed to him.

I liken Obama's giggles to someone who is robbing the bank and getting by with it. It would make anyone giggle.

[Phxflyer]

11:53 PM on 03/23/2009

While I generally lik Frank Rich, this column went overboard. This is hardly Obama's Katrina. But, like Katrina, it's Bush's mess he's cleaning up.

[ApolloniaCreed]

10:58 PM on 03/23/2009

How insulting! To compare a situation where people lost not only their livelihoods but some lost their family members and othersTHEIR LIVES - A situation where human bodies wereliterally left to decay in the street for days. This is an insult to the people that survived this and especially to memories of those who did not. What an insane comparison!

[doriath22]

10:24 PM on 03/23/2009

What, oh, what, will the all-knowing punditocracy do when they realize that the world has moved on and NO ONE is paying attention?

[brijit]

08:37 PM on 03/23/2009

Yes, Mr. Rich, it IS hyperbole! When the current crisis leaves thousands dead in the streets while the president stays on vacation playing the guitar and attending fund raisers and birthday parties, then it might be a Katrina.

[dcoxucla]

08:27 PM on 03/23/2009

FRANK RICH'S A DRAMA QUEEN

[rf-hawaii]

04:35 PM on 03/23/2009

They want him to fail. They'll try anything to make it happen.

We won't stand for it.

[rf-hawaii]

03:51 PM on 03/23/2009

Nope.

[ThomasPaineWeNeedYou]

03:03 PM on 03/23/2009

In a word NO

[USA1776]

02:58 PM on 03/23/2009

You're doing a great job Brownie, I mean Geithner ... and I am a Democrat. We have a caste system masquarading as a democracy.

[rf-hawaii]

03:52 PM on 03/23/2009

True.

[simplify]

02:47 PM on 03/23/2009

I hope John Stewart rakes Rich over the coals

[Busterdawg]

03:41 PM on 03/23/2009

For what?

[Roger P]

02:31 PM on 03/23/2009

We can't expect anything else from a republican activist household. According to http://www.opensecrets.org/ here are Altmaier political donations. Sheesh!

ALTMAIER, RICHARD MR
CUPERTINO,CA 95014 INTEL CORPORATION/ENGINEERING MANAG 5/23/08 $500 McCain, John (R)
ALTMAIER, RICHARD MR
CUPERTINO,CA 95014 SGI/VP OF ENGINEERING 7/14/06 $250 Republican Party of California (R)
ALTMAIER, RICHARD MR
CUPERTINO,CA 95014 SGI/VP OF ENGINEERING 7/12/06 $250 Republican Party of California (R)
ALTMAIER, RICHARD MR
CUPERTINO,CA 95014 SGI MOUNTAIN VIEW/V.P. 3/1/06 $400 Republican Party of California (R)
ALTMAIER, RICHARD MR
CUPERTINO,CA 95014 SGI MOUNTAIN VIEW/V.P. 4/8/05 $400 Republican Party of California (R)
ALTMAIER, RICHARD MR
CUPERTINO,CA 95014 SGI MOUNTAIN VIEW/V.P. 2/3/05 $250 Republican Party of California (R)
ALTMAIER, RICHARD MR
CUPERTINO,CA 95014 SGI MOUNTAIN VIEW/V.P. 3/12/04 $250 Republican Party of California (R)
ALTMAIER, RICHARD MR
CUPERTINO,CA 95014 SGI MOUNTAIN VIEW/V.P. 4/16/03 $400 Republican Party of California (R)
ALTMAIER, RICHARD MR
CUPERTINO,CA 95014 SGI MOUNTAIN VIEW/V.P. 3/12/03 $400 Republican Party of California (R)

[Mauiloa]

02:24 PM on 03/23/2009

The fact that there has been so much backlash of the backlash by the corporatocracy about their bonuses makes me believe something that hasn't been addressed yet.

I suspect that most of these wheeler-dealers know that their days and their corporations' days are numbered and that they are raiding the treasury to insure that their future will be as comfortable as possible for as long as possible!

Correct that. They aren't raiding the treasury. The treasury is handing over the keys to the mint and the Wall Street oligarchs are shoveling money to themselves as fast as they can.

I feel very, very bad that Obama is caught in the middle of this incredibly complex question, but it is time for a real statesman to think outside the box....not go inside the Street.

[TedB]

02:23 PM on 03/23/2009

Katrina Moment? You mean he is vacationing on a ranch in Texas with no idea what is happening outside the gate and his handlers are putting together a dvd to bring him up to speed on the situation?

[Busterdawg]

03:43 PM on 03/23/2009

How about going on talks shows and filling out his NCAA bracket on ESPN?

[rf-hawaii]

03:55 PM on 03/23/2009

So a few minutes on a talk show is equivalent to weeks at that Texas ranch?