McCain In New Orleans: Not Sure If We Should Rebuild 9th Ward

On day four of his "Time for Action" tour, John McCain will visit the lower 9th ward of New Orleans and the damage and progress since Hurricane Katrina....

He also told reporters he was not sure if he would rebuild the lower 9th ward as president. "That is why we need to go back is to have a conversation about what to do -rebuild it, tear it down, you know, whatever it is," he said.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[GabrielXL]

Think about it folks... 5th from last in his graduating class at the Naval Academy which he was only allowed to attend because of "his daddy's record". He is obviously not one of the brightest stars in the sky and evidently a loose cannon. To top it all off, this is a man that some of "us" want to be President of the United States. No wonder Hillary is so anxious to go up against him.

Never mind being out of touch with voters; this guy is out of touch with reality.

Who in their right mind (unless they have some vested interest in him) would vote for such a person and sleep well at night?

[gorgol]

Yes...John..I kind of agree..but one question for you..why do we keep RE-building Mansions along the coast that are torn apart by Hurricanes...lets not forget...OUR GOVERNMENT INSURES THOSE MANSIONS..cheap, OTHER INSURANCE COMPANIES WON'T TOUCH THEM... .....OUR TAX DOLLARS PAY FOR THAT CHEAP INSURANCE FOR THE RICH...so, the RICH can have beach front....WHAT CRAP....

[heretical_eggs]

As a resident of the state of Louisiana even far to the North of New Orleans, I felt the impact that Katrina had on our people. It was a terrible natural and man made disaster in that a force of nature overwhelmed a weak man made infrastructure that was supposed to protect the city of New Orleans.

I am galled to no end by the comments of this man who claims "God" punished New Orleans for its sins and for an upcoming "homosexual" parade.

Most of us "homosexuals" usually are in a higher income bracket, and all of my gay friends in Nola either rebuilt or moved elsewhere without extreme difficulty.

Don't get me wrong everyone suffered during that terrible time, and many continue to this day to suffer an aftermath that may never have a satisfactory conclusion. Yet, to my perception the people who truly suffered from this disaster were generally lower income heterosexual people.

So, according to this man, "God" punished an entire population mainly straight for a gay parade? I am boggled by this hateful and insane logic. Also, though it doesn't surprise me, it hurts to see any Presidential candidate embrace hate in the name of "God."

"God" is unconditional love. This is a force that could hardly destroy a city over a parade or any other "sin." Anyone who would use the name of "God" in such a way is either delusional or truly bad.

[thegreatgiginthesky]

JOHN MCCAIN IS A #&^%*&*(*&(&((& AND ALSO A ^%%$$#$%#*&(*_)(()(*&&*%# FURTHER MORE HE IS A MOTHER(#@%$^^& and a CO*&%^%SU()&*^

[StillAmused]

Johnny's just waiting for all the no-bid contracts to be sorted. Who says he ain't an authentic Republican?

We can piss away two TRILLION on the circle-jerk in the deserts of the Middle East, but restoring and upgrading an historic part of our own country is a waste of money?

You're gonna be real fun in the general, Johnny.

[Sachem515]

Nearly three years since the hurricane came ashore and the discussion is just beginning!

Dealing with all of the areas east and south of New Orleans are going to require integrated solutions. Remember that (all white middle class) St Bernard was completely submerged, and it is below (downriver from) the 9th Ward. Many of these inhabited areas require strong levees or buy-back and abandon policies. The Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MR GO) and the industrial canal must be modified to maintain the viability of these neighborhoods. But poor and black, rich and white, Katrina was an equal opportunity nightmare, and the homeowners have the right to return and rebuild, or are entitled to just compensation for their property.

[j0hnwi11iams]

Why not? Can't trust your corrupt contractor to run off with the money ALREADY allocated for it? 3 years and billions of dollars this kind of decision is a little too late.

[UnbiasView]

Why would you want to rebuild one of the biggest ghettos in the USA? I'm sure that they shouldn't rebuild it.

[procrustes]

Actually, there's a rational case for not rebuilding the Ninth Ward: it's below sea level and keeping it dry is harming the Gulf's ecology. Instead of pouring millions into a place Ma-Nature has told to stay out of, the people should be relocated above sea level.

[AdamND]

too bad this probally wont get more than a 10 sec story on MSNBC or any other station while they focus on Rev Wright and gaffs from Obama.

[ohiodem250]

I think it should get more play and if I was communications director for Obama this is how I would spin it: "Rev. Wright made some contentious remarks. Sen. Obama acted swiftly to say he did not support those statements and that they are not representative of the policy he would pursue as President. Sen. McCain, however, has not only embraced the Rev. Hagee but he seems to be taking policy cues from him as well. Did God tell him not to rebuild the 9th Ward so lazy blacks and sinful gays wouldn't have a city to go back to? Or is he taking policy cues from Barbara Bush who insists that the amenities of the SuperDome are a step-up from the lives Katrina victims from the 9th Ward previously lived?" This is a joke. FEMA let them down as well as the Louisiana State Legislature and the Army Corps of Engineers. It was a known fact that the levees were inadequate and that something needed to be done. In a court of law that is called gross negligence. Who cares if it makes sense? The residents of the 9th Ward are ENTITLED to a rebuilding of their neighborhood.

[UnbiasView]

Why should it?

The 9th Ward = garbage before Katrina

[thegreatgiginthesky]

It was garbage to you. I'm sure to a lot of people it was home.

[Frederic]

Reviewing this discussion about a demented idiot like Hagee, it is no small wonder that the rest of the world tends to regard a major part of the USA these days as an insane asylum where the inmates have taken over the ward. And a considerable number of US citizens (GOP voters) agree with this infantile nonsense?

Hagee (and his friend McAlzheimer) at best should be preserved in straitjackets to prevent them from doing further harm to their country and the rest of the world. According to the Nuremberg trial laws, they should hang together with the present administration, unless we give them mitigating conditions for highly progressed brain dissolution.

[iPolitics]

Here comes the we love McCain media machine. McCain stops NC GOP! After they put the slander on the Internet for days and we've all seen it. McCain slam Bush on Katrina! Of course he did zero in the Senate to make a difference despite his power there.

McCain has BBQ! Press attends! Press are gutless! Press uses race against Obama for rating!

[detriangulation]

I'm a big-time Obama man but I have to agree with McCain's doubts in this case and come out against rebuilding a RESIDENTIAL 9th ward. It's located in the most vulnerable part of N.O. topographically, and even the strongest levees may not ever withstand category 4 and 5 hurricanes if they hit. If it's fully populated and suddenly floods, even an effective effort from FEMA may not be able to save everyone. I think every single family who remains transient or homeless who lived in the 9th ward should still be entitled to new government subsidized housing somewhere in LA in the vicinity if N.O., but not in the 9th Ward. That's easy for me to say b/c I have no sentimental attachment to the area, but in practical terms, it would be unwise to have ANYTHING in the 9th Ward other than tourist sites and a business district that's only populated during the day.

[WaynesWhirled]

McCain isn't the only one with an anti-gay Pastor Problem:

Obama has a new Pastor Problem of his own. This one is a FIRE BREATHING HOMOPHOBIC BIGOT (and he is also an official delegate for the Obama campaign) Meet James T. Meeks, he makes the racist Reverend Wright look tame in comparison.

http://www.gaywired.com/NewsArticle.cfm?Section=66&id=18614&CFID=21546521&CFTOKEN=37822081

[marinemomof3]

On September 18, 2006, Pastor John Hagee " whose endorsement Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said this past Sunday he was "glad to have" " told NPR"s Terry Gross that "Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans." "New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God," Hagee said, because "there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came."

What could possibly compare to this HATE SPEECH???

OH YES.....CALLING THE CATHOLIC CHURCH A WHORE!!

[tompoe]

Doesn't work. Looks like McCain still the only one.

As to McCain's interest (noninterest) in Katrina victims, this jerk is worse than "heck of a good job, Brownie".

[JiminNC]

"Well, my friends, first we got to get all those democratic negroes out of there ... then maybe we tear it down and rebuild with some shopping malls and a Starbucks on every corner.

[john85msy]

The next time one of you CONservative (R)Republicans ask the usual dumb question "I do not understand why African Americans vote democrat across the board" just think Katrina for starters. It goes beyond the local mayors head when other countries start sending aid and money to one of Americas states.

[08timefortruth]

http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/ResourceCenterPublicationsSLRMaps.html

These maps show there are many areas of the eastern coast and the gulf that are as far below sea level as the ninth ward. Is anyone suggesting not rebuilding in those areas.

I think the economic and social makeup of the ninth ward have more to do with the question of rebuilding then does the location.

[Marioth]

The old geezer has a point. Katrina was not the last eraser coming to the Gulf Coast. The question becomes: how many times do you rebuild New Orleans after floods destroy it? We have not even gotten to "once".

There needs to be planning for the water. What plan is there to relocate the Port of New Orleans inland? The Port of Miami? The tens of thousands of towns, and hundreds of thousands of industries along the Gulf Coast? That'd be none, but at least we'll have obliterated Iran.

Parts of New Orleans were rebuilt after Katrina, but most of the surrounding towns were not, and they will never be coming back.

So the question is valid: why rebuild unless you itend to raise it above sea level, and not by a little?

Pax,
M.

ps. I am NOT a supporter of the old geeezer who's face looks like my mom's not long before she died.

[AceInTheHole]

Does your premise, just prove the we are not as smart as the Dutch., who have been building safe domains under similar conditions and worse for hundreds of years. Oh o forgot , that we are just smart at stealing and then hogging money.

[Marioth]

The Dutch solution is not viable for the U.S. for a couple of reasons, greed notwithstading. First is the vast miles of coastline affected. The second is related to the first in that it's a moot point. Any such project needed to begin in 1970. It cannot now be funded.

The Arctic is predicted now to be ice-free in the summers by 2013. Used to be 2100. Then the 2030s. Now, in five years. The effects of an albido shift from terribly bright to terribly dark cannot be fully known, other than much more heat will be entering the system. And more heat means more extremes.

Aye, the U.S. has big fish to fry right here at home.

Pax,
M.

[shel3364]

Is he on the "Piss off the Poor" tour?

[JiminNC]

Piss ON the poor tour.

[thenance]

He is on the elitist tour. What a hypocrit!

[Vige]

Yep, indeed he is. He is also out to Piss off the Women by saying they need education and training.

[john85msy]

Forget the bullet he just gave the Dems a hand grenade to throw back at him.

[Testtubebaby]

Great for video.

[08timefortruth]

Republicans have never cared about the poor....you have to have a feeling of superiority to belong to the GOP.

[biglover]

Repuglicanism = racism. There is no other way to say it. Social conservatism = racism Anti-immigration = racism.

[shel3364]

a feeling like.... elitism?

[LittleBrother]

I think that all of the displaced and dispossessed citizens of New Orleans should move into Trent Lott's porch.

[08timefortruth]

I think they should move into one of McCain's 8 homes, or better yet onto the grounds of the White House.

[pfurlong56]

the Repub frankenstein handlers need to put grandpa in cold storage 'till Novemebr. He'll have less chances to shoot himself in the foot plus it would extend his life expectancy.

[biglover]

You mean cancer face????

[EddieMcWords]

I wonder how he feels about rebuilding those McManshions in Southern California?

[08timefortruth]

You are totally right, if these were not the poorest areas populated mostly by blacks, there would be no question of whether to rebuild or not. This area will be rebuilt one way or another, the question is for what purpose but I would about bet the powers that be would be more than happy not to have those displaced people back in the community.

[CivilDisobedient]

So why did god kill the innocent with the guilty?? Hagee, yet one more religious charlatan. Another reason to NOT vote for McCain.