National / World Politics 08 May 2007 09:47 pm
Obama Nation….
two articles on the same subject
#1 – how politicians use events to raise emotions. (Governor blames slow response on war when she never asked other border states to help).
#2 – how politicians use events to raise emotions. (Barack – 10,000 died and the Governor said the clean up had been slowed)
• NEW: White House press secretary: Guard response was governor’s fault
• NEW: Snow says governor should have found need then requested guard
• NEW: Kansas Sen. Brownback says Guard told him they have what’s needed
• Kansas Gov. Sebelius had said deployments to Iraq slowed storm response
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House fought back Tuesday against criticism from Kansas’ governor that National Guard deployments to Iraq are slowing the response to last week’s devastating tornado.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said the fault was Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’.
In a spat reminiscent of White House finger-pointing at Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco after the federal government’s botched response to Hurricane Katrina, Snow rapped Sebelius for not following procedure to find gaps and then asking the federal government to fill them.
“If you don’t request it, you’re not going to get it,” he said.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Barack Obama, caught up in the fervor of a campaign speech Tuesday, drastically overstated the Kansas tornadoes death toll, saying 10,000 had died.
The death toll was 12.
“In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died—an entire town destroyed,” the Democratic presidential candidate said in a speech to 500 people packed into a sweltering Richmond art studio for a fundraiser.
Obama mentioned the disaster in Greensburg, Kan., in saying he had been told by the office of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius that the state’s National Guard had been depleted by its commitment to the Iraq War.
“Turns out that the National Guard in Kansas only had 40 percent of its equipment and they are having to slow down the recovery process in Kansas,” Obama said, his shirt sleeves rolled up and his head glistening with sweat.
As he concluded his remarks a few minutes later, he appeared to realize his gaffe.
“There are going to be times when I get tired,” he said. “There are going to be times when I get weary. There are going to be times when I make mistakes.”
Obama spokesman Bill Burton said later that the senator meant to say “at least 10,” instead of 10,000.
During his speech, Obama stirred the crowd as he often does by skewering President Bush over the unpopular war and noting that he opposed it from the outset.
“How could we have been involved in a war that never should have been authorized, that has already cost us half a trillion dollars,” Obama said.
It was Obama’s third visit to Virginia’s capital in eight months. It came as national polls show him trailing rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., by double digits.
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