Althouse: Competitive empathy.

August 31, 2012

Competitive empathy.

"President Barack Obama was today forced to announce he will fly to storm-hit Louisiana on Monday – hours after Mitt Romney beat him to the punch by deciding to head there this afternoon."

61 comments:

Colonel Angus said...: For all his so called political acumen, you would have thought he would have been there yesterday when the GOP was having a party.

Obama isn't even bringing his B game.; 8/31/12, 1:08 PM
Rosalyn C. said...: Leadership.; 8/31/12, 1:09 PM
Icepick said...: Obama isn't even bringing his B game.

He's bringing all the game he's got, Colonel.; 8/31/12, 1:12 PM
Sorun said...: Obama showed an aversion to the Gulf states during the BP oil spill as well.; 8/31/12, 1:15 PM
Mark O said...: Obama is fond of leading from behind.; 8/31/12, 1:15 PM
Colonel Angus said...: I truly have to wonder if we are witnessing something of the Wilder Effect this campaign season because aside from his die hard supporters, I don't understand how any clear thinking person thinks Obama deserves re-election based upon his job performance.; 8/31/12, 1:16 PM
Beorn said...: Obama, leading from behind.

Outside of his coterie of half-wit advisors (ie, in the real world), we call that - following.; 8/31/12, 1:18 PM
wyo sis said...: Obama is mailing it in. he might as well go back home and golf.; 8/31/12, 1:18 PM
rhhardin said...: I don't think it helps if either one goes there.

Obama has the worst disruptive effect, though.

The most helpful thing would be to suspend any and all anti-gouging laws.

Mike Munger on that here.; 8/31/12, 1:18 PM
Anonymous said...: Romney looks presidential.

Obama is shrinking fast. The move to follow Romney says much about how the rest of this campaign will go.

Obama is not a leader.; 8/31/12, 1:20 PM
Sorun said...: The people in the Gulf states aren't in a check-writing mood, so why go there?; 8/31/12, 1:22 PM
Hagar said...: And we remember the "iconic" picture of George W. looking down on the devastation from Air Force One.
Dubya, being Dubya, thought he would not add to New Orleans' troubles by bringing in the imperial motorcade, etc.

Kind of widh these two bozos would be equally considerate.; 8/31/12, 1:22 PM
Michael K said...: Romney will not bring the full entourage like The Won will. This not Katrina and the locals may appreciate some attention right now when the focus is elsewhere.; 8/31/12, 1:31 PM
David said...: The big difference?

Taxpayerss get the bill for obama's trip.; 8/31/12, 1:34 PM
shiloh said...: Fluff minutiae aside, don't cons usually complain Obama would just be in the way ... soooo, "we'll" let mittens be in the way first.; 8/31/12, 1:34 PM
Eric said...: I hate this kind of thing. It's not like the president is going to get any more information by going there himself, and his entourage is going to get in the way of people who are actually trying to help.

I realize he has to do it, politically, but I wonder what the hell is wrong with people who need to see the president rush around and empathize with disaster victims.; 8/31/12, 1:35 PM
Cedarford said...: Very smart of Romney and his team to go.

1. It is appealing to certain women deep into the old "empathy, symbolic visits, and feeeeeeling your pain" stuff. Shows off the candidate as caring in a disaster, to further rebutt the liberal and progressive jewish lapdog media "Narrative" - of following Obama's media directive to paint Romney as cold and out of touch.

2. Going gets the men to see the candidate as a man of action that does want to learn and receive briefings on various calamities. The sort of crisis he will show the American voters he plans to be on top of if elected.

3. Doesn't hurt to go to help showcase Bobby Jindal, who would have had a speaking spot and his moment at the Convention BUT for the hurricane. I believe Jindal, with his proven abilities, may be an important part of helping Romney's future economic and healthcare plans if Romney is elected.

4. It does make Obama look like a "mee too-er!!" and the jokes about two days of planned golf ruined due to having to follow Romney's visit are already on the Internet.; 8/31/12, 1:36 PM
Eric said...: Romney should have stayed away as well.; 8/31/12, 1:36 PM
shiloh said...: C4, you should write a book on the intricacies of political disaster control ... or not.

Hey, since (8) years of cheney/bush was a total disaster, you can use them as a reference!; 8/31/12, 1:39 PM
Eric said...: Shiloh, you're like a caricature. "cheney/bush"?

Obama has been far worse than Bush as a president.; 8/31/12, 1:40 PM
shiloh said...: Eric, you can discuss that in another thread. Although it's been discussed ad nauseam in my, on and off again, 2 years at Althouse.

Indeed rationalizing/apologizing for Bush43 is a cottage industry at Althouse.; 8/31/12, 1:43 PM
StoughtonSconnie said...: The Won is completely reactive. Romney is living rent-free in Obama's head. You see it here as clearly as you did in his tone-deaf chair tweet last night.; 8/31/12, 1:46 PM
avwh said...: This reminds me of when they had to drag him off the golf course to watch the OBL raid. Now they have to drag him off the campaign trail to visit a red state with no value to him: no votes, no big-dollar donors.

So he only shows up...when he's been showed up.; 8/31/12, 1:49 PM
Larry J said...: The Romney camapaign is inside of Obama's OODA loop. This is going to be amusing.; 8/31/12, 2:05 PM
kcom said...: "Romney should have stayed away as well."

He's got to go count up the bodies that accumulated while he partied. Otherwise, what fun would it be? /sarc

Honestly, it surprises me that Democrats were throwing around the slander that they were against Romney and he still beat Obama to the site. I, too, don't beleive that there is an overpowering need for politicians to personally tour disaster sites. They can't do anything more from that vantage point than they can do sitting at a desk. But still, Romney, who had essentially unbreakable commitments and no actual authority to do anything in the situation, has beaten Obama, the man who did have a more flexible schedule and actual authority to act, there. It's yet more evidence that the raison d'être of this administration is fund raising. Everything else takes second place. Including "black people drowning" in New Orleans.

And just to inject a note of actual accuracy, here are the deaths reported from the storm.

Six dead:

- 1 man in a restaurant fire that firefighters couldn't fight due to weather

- 1 man falling from a tree as the storm approached

- 1 man crushed to death by falling tree in his tow truck

- 1 woman killed by a tree when it blew onto her car

- 1 man and woman discovered dead in a home, no specifics reported on if they drowned

In no case is the race of any of the above listed.

So even the fake meme is inaccurate or at least unsupported by any evidence. But hey, what's new?; 8/31/12, 2:05 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: The problem for Obama here, besides appearing to be "me too" here, is that this is an example of Romney getting inside his "OODA loop" (for Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act). If you can do this, you can force your opponent to react to you, instead of the other way around.

Not surprisingly, this is extensively studied by the military, and we saw its dramatic impact when we went into Iraq after Saddam Hussein. And, it isn't surprising that a Harvard MBA is much more comfortable with this than is a community organizer from Chicago.

I think that we have seen hints of this for the last couple of months, where the Obama campaign, even with full support of the MSM, often seems a couple steps behind the Romney campaign. I expect that we shall see a lot more of this over the next two or so months.

It should be interesting.; 8/31/12, 2:09 PM
Aridog said...: rhhardin said...

The most helpful thing would be to suspend any and all anti-gouging laws.

I agree, but my experience tells me they make little difference...since they are "local." I was at Fort Bragg (camped in a lovely parking lot near the Ranch Hand compound) for the responses to both Bertha and Fran, which Munger writes about.

Funny thing about the ice....we couldn't give it away near the end of the affair, not even for free to fishermen on two coasts. We had to stage an "accidental" shortage of fuel for the reefer trailers compressor motors...so we wouldn't be charged with "losing government property" by FEMA....if we'd just dumped it...or just given it to homeowners at random. It had to "officially" melt due to accidental loss of power.; 8/31/12, 2:10 PM
dreams said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/31/12, 2:15 PM
Eric said...: Eric, you can discuss that in another thread. Although it's been discussed ad nauseam in my, on and off again, 2 years at Althouse.

Oh, I see. We'll discuss it on another thread, but not before you get your talking point down.

Indeed rationalizing/apologizing for Bush43 is a cottage industry at Althouse.

As people on the left have been doing for Obama. The worst president since Carter and all you can say is "It's Bush's fault".; 8/31/12, 2:21 PM
shiloh said...: Eric got his talkin' point in as well. Congrats!; 8/31/12, 2:23 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Gulf or golf?; 8/31/12, 2:39 PM
The Drill SGT said...: Bruce Hayden said...
Not surprisingly, this is extensively studied by the military, and we saw its dramatic impact when we went into Iraq after Saddam Hussein. And, it isn't surprising that a Harvard MBA is much more comfortable

come on Bruce, give credit where credit is due. It WAS developed by the military, later to make it to B-schools everywhere. By Col John Boyd, a fighter pilot to describe how pilots, even in inferior planes, could beat the better plane, by out 'deciding' them.

ps: other Romney advantage this week was to take time out from the GOP Convention to fly to the national American Legion Convention to give a 20 min speech, while Obama declined the invitation and sent a 3 min video.

pps: Obama sending form letters to families of 17 dead SEALs, while penning a personal note to a dead rapper.; 8/31/12, 2:47 PM
mccullough said...: Did Valerie Jarrett or Axelrod not think of this earlier or did Obama over-rule them on a visit until after Romney decided to go?

He looks totally out of touch here. A big part of the President's job is symbolic. No one expects the president to work a backhoe down there but they expect him to be there to reassure the people affected and the country.

The incompetence is astonishing.; 8/31/12, 2:50 PM
paminwi said...: It sounds like Jindal has been asking for more areas to be declared a disaster area and Obama is not answering his phone to make that decision. That to me is why a President makes these visits to areas affected. Obama didn't want to go there because as has been mentioned these folks are not going to vote for him, don;t have any $ to give to his campaign and Obama doesn't want to get Jindal on TV to give him any good publicity about how he has handled Isaac. Can't have a Republican governor look like he knows how to handle a crisis, can we (says the White House!); 8/31/12, 2:52 PM
edutcher said...: Heckuva job, Barry.

(had to...)

Colonel Angus said...

For all his so called political acumen, you would have thought he would have been there yesterday when the GOP was having a party.

Obama isn't even bringing his B game.

And then there's the fact he felt obliged to tweet Inspector Callahan over his skit last night.

Eric, you can discuss that in another thread.

Thank you, Miss Althouse.; 8/31/12, 2:57 PM
dreams said...: "By the time Barack Obama visits the place in Louisiana where Hurricane Isaac hit on September 3, he will have made 7 campaign stops and held 8 campaign events since the storm first made landfall."

http://www.weeklystandard.com/daily/daily.asp; 8/31/12, 3:00 PM
The Drill SGT said...: mccullough said...
He looks totally out of touch here. A big part of the President's job is symbolic. No one expects the president to work a backhoe down there but they expect him to be there to reassure the people affected and the country.

Bush 2 was pretty good at this and Clinton was a master. But then again, they are classic Pols who like shaking hands.

Obama is distant, and doesn't like retail politics.; 8/31/12, 3:03 PM
Aridog said...: ... "OODA loop" (for Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act)...

That's college speak for the old fashioned 3 F's ... Find 'em, Fix 'em, & F**k 'em up.

That said, The Drill SGT's right ... it is a military development for enabling offense with potentially an inferior force or matériel. In asymmetric warfare, unfortunately, our enemies have also used it to their advantage.; 8/31/12, 3:03 PM
Aridog said...: The Drill SGT said...

ps: other Romney advantage this week was to take time out from the GOP Convention to fly to the national American Legion Convention to give a 20 min speech, while Obama declined the invitation and sent a 3 min video.

pps: Obama sending form letters to families of 17 dead SEALs, while penning a personal note to a dead rapper.

Nothing surprising in either of those omissions. Obama has no use for the military except for brief moments where he can egregiously take personal credit for the sacrifice and risks of others.

Nothing showed the administration's fear of and contempt for the military than when US Marines were ordered to stack arms during a Panetta visit to Afghanistan.; 8/31/12, 3:13 PM
Larry J said...: dreams said...
"By the time Barack Obama visits the place in Louisiana where Hurricane Isaac hit on September 3, he will have made 7 campaign stops and held 8 campaign events since the storm first made landfall."

If Louisanna were a blue or swing state, Obama would've been there immediately. He doesn't care so much about red states.; 8/31/12, 3:14 PM
Aridog said...: Larry J said...If Louisanna were a blue or swing state, Obama would've been there immediately. He doesn't care so much about red states.

When Governor Kathleen Blanco, Democrat, completely blew the state's emergency response, to Katrina, in Louisiana, she helped Gov Jindal in to office. She had defeated him previously. Even blue states can get fed up with mediocrity.

I'm hoping that holds true for the country as a whole this time around.; 8/31/12, 3:29 PM
garage mahal said...: The problem for Obama here, besides appearing to be "me too" here, is that this is an example of Romney getting inside his "OODA loop" (for Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act).

Here is Romney:

"Did the water come from the sky, or the rivers, or the ocean?"

Sorry, dude is just weird.; 8/31/12, 3:34 PM
janetrae said...: Gee Garage: Suggest you read up on the effects of a hurricane when it reaches dry land "Isaac's Storm about the Galveston hurricane 100+ years ago is a nice place to start. The effects can be (a) to drive ocean waters inland, (b) on the backwinds, to pull inland water oceanward, or (c) to innundate by rain from the sky. So -- while the answer to the question may be "all of the above" the issues far from the shoreline are not usually all of the above but either (b) or (c). The responses to the sourcing of the water are also different for immediate responders, for future planning (to avoid recurring flooding, breaches, etc.), and for clean-up. So, thanks for thinking Mitt is weird and instead displaying that you -- par for the course -- don't know what you are talking about.; 8/31/12, 3:40 PM
Chip S. said...: Heckuva job, 'Bammie!; 8/31/12, 3:58 PM
mariner said...: shiloh,
Although it's been discussed ad nauseam in my, on and off again, 2 years at Althouse.

You've only been here two years? It seems much, much longer.; 8/31/12, 4:01 PM
mariner said...: garage mahal,
Here is Romney:

"Did the water come from the sky, or the rivers, or the ocean?"

Sorry, dude is just weird.

I'll bet you were one of the idiots who ridiculed Donald Rumsfeld, too.; 8/31/12, 4:08 PM
The Drill SGT said...: garage mahal said...
Here is Romney:

"Did the water come from the sky, or the rivers, or the ocean?"

interestingly that is exactly the question you'll get from an insurance adjustor or the Fed flood insurance people :)

it matters alot; 8/31/12, 4:09 PM
shiloh said...: "You've only been here two years? It seems much, much longer."

:) IIRC my 1st post was Oct/Nov 2010. Posted for a couple days, then left. Was here long enough for Crack to say, "Don't feed the troll!" And to see that Alex was a lost pup!

Became a semi-regular when Althouse/Meade tried to become Cecil B. DeMille ie the WI union protests around March 2011. Was here for a couple mos. then left for about 3/4 mos. Again, I come and go as I please.

To be fair, just about any liberal would make an impression at a 90/10 con blog.

And now you know the rest of the story.

Althouse is somewhat fascinating as she is totally unaffected by what anyone says at her blog. As she rises above the fray. As long as she keeps getting "blog hits" she's a happy camper! I digress.; 8/31/12, 4:19 PM
CWJ said...: This is also cute considering that Debbie W-S chided the republicans for partying while the gulf coast faced Isaac. So Romney makes the symbolic gesture, and Debbie's ballot topper is caught flat footed campaigning rather than showing empathy.

Obama is caught in a rundown between Romney and the chief of his own party. Oh the irony.; 8/31/12, 4:23 PM
paul a'barge said...: Obama has no game.

This is how stump-stupid the man is: Every progressive crawled out from under a rock to blame Bush for Katrina. Every one of them. They wailed for days about it.

What does Obama do when 7 years later to the day a hurricane hits New Orleans?

He campaigns. He makes no plans to go to New Orleans. What? Did he think that Romney would not go to New Orleans?

If he keeps this up, the campaign will be like shooting fish in a barrel.

What a pathetic, arrogant loser.; 8/31/12, 4:23 PM
granmary said...: Leading from behind. It's all Obama knows how to do.; 8/31/12, 4:25 PM
granmary said...: Leading from behind. It's all Obama knows how to do.; 8/31/12, 4:26 PM
jr565 said...: The colonel wrote:
Obama isn't even bringing his B game.

Sadly, THIS is his A game. He just isn't very good.; 8/31/12, 4:45 PM
wildswan said...: I think that Obama will declare a disaster as Jindal has been asking him to do and then it will be clear that this was more or less forced by Romney's move. Or Obama won't help out and then he'll look mean. Whatever happens, Romney's game is ahead of Obama's. (And it's nice to think of our various adversaries getting boxed in like that by Romney instead of getting bows and apologies from Obama.); 8/31/12, 4:58 PM
furious_a said...: After it emerged that Obama was still taking time to fit in a campaign stop in Cleveland, Ohio, before checking out how clean-up operations are proceeding in the Bayou state, the Obama campaign abruptly cancelled that event, though he will still hold a rally in Toledo, Ohio before heading south.

Because, you know, in Chicago, if you don't play along you don't get your streets plowed come winter.

WTF do we have to go to a British paper to get this information?; 8/31/12, 5:33 PM
AllenS said...: Obama needs to take charge of this situation and remind those wet people down there that he killed bin Laden.; 8/31/12, 8:02 PM
Charles said...: Romney is inside Obama's OODA loop. Obama is on the run, playing defense.; 8/31/12, 8:32 PM
Big Mike said...: @Charles, OMG you know what the OODA loop is!

Though I'm not absolutely Obama even has one.; 8/31/12, 8:46 PM
Charles said...: Just learned about the OODA loop - couldn't wait to use it in a post. :); 8/31/12, 8:57 PM
eugeniegrandet said...: It's his usual knee-jerk petulance, this time over some kind of political cock up with Jindal.; 8/31/12, 9:21 PM
Dante said...: Obama is fond of leading from behind.

Didn't McCain suspend his campaign due to the financial crisis? Then somehow, Obama ended up with the better end of that stick.

I almost wonder if the press has a survival instinct, and it's saying, "you can't do that again."; 8/31/12, 9:34 PM