Newspaper Uses False Comparison To Attack Obama

The right-wing argument that this country’s response to the devastation and suffering in Haiti is “Obama’s Katrina” is almost too absurd for a response.

But a recent editorial in The Oklahoma needs clarification. The editorial, “Katrina II: U.S. relief falling short” (January 29, 2010) refers to a Wall Street Journal article written by three doctors who are criticizing the country’s response to the disaster.

Here’s the editorial’s foundation:

And in the words of three surgeons with boots on the ground in Haiti, the U.S. has done a poor job helping victims. The doctors penned an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal this week. The headline suggests that Haiti is becoming Obama’s Katrina.

The editorial tries to argue that perhaps Obama deserves the same criticism received by former President George Bush for how the government handled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans four years ago. But Katrina and the recent Haiti earthquake are different, and the newspaper is simply trying to score a political point.

Here are some of those differences:

(1) The devastation and suffering was and is much deeper in Haiti than it was in New Orleans. The estimate is that 150,000 people died. Thousands more have been injured. Hurricane Katrina killed 1,464 people.

(2) Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and its infrastructure already had serious problem.

(3) Haiti’s airport and its geographical location—even though only 700 miles from Miami—made it difficult for help to arrive initially. New Orleans is in a state next to one of the largest states in the nation, Texas, which has numerous military bases. Why did it take so long for help to arrive in New Orleans?

(4) New Orleans is a city in the United States in one of the world’s wealthiest countries.

The idea that the U.S. is doing a bad job in Haiti is obviously arguable, and we probably won’t know the answer for weeks or months ahead about what more could have been done immediately after the earthquake struck. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been adamant, though, about how vital the U.S. has been in the relief effort. We do know the response was immediate, and there was an outpouring of financial support from the American public.

Three doctors spouting off in a Wall Street Journal article does not make this Obama’s Katrina. In fact, as the editorial mentions, the article does not specifically blame Obama

Does The Oklahoman editorial staff really care about the Haiti victims or is it more interested in some obscure GOP talking point that purports to show how the Obama administration is as inept has the Bush administration in emergencies? Let’s don’t forget the newspaper editorial page was a strong supporter of Bush during his reign of incompetence.