Contrast in Styles--LBJ's Reaction to Hurricane Betsy

The flooding of the levies in the days after Hurricane Katrina was not the first catastrophe New Orleans endured that was precipitated by a hurricane.

Read this post and see if you can detect subtle differences in GWB's attitude about the Katrina disaster and LBJ's attitude after Hurricane Betsy left much of New Orleans under water.

From Pensito Review:

“This is your President!” Johnson announced. “I’m here to help you!”

Hurricane Betsy came ashore at Grand Isle, Louisiana, on the evening of Sept. 9, 1965. Like Hurricane Katrina would do 40 years later, the surge devastated New Orleans, flooding parts of the city, including the Lower Ninth Ward, for days.

One striking difference between Betsy and Katrina was the response of the president and the federal government. Less than 24 hours after Betsy hit and New Orleans was flooded, Pres. Lyndon Johnson was in the city, making surprise visits to shelters, offering encouragements to the city’s newly homeless residents.

Here is a transcript of LBJ’s remarks upon landing at the New Orleans airport at 3 p.m. that day, via John Edwards ‘08 Blog:

(more)

Not that LBJ was some great president, but that's just the point. Even the legacies of disastrous presidents like Johnson have a silver lining. Not so with W.

VIDEO: 8mm images shot in New Orleans after Hurricane Betsy. Looks very familiar. Who could have anticipated it?