That Louisiana Republicans blame Obama for the bungled FEMA response and the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Katrina isn’t so surprising in and of itself, as the President has no shortage of detractors in the GOP overall.
Of course, the fact that George W. Bush would remain President for a three full years after the catastrophic storm leveled New Orleans may suggest a slight lack of culpability on his successor’s part — but still Republicans blame Obama for the government’s failure to prevent the storm’s after effects and rebuild the city.
How many Louisiana Republicans blame Obama over Bush for Katrina’s ravages?
ThinkProgress quotes the Public Polling Policy institute, explaining that a troubling number of GOP identified voters in the state lack a basic understanding of the space-time continuum:
“According to a Public Policy Polling survey, 29 percent of Louisiana Republicans say President Obama is more to blame for the botched executive branch response to Hurricane Katrina while just 28 percent blamed George W. Bush. A plurality of 44 percent said they were unsure who was more responsible, even though Hurricane Katrina occurred over three years before Obama entered the presidency when he was still a freshman Senator.”
As for the issue of “blame” in Katrina, which was a natural event, many say even Bush was not to “blame” for the horrors that occurred in Louisiana as the hurricane’s winds died down and the rain and flooding stopped.
But the federal response, particularly involving FEMA, has long been a black mark on the US government, with many feeling the executive branch as well as the responsible agencies failed to do their jobs in responding to the storm and securing the city after it sustained unprecedented structural and overall damage in the disaster known as Hurricane Katrina.
While Louisiana Republicans blame Obama for Katrina in stunning numbers, the now-President had not even begun his campaign at the time the storm made landfall.