USA Today reports today that many Coast residents feel slighted by the State of the Union address:
Many Gulf Coast residents spent Wednesday angrily counting the words President Bush devoted to their storm-battered region in his State of the Union speech. The tally: Bush addressed 165 of his 5,300 words to disaster recovery in the Gulf, and he never used the word “Katrina.”
At the end of his speech Tuesday night, Bush spoke of the $85 billion that the federal government is giving to rebuild the Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans, but he did not propose any new funding. Some people are worried that the speech is a signal Bush has moved on to other issues.
In restaurants and shops, and on radio and television news on Wednesday, people expressed their disappointment.
“People here need more recognition,” said Waveland resident Sandra LaFontaine, referring to the Mississippi coastline. “When you get in a car and ride down here, there’s nothing.”
Previous Comments
Is Bush Neglecting the Gulf Coast? the short answer is yes. Bush is more focused on “Democratizing Iraq” than patching up an area in america which will take more than just a couple trucks of wood and food to fix. I’ve been down there recently and it’s barracaded for miles out. the I-10 Atchafalaya bridge has been damaged severely. only route into New Orleans is I -55 I beleive. but it’s damagedd too. it’s pretty bab down there.
#134701 | Author: JSU | Date: Feb 6 2006
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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.
