Bush rules out significant federal aid to hurricane victims

Statement of the WSWS Editorial Board
1 September 2005

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Only hours after reports that the death toll from Hurricane Katrina may number in the thousands, President Bush delivered perfunctory remarks that offered little except condescending sympathy to the victims of the worst natural disaster in American history.

Nothing in his words, facial expression, or body language indicated that Bush either comprehended or was even concerned about the monumental catastrophe that has struck hundreds of thousands of people in one of the United States’ greatest and most historic cities.

Rather, with a smirk on his face, he allowed that “the days seem awfully dark for those affected”—a phrase that could only have been uttered in these terrible circumstances by someone who did not count himself among those unfortunates. This from the President of the United States!

And yet, this was not merely a poor choice of words. For the Bush administration, the tragedy of New Orleans is not particularly important and requires no major effort on the part of the United States.

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