CBS Welcomes Obama to Staten Island, But Criticized Bush Post-Katrina
CBS
ran a puff piece Friday morning on President Obama's visit to
hurricane-ravaged Staten Island, which stood in stark contrast to its
hostile treatment of President Bush's visit to the Gulf Coast after
Hurricane Katrina.
CBS played into the Obama PR strategy, simply noting that he "pledged the government's support" to Staten Island residents and "met with families who've lost everything." In addition, they aired his plea for the insurance companies to support the victims, afterward quoting residents who were upset with the insurance companies.
Meanwhile, CBS had no such love for President Bush in 2005 when they reported
victims of Hurricane Katrina "want the President to wake up and smell
the coffee," and pointed out how Bush was "speaking inside an
air-conditioned tent" in obvious contrast to the hard-hit Gulf Coast
residents.
CBS News's Harry Smith showed his silly concern
over churches welcoming Katrina refugees. "Do I need to be concerned
that I'm going to go live with a church family, are they going to
proselytize me, are they going to say, 'You better come to church with
me or else, I'm, you know, you're not going to get your breakfast this
morning?'" he posed to Pastor Rick Warren.
A CBS News poll
at the time featured three liberal questions that the media had been
asking: "Was reduced federal spending on levees a factor in flooding?",
"Did having troops in Iraq delay hurricane response?" and "Did the race
and class of those stranded affect speed of the response?" As the MRC
reported, "Two of three received affirmative responses from those
surveyed."
A transcript of the segment, which aired on CBS This Morning on Novembe 16 at 7:16 a.m. EST, is as follows:
NORAH O'DONNELL: And we have dramatic new evidence of the power of
Superstorm Sandy. This video has just been released, showing flooding
that damaged train tunnels between New Jersey and New York City. Many
residents still remain without power or heat, and struggling to survive.
Elaine Quijano is on New York's Staten Island, President Obama was
there yesterday to see the damage. Elaine, good morning.
ELAINE QUIJANO: Good morning, Norah and Charlie. Well the job of
rebuilding here is so big that President Obama has assigned a federal
point person. He asked Housing and Urban Development Secretary Sean
Donovan to work with local officials as they begin the long process of
recovery.
(Video Clip)
QUIJANO: In hard hit Staten Island, where residents are just beginning to rebuild their lives --
BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States: Hi guys!
QUIJANO: President Obama pledged the government's support and urged insurance companies to pledge theirs.
OBAMA: The insurance companies and some of the other private sector
folks who are involved in this, we need you to show some heart and some
spirit in helping people rebuild as well.
KEHANO: The President met with families who've lost everything, like
Sheila and Dominic Traina. Superstorm Sandy destroyed the home they'd
lived in for 42 years, and now more than two weeks after the disaster,
Dominic says he's still waiting to hear back from his insurance
companies.
DOMINIC TRAINA: When you go to bed at night, you don't sleep because
your stomach is in a knot and it's been in a knot for the last two and
half weeks for me.
QUIJANO: Sandy may cost the insurance industry up to $25 billion,
according to one estimate. FEMA's national flood insurance program
expects up to $12 billion in Sandy-related claims, far exceeding the
three and half billion dollars it collects in annual premiums.
The agency may be forced to ask Congress for a bailout. For now,
officials say they're working on getting money to those who need it,
even before some claims are settled.
MIKE BYRNE, FEMA: While we're working out the real details of exactly
the amount of contents, the amount of damage, you know why would we
wait? Why wouldn't we give them a little bit up front to get started, to
get themselves on the road to recovery?
QUIJANO: Still, that's not been the case for Janice Kennedy. She's a
widow and single mother, who lost her house during the storm. She has
flood insurance, but has been told it will be 8 weeks before an adjuster
can look at her property.
JANICE KENNEDY: Everybody in this neighborhood, we're devastated. We're
just waiting for the insurance companies to come in, adjust us, give us
our money. Let us move on, you've gotten your money every month, we're
just asking what we've paid for. That's it!
QUIJANO: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he plans to request some
$30 billion in federal aid for recovery efforts here. Obama
administration officials say they can't comment on that, they haven't
seen the details of that request. Charlie and Norah?
O'DONNELL: Elaine Quijano, thank you people still need help.
-- Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center
