President Obama will be in Oklahoma on Sunday

[Tydude]

marykbruce: President Obama will travel to Oklahoma Sunday to see firsthand the damage of the devastating tornadoes, @PressSec announced

[venture]

Figured he would come in, since Clinton was here for May 3rd and I want to say Bush came in for something. Sunday seems to be a decent time frame since right now would just be too much with the secret service demands being too high. Which most administrations tend to understand their presence can be a hinderance right after an event.

[ultimatesooner]

stay home and save the jet fuel BO // unless he is gonna show up w/ some work boots and gloves we don't need him coming to town and slowing the progress down

[venture]

stay home and save the jet fuel BO // unless he is gonna show up w/ some work boots and gloves we don't need him coming to town and slowing the progress down

And so it begins...

[CuatrodeMayo]

It would be sad if this thread ends up in the Politic forum...

[CaptDave]

And so it begins...

I hoped it wouldn't, but knew it probably would. Pathetic people cannot keep their hatred in check even for a few days when the man is doing exactly what he should.

The response to the tornado has been exactly what it should have been. Even in Oklahoma, partisan crap was set aside for 24-48 hours. The responders are getting the support they need. Various government and non-government entities are stepping up to assist the victims. The cooperation between local, state, and federal agencies has been outstanding.

Yet some people's hearts are so dark, vision so narrow, and minds so closed; they refuse to see good in others no matter what.

[BoulderSooner]

or people don't see a need for him to come here .... not sure that an opinion has to be political ...

i don't really care either way as long as the federal govt continues to give moore/okc/the state the support it needs ..

[Tydude]

Bush came here for the Opening of the National Memorial Museum

[OkieHornet]

if anything, it will help keep awareness up nationally for a little while longer, and not be forgotten so quickly. that may help with donations from outside the area.

[Bellaboo]

I did not vote for BO, but I think it's a great thing for him to come. When he sees the devastation first hand, it will make that much more of an impact for the needs at hand.

He is here to help folks.... this is not a campaign trail.

[jerrywall]

Figured he would come in, since Clinton was here for May 3rd and I want to say Bush came in for something. Sunday seems to be a decent time frame since right now would just be too much with the secret service demands being too high. Which most administrations tend to understand their presence can be a hinderance right after an event.

Is Sunday enough time? Won't they have to significantly shut down clean up efforts during his visit? As least it's after the search and rescue phase though.

[venture]

or people don't see a need for him to come here .... not sure that an opinion has to be political ...

i don't really care either way as long as the federal govt continues to give moore/okc/the state the support it needs ..

I could see the comment understandable if it weren't political, but since the poster decided to use the "BO" moniker that is a favorite in the politics section instead of just President, "Prez", Obama, whatever...and considering the context and manner of the rest of their post, the intentions are pretty clear.

I agree with others that this will help keep visibility up to keep donations coming in. This is pegged at almost $2-3 billion in damage right now. The entire state budget is $7.1 billion. If people want to scream and shout and tell him to stay home, then they need to write their congressional delegation and demand FEMA leave and all federal aid stay out as well. Since that would be logical based on their wanting federal gov't to stay out. However, the state isn't going to be able to do this alone and we'll need the federal aid to get people help and back on their feet.

Is Sunday enough time? Won't they have to significantly shut down clean up efforts during his visit? As least it's after the search and rescue phase though.

Judging off previous Presidential visits to disasters, very little gets shut down. Typically they wait until the main search/recovery phase is done since that is most important. Clinton was here on May 8th of 1999. Obama is at least waiting until Sunday as well so traffic will be light for the motorcade to get in without causing more of a traffic jam than what we already have with gawkers.

[BoulderSooner]

good post i agree ..



keep in mind that most of that 2-3 billion is covered by insurance ..

[warreng88]

When he was here last year, AFO flew into Tinker and they shut down the highway for him to get through. I am curious if they are going to take the same route. Flying into WWRA would make more sense since it is closer to the damage. I am curious if he is going to survey the damage in the shawnee area as well.

[Plutonic Panda]

And so it begins...

On the News9 article on Facebook, that was one of the first responses. Don't understand why people say things like that.

[Plutonic Panda]

or people don't see a need for him to come here .... not sure that an opinion has to be political ...

i don't really care either way as long as the federal govt continues to give moore/okc/the state the support it needs ..

I think he should come here.

[mkjeeves]

The world is watching. It's what people expect around the globe. Some locals would complain if he didn't, many of the same who complain because he is.

I wonder if Fallin will be out of town this time?

[OKCTalker]

Presidential trips like this soak up law enforcement resources, divert attention from tangible recovery efforts, cause traffic problems (highways and TFRs in the air), and cost money. He'll get a photo op with the governor and a few survivors gazing over a wasted landscape, utter a few quickly-forgotten statements, call for greater awareness during storms, and go home. Republican, Democrat or Independent - it matters not.

Call me cynical, but I don't know what tangible purpose it serves, whether it's following Katrina or Sandy, May 3rd or May 20th.

[jerrywall]

Presidential trips like this soak up law enforcement resources, divert attention from tangible recovery efforts, cause traffic problems (highways and TFRs in the air), and cost money. He'll get a photo op with the governor and a few survivors gazing over a wasted landscape, utter a few quickly-forgotten statements, call for greater awareness during storms, and go home. Republican, Democrat or Independent - it matters not.

Call me cynical, but I don't know what tangible purpose it serves, whether it's following Katrina or Sandy, May 3rd or May 20th.

It helps maintain awareness, it's a major morale booster for volunteers, workers, and victims, and a leader leads from the ground, not from AF1.

[Bunty]

On the News9 article on Facebook, that was one of the first responses. Don't understand why people say things like that.

Plenty of Oklahomans strongly hate and resent President Obama due to his ObamaCare. No law should say you have to buy health insurance. And then all these scandals.

[catch22]

Whether you like him or not, the President's job is to be a leader. He is doing exactly what he should be doing by visiting. Sure he's not going to actually do any work, he'll do a photo-op like every other politician with a shovel and gloves on. But I'm not expecting him to come to offer physical help. He's coming as a morale booster, that people outside of our little world in Oklahoma care and are going to give us the support we need.

[venture]

Presidential trips like this soak up law enforcement resources, divert attention from tangible recovery efforts, cause traffic problems (highways and TFRs in the air), and cost money. He'll get a photo op with the governor and a few survivors gazing over a wasted landscape, utter a few quickly-forgotten statements, call for greater awareness during storms, and go home. Republican, Democrat or Independent - it matters not.

Call me cynical, but I don't know what tangible purpose it serves, whether it's following Katrina or Sandy, May 3rd or May 20th.

As others say...it raises awareness. I'll leave it up to the victims to decide on how they feel about the visit. He's President of the entire country, not just the states that voted for him. People need to start checking this crap at the door.

As far as TFRs...there has been one up since it occurred and is currently active until the 24th. Nothing significant is really going to change. They'll push KOKC traffic out a bit while he is on approach, but its not going to really impact things if he comes into KTIK.

[Teo9969]

And so it begins...

HEY! He let someone else get the first word at least!

[mkjeeves]

I'm glad he is coming. I wish it didn't take a disaster like this to bring a president to Oklahoma but I'm really glad he's coming anyway.

He was here not that long ago and it wasn't an emergency. (and was soundly snubbed by most of the local so called leaders.)

[venture]

good post i agree ..

keep in mind that most of that 2-3 billion is covered by insurance ..

Insurance companies will pay yes...but that won't keep local governments from double dipping. I want it say it was May 3rd when cities filed for aid but also insurance claims. They ended up using the insurance money for parks and other quality of life improvements and nothing related to the storm damage. Should we expect cities to pay assistance money back after insurance pays out?