Obama "hit the ground running" in Kentucky cleanup

[SallyMander]

(CNN) -- More than half a million Kentuckians remained without power Saturday after a devastating ice storm hit the state earlier this week, the governor said.

"It's going to take some time to dig our way out of this," Gov. Steve Beshear told CNN. Some 545,000 people were without electricity, he said, down from an earlier figure of about 700,000.

About 200,000 people were without working water systems, Beshear said, and the state was delivering water to them.

"That's a tough situation right now, but we're making progress," he said.

...

Beshear praised the Obama administration's prompt reaction to the storm. Obama declared parts of the state a federal disaster area Wednesday evening.

"They really hit the ground running," he said. "They're working very hard to get all the equipment and supplies here that we need."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/01/31/winter.weather/index.html

Big vibes to all our Kentucky DUers! My grandma lives in Paducah, and is currently in the hospital because her house lost power and she has to be on oxygen 24/7 (she has emphysema) - and was just getting over pneumonia when the storm hit. :(

[underpants]

1. Professionalism

so nice to see

[SallyMander]

2. Exactly

God forbid there's another event like Katrina, but at least we know the President wouldn't be eating birthday cake while people suffered!

[PylesMalfunction]

3. Would there be any chance...

That Witt would be willing come back and shape things up? He did such an amazing job restoring the credibility of FEMA after years of neglect under GOP presidents.

Regardless, it's been such a relief to know that smart people are once again running things. Thank God!

[SallyMander]

8. Dunno! His wiki says he is consulting now

If not, hopefully he'll advise the new team.

[firedupdem]

4. Glad they were on top of this....I was waiting to see if things worked

better.

[SallyMander]

9. So far so good, I guess!

:hi:

[bluestateguy]

5. They didn't vote for hope and change last November

They should be very grateful that they are getting any help at all.

[SallyMander]

6. I hope that's a very bad joke

:thumbsdown:

[Arkana]

15. He's the President of the United States

Not the President of the Blue States.

[Merlot]

7. Disasters happen. It's the reaction to them that matters.

What was so devastating (to me, anyhow) was seeing all the suffering and knowing that no one* was doing anything except make it worse.

*And by no one, I mean bushco. I realize there were a lot of on the ground hands and volunteers but with the scope of that disaster there was only so much they could do.

[SallyMander]

10. Exactly

There needs to be a plan in place BEFORE disasters strike - and competent people to execute the plan. That whole "competency" thing really seemed to elude the entire * administration...

[ClarkUSA]

11. Team O does it again.

Best wishes to your grandmother.

[SallyMander]

12. Thank you

There were several days where we couldn't get through because all the phones were down - it was really terrible. I appreciate your thoughts. :)

[BuelahWitch]

13. Wow, an administration that cares about PEOPLE

What a concept! :fistbump:
Thanks for your report. I guess the media was too busy talking about RUSH to let us know...

[SallyMander]

20. Seems so novel after the last 8 years, right?

:fistbump:

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

14. Amazing what an intellegently run administration can accomplish.

[Arkana]

16. James Witt is back at FEMA in an advisory capacity--I'd look for

a sharp upswing in their capabilities.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

17. Didn't know that - great news, thanks.

[SallyMander]

22. It's a welcome change, that's for sure!

:)

[CTyankee]

18. Best of vibes to your grandma! When Katrina hit I thought of my recently deceased

mother as I saw those pictures of elderly people stacked on baggage carousels at the airport! It could have been my mother!

It's scary having an elderly, frail loved one in the midst of these storms, especially someone who must depend on the elecricity for her wellbeing...

Good luck to all in KY.:hi:

[SallyMander]

21. Thank you so much

It has been really scary, and we are still very worried about her... apparently the hospital is WAY over capacity. My aunt (who also lives in the area) said the ER had 26 critical patients waiting for beds. :( My mom tried to find them a hotel to stay at, but there is nothing within 50 miles!!!

Thanks for your thoughts. :hug:

[Jennicut]

19. OMG-its competence, its back!

Really, any adult could deal with a disaster but we had a child running the WH before.

[SallyMander]

23. Right - we don't have to worry about total incompetence

compounding all the other problems!

[Hokie]

24. I live in KY and the response was very good

I lost power for about 40 hours. AEP has a web site where you can track the number of customers without power. http://www.aepcustomer.com/outagemap/main.aspx?region=kentucky

Since the peak Wednesday morning of 33,000 customers they are down to 8,500 on the latest update. Yesterday, a large number of out of state crews were in the area and at work. These guys deserve a lot of credit. I may be biased but I think Democratic leaders respond better to emergencies because progressives have more empathy for the plight of their fellow man than conservatives by nature.

[SallyMander]

31. Glad to hear your power is back!

I hope everyone else gets it back soon too. And I think you're right about the Dem/empathy link - in fact, there was a scientific study using brain scans that showed a similar result!

[liberalmuse]

25. Good! I was up last night thinking about all the people without power...

and feeling helpless to do anything about it. I'm glad we have a President who is actually on top of things!

[kestrel91316]

26. My assistant's racist former Orange Co CA mom lives in KY and has

been running on a generator for days now. I wonder what she thinks about her governor praising "that n----r", as she refers to Obama..........

[BlooInBloo]

27. Even in places where the populace hates him.

[hedgehog]

28. I heard on the radio this morning that local officials were complaining

about a slow response from state and federal officials....... have you heard anything about that? From the CNN story, it sounds like some people may be trying to make Obama and Beshear look bad.

[Cha]

29. Oh dear, I hope your

grammy has a swift recovery, SallyMander.

It's amazing what can happen when you actually try..as in our new admin.

[SallyMander]

32. Thank you so much Cha

We are very worried about her - her health is not good, and we just want her to be comfortable. :(

I appreciate your thoughts. :pals:

[Ilsa]

30. Yes! An Administration that gives a damn about all people, not just "the elite". nt