This Part Of The World

From David Kurtz at Talking Points Memo:

When my wife was in school in Louisiana, she had a teacher who began a sentence one day with, "When you leave Louisiana and go to America . . ."

Now, Louisiana has long been different from the rest of the country, its French and Spanish colonial roots long pre-dating Anglo influence. In south Louisiana in particular, where the geographic isolation of bayou country was not penetrated until the commercialization of oil and gas deposits well into the 20th century, the Anglo influence not only came late but often came as unwelcome.

When President Bush visited New Orleans yesterday on the second anniversary of Katrina, he said this:

"[T]he taxpayers and people from all around the country have got to understand the people of this part of the world really do appreciate the fact that the American citizens are supportive of the recovery effort."

"I come telling the folks in this part of the world that we still understand there's problems and we're still engaged."

"We care deeply about the folks in this part of the world."

Kurtz: He might as well have been talking to tsunami survivors in Indonesia.

Indeed, he seemed to be talking to folks he saw as very much other - not his people. Parts of New Orleans presently have a very third-world look about them, so how could he claim "this part of the world" as his country, the country he presides over, two years after a major disaster? No way. Just disown the citizens of New Orleans. Address them as people from another part of the world, not as citizens of your own country.

Hat tip to the big "O" man, Oyster, at Your Right Hand Thief for the link to TPM.

Now we'll make a jump. Follow along with me.

We now go to the comments at Of Course I Could Be On Vacation, a parody blog to Of Course I Could Be Wrong, where we carry on while the MadPriest is on holiday. Are you still with me? I know; it's complicated.

Never mind what the post is about, as it's largely irrelevant to my point, but this is from the comments there:

David Austin Allen said...

Mimi,...[d]id you hang in the ghetto much? Perhaps in N'Orleans?

30 August 2007 17:34

Grandmère Mimi said...

David, all of New Orleans is/was a ghetto. It's a foreign city plunked down in the US, at this moment, longing for France to buy it back....

30 August 2007 18:12

My response to the president: Mr. President, the feeling is mutual. I wish you were not the president of my country. I'm ashamed of you as my president.

Later in the comments David said that New Orleans needs to be part of The Netherlands, rather than France, for they would know how to protect the city. I'll drink to that.