Posted by Jeff Zeleny at 7:47 a.m. CDT
After getting a shoe shine next to Gate 23 at Washington Reagan National Airport, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) spotted two Democratic colleagues waiting to board a flight to New Orleans this morning.
Kerry, walking alone, came over to say hello to Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Barack Obama of Illinois. He kissed Landrieu and shook Obama's hand before turning to look at five aides standing near Obama.
"This is the biggest entourage I've ever seen for a freshman senator," Kerry said. "Look at all these people!"
"I usually travel alone," Obama replied, before quickly changing the subject. "Where are you going, John?"
"New Orleans," Kerry said, noting that he was making his fourth visit since Hurricane Katrina.
For Obama, it is his first visit since the storm ravaged the city nearly a year ago.
He is scheduled to spend the day in New Orleans, getting a FEMA briefing, helping to build a house with Habitat for Humanity and touring devastated neighborhoods from Katrina. Landrieu will give Obama a tour, while Kerry is delivering a luncheon speech to a downtown group.
The flight was delayed, but is now taking off. (Kerry is sitting in row 1, Landrieu row 3 and Obama row 7 -- all coach seats.).
Why is Obama making his first visit now? We'll ask him en route to New Orleans. Check back.
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Comments
"Why is Obama making his first visit now?"
Do you mean, as in, why hasn't he gone before? That's pretty simple. He's a senator from Illinois. His priorities should be the people of Illinois.
If you're asking more like, why is he going now? Well, can you say 2008?
Posted by: Dienne | July 21, 2006 9:21 AM
Does reporter Jeff Zeleny, Sen Obama's court jester, follow Sen. Obama everywhere, and think Obama's every movement is "news"? We now get "reporting" on Obama's shoe shine and the number of his seat on the plane.
Zeleny seems determined to be the Sancho Panza to Don Quixote Obama.
Posted by: Bruce | July 21, 2006 9:38 AM
Actually, Bruce, it was Kerry who got the shoe shine.
It is an odd little artcicle, however,
Obama is a newsworthy politician and will most likely
do great things in the years to come.
Personally, I am interested in what he says about the present
state of N.O. and the region.
Posted by: Judy | July 21, 2006 10:45 AM
It's nice that Obama has the time and tax payer money to go and visit N.O., since there is nothing that is going on here in Illinois that he could be interested in being apart of or learning about.
Posted by: jp | July 21, 2006 12:24 PM
As an Illinois senator, it may have made more sense for Obama to stop in at St. Louis following the area being designated a disaster area. It's just across the river from Illinois and a whole lot newer news than New Orleans. Did he need an entorage to go down there? Are we paying for them to make the trip? What will we gain by his being there?
As for '08, what has he done in a little over one year in office that makes him a potential candidate for the two highest offices in the country? He speaks very well and seems down-to-earth. If that's what it takes, my uncle Frank should be in the running too. It couldn't be because he's blac---; no, that can't be it. After all, Hillary is being touted as presidential material and it's not because she's a woma--- ;no, that can't be.
Wow, this politics stuff is difficult stuff to figure out.
Posted by: Jerry Oleksy Sr. | July 21, 2006 12:31 PM
I too am interested in what Sen Obama thinks about NOLA, the FEMA briefing, and his opinion about what is still needed to solve the ongoing problems there.
As for following him around, I would also like to have a better idea about what he is doing in ILLINOIS not NOLA, not Africa, not Iowa. I was a strong supporter of his election and would like to be able to hear him speak in ILLINOIS once in awhile! I'm more interested in whether he is working for the interests of the State before I decide who to vote for in 2010.
Posted by: LNS independent | July 21, 2006 1:05 PM
As a New Orleanian, I can tell you why Obama is coming here: He is a U.S. Congressman. It seems you Illinois residents missed the fact that a very large hurricane called Katrina hit the region, costing lives and billions of dollars. As a U.S. Congressman, he is responsible for voting whether or not the region should get money, as well as on laws governing everything from coastal restoration and oil leases to emergency preparedness, which are issues that affect all of us.
Gripe if your city councilman or state rep comes to New Orleans. In the meantime, stop being so parochial.
Posted by: Laura | July 21, 2006 2:37 PM
I've been to New Orleans and the Plaquemines Parish, LA two hours to the south of the city since Katrina, and things are still terrible down there. It looks like the storm hit yesterday. It's been largely out of the news, but everyone who is able should go down and see what's happened to that part of our country. These people need a lot more assistance than they're getting, and not only do they need that-they need the assurance that more is on the way. Especially in the Miss. River delta area and by Buras, LA where the storm made landfall, there's no one around to help those people because the government has estimated that their land will erode in 20-50 yrs anyway so they don't want them to even go back to their homes. There is no one to speak for these people, because they are poor. The economic vitality and cultural contributions of that area are seemingly being written off by our leadership, we need to re-adjust their priorities.
Posted by: Kaveh Bakhtiari | July 21, 2006 3:01 PM
I, for one, think it's great that he's going to New Orleans. Why shouldn't the only African American Senator visit a city whose African American population has been devastated? And if you have any questions about what Obama is doing for Illinois, why don't you take a look at his website? From E-85 to veterans benefits to locks and dams to highway funds, this guy has been all over the place for Illinois. Find another freshman senator who has delivered as much as he has.
Posted by: Imran Chaudhri | July 21, 2006 4:21 PM
Laura you show how well-informed you are by not knowing the difference between a congressman (a member of the House of Representatives) and a Senator (member of the U.S. Senate).
Hmmm, I wonder if we would've been inundated with news reports about how awful it is that 300,000 don't have electrical power if it happened in New York? Seriously, if I were in St. Louis and I turned on CNN after finally getting my power back I'd be pretty angry at the response.
Posted by: Bill | July 21, 2006 5:07 PM
Did Teresa pack a few bottles of Ketchup for John to give to the masses?
Posted by: Terry | July 21, 2006 7:26 PM
Terry,
John and Teresa Kerry sent down a planeload of supplies for the people of New Orleans very soon after Katrina hit, using their own money and donations they had collected. They didn't make a big media fuss about it, which may be why you hadn't heard about it.
Posted by: Noisy Democrat | July 24, 2006 4:16 PM