The Obama government was better prepared for Irene than the Bush government was for Hurricane Katrina six years ago, writes the left-liberal daily Der Standard on the safety measures in New York: “Bush and [the director of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency Michael] Brown had criminally underestimated the havoc Hurricane Katrina would wreak in the overflooded streets of New Orleans. … In stark contrast to Barack Obama, the crisis manager of Hurricane Irene. He doesn’t take anything lightly; not for him the quirky phrases of his Texan predecessor. Katrina raged a lot more violently than Irene. … But Obama’s caring competence and the matter-of-fact approach of [New York Mayor] Michael Bloomberg provide a pleasant contrast to Bush. Perhaps the radical individualists of the Tea Party need to be reminded of a couple of home truths: It’s Uncle Sam, the allegedly so superfluous state, who organises the response to the elements.” (29/08/2011)
(See HERE the full article in German.)