In a CNN interview on Friday, former three-term U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, thanked Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for visiting the flood-ravaged Bayou State. Then, addressing the absence to that point of President Barack Obama and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, she said, "I hope Secretary Clinton will make her way down. I hope President Obama will make a visit" — which is as close as a fellow Democrat can possibly get to saying what's really on their mind, which is "Where in the heck are you guys?"
Those who have noticed it have decribed Landrieu's gratitude to Trump combined with her de facto callout of Obama and Clinton a "rare moment." It should surprise no one, though such behavior continues to deeply disappoint, that based on relevant searches neither Landrieu's statements nor any allusion to them have appeared at the two main national sites of the Associated Press (main site; Big Story site) or at the New York Times.
The CNN video segment which follows took place during the network's afternoon program now called Wolf (as in Blitzer).
In it, Landrieu, interviewed by Brianna Keilar, also made the current harsh realities of the situation in her home state quite clear:
Transcript:
BRIANNA KEILAR: And for more on the situation in Louisiana and the response to it, I want to bring in Mary Landrieu, the former U.S. Senator from Louisiana.
So you're watching these pictures, and I think a lot of people have known something's going on in Louisiana, but maybe especially in your mind, there hasn't been enough awareness of it around the country. Does a visit by Donald Trump, is that, is that helpful to raising awareness and money?
MARY LANDRIEU: I think it is, and I want to thank Mr. Trump for coming to Louisiana. I think the governor's admonition about not using it as a press op is a good one, but he brought attention to our state, and we need that now, because this disaster, Brianna, is far bigger than people can appreciate on television.
And if you could see it from a drone's perspective, and look down all of South Louisiana, this not just the Baton Rouge are, livingson Parish, Ascension Parish, to the south central part of our state and southwest, all the way over to Calcasieu (Parish).
This was a horrible rain event. And as you know, Louisiana drains about 40 percent of the entire United States. So even when the rain doesn't sit over us like this did, even when it rains in Minnesota or Arkansas, we get the water. That's one thing I want people to understand. It's both a blessing and a burden to have too much water, and we have too much of it now.
And it is a really a serious disaster, and I hope Secretary Clinton will make her way down. I hope President Obama will make a visit and you know, we need all the attention and help we can get.
Landrieu's "photo op" reference is to the attitude of Louisiana's Democratic Governor towards Trump's visit:
The office of Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards signaled that Donald Trump is welcome to visit Louisiana in the wake of destructive flooding, but only if he does not use it for political gain.
What an inane stance. Given who hasn't been there (yet, though President Obama will reportedly visit on Tuesday), Trump's mere presence was a "political gain."
A search at 6 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday at Google News on Mary Landrieu's full name (in quotes; sorted by date) returned 15 items. All but two were from center-right Internet-based outlets.
Of the two others, one, from the Washington Post, is headlined, "Trump was very smart to go to Louisiana. (But he still can’t quite help himself.)" What's the problem? Trump took advantage of the low-hanging fruit:
After a man remarked that Obama might be "under-par while we're underwater," Trump responded with a wry smile: "He'll never be under-par."
Oh the humanity!
The other, at Time.com, is primarily about Obama finally deciding to visit, and almost razzes Trump by falsely claiming, at least based on what was presented, that "His (Obama's) name came up during Donald Trump's Louisiana trip on Friday." Not so:
Woman: "We’re glad you are not playing golf in Martha’s Vineyard."
Trump: "Somebody is, somebody is that shouldn’t be."
There's no name in there, just an allusion to an unnamed, and not present, person — a person whom the media is clearly protecting by not noting that a prominent member of his own party "hopes," i.e., expects him to be there.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
