Obama promises to make good on promises and to make us make good on promises.

Jobs, health care, education, out of Iraq, no torture, watching the defectives (banksters, swindlers, Johnny-No-Goods).

Money quote: "This time -- this time, CEOs won't be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks, or buy fancy drapes, or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over."

We're all in.

The Republican response?

Windy.

Money quote:

Today in Washington, some are promising that government will rescue us from the economic storms raging all around us. Those of us who lived through Hurricane Katrina, we have our doubts.

Let me tell you a story. During Katrina, I visited Sheriff Harry Lee, a Democrat and a good friend of mine. When I walk into his makeshift office, I had never seen him so angry. He was literally yelling into the phone. "Well, I'm the sheriff, and if you don't like it, you can come and arrest me." I asked him, "Sheriff, what's got you so mad?" He told me that he put out a call for volunteers to come with their boats to rescue people who were trapped on their rooftops by the floodwaters. The boats were all lined up and ready to go. And then some bureaucrat showed up and told him they couldn't go out in the water unless they had proof of insurance and registration.

And I told him, "Sheriff, that's ridiculous." Before I knew it, he was yelling in the phone. "Congressman Jindal's here, and he says you can come and arrest him, too." Well, Harry just told those boaters ignore the bureaucrats and go start rescuing people.

There's a lesson in this experience: The strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and the enterprising spirit of our citizens.

To this, a repost(e) from the Slanted archives:

Perhaps a Pizza Delivery Was in Order?

Former FEMA Director Michael Brown is still on the receiving end of plenty of guff for his failure to respond to a few "urgent" e-mails pleading for help for the victims of Katrina. Following is the latest from AP:

On August 31, Marty Bahamonde, FEMA's regional director in New England--dispatched to New Orleans by Brown--e-mailed the FEMA head to tell him that thousands of evacuees were gathering in the streets with no food or water and that "estimates are many will die within hours." Further, Bahamonde said, "Sir, I know that you know the situation is past critical," and made it clear that it was urgent to evacuate those with medical conditions as soon as possible in order to get them proper care.

Shortly after this e-mail was sent, Brown's press secretary, Sharon Worthy, wrote colleagues to complain that the FEMA director needed more time to eat dinner at a Baton Rouge restaurant that evening.

"He needs much more that [sic] 20 or 30 minutes," Worthy wrote.

"Restaurants are getting busy," she said. "We now have traffic to encounter to go to and from a location of his choise [sic], followed by wait service from the restaurant staff, eating, etc. Thank you."

Presumably Brown also required time to use his fork and knife, to chew his food and swallow it, and to wipe his mouth with a napkin at the conclusion of the meal.

Worth repeating, from Jindal:

There's a lesson in this experience: The strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and the enterprising spirit of our citizens.

The take-away? Apparently the people who died as a result of Katrina failed America by not saving themselves.

Godspeed, Jindal. You'll need it.

And to you, dear citizens, a fond good night.

-- The Slanted Staff, monitoring volcanoes since 1897