Bush Tours Gulf Coast To Reassure Katrina Victims

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Bush Tours Gulf Coast To Reassure Katrina Victims: "Bush's aides also say state and local leaders share responsibility for any delays. Powell underscored that point on Thursday.

'American taxpayers have poured a lot of money in that area,' he said. 'It's important that the locals - that local people - begin to push a process' to get the money where it is needed."

So I was just reading along with this WLOX article... bobbling my head as I often do when reading useless PR drivel... And I get to the above quote about American taxpayers vs. locals from the President of the United States...
Then my head exploded.

Okay - it didn't really explode. Yet.

But uh.. how many times just in the last several days have I voiced exasperation over people referring to the 'taxpayers' as if we here on the Gulf Coast (or in the Hurricane Combat Zone as one anonymous poster called it) are not, in fact, 'taxpayers' ourselves? Yeah.. more than once.

Not only did our president join the ranks of anonymous newspaper comment-makers everywhere.. but he actually added a baffling proper adjective: "American".

Is it just me or does this smack of something like "These American taxpayers up here are footing the bill for you people down there in that part of the world"? (Note: This is in reference to the President's previously referring to the area as 'this part of the world' on more than one visit to the MS coastline over the last 18 months.) Sigh. I'm an American taxpayer too.

Now, on to the real mystery! We 'locals' (or I should say 'local people' as opposed to local farm animals or local flora) have now been told that it's important that we 'push a process' to get the money where it is needed. Er... Help me. Does he have a particular process in mind - I mean short of storming the governor's mansion? Is this the answer we've been looking for? Plea: "Help us we're not getting the money you promised us." Reply: "Well you need to make sure you do!"

*head-scratch*

I'm just going to chalk this up to one of those weird political non-statements with just a touch of 'blame yourself' finger-pointing thrown in.