Two days after President Obama flew into storm-ravaged New Jersey on Wednesday for a 90 minute photo op with Governor Christie, parts of the state have descended into what one local resident calls “an apocalyptic vision.” On Friday, in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, this New Jersey resident described the situation there:
New Jersey right now is experiencing an apocalyptic vision. Gas lines are a mile long. Hundreds are standing in line with gas cans. Fights are breaking out. Police and national guard have been called out. I’ve not had power or taken a shower since Sunday. Pray for us here.
FEMA reps are meeting with people in their residences to assess how recovery assistance can be provided to them.
While FEMA representatives had finally arrived on the ground by Friday, most of them appear to be focused on providing financial assistance to victims of Hurricane Sandy at some point in the future. There is no indication yet that any FEMA representatives on the ground are actually doing anything to aid in the distribution of food, supplies, gas, or restoring electricity.
On Wednesday, President Obama promised to deliver a far rosier outcome to New Jersey residents over the next several days. In fact, the President made a specific promise that he would make sure supplies were delivered, as CNN reported. Two days later, he’s failed to deliver on that promise, though he has been able to campaign in key swing states across the country during that time:
Many people across the region are still in need of basic supplies. President Barack Obama visited a shelter Wednesday in the hard-hit town of Brigantine, New Jersey, where he said he met a woman with an 8-month-old who has run out of diapers and formula.
“Those are the kinds of basic supplies and help that we can provide,” he said. [emphasis added]
Obama promised the federal government “will not quit” until communities are cleaned up.
“We are not going to tolerate red tape, we are not going to tolerate bureaucracy,” Obama said. “And I’ve instituted a 15-minute rule, essentially, on my team. You return everybody’s phone calls in 15 minutes, whether it’s the mayor’s, the governor’s, county officials.
“If they need something, we figure out a way to say yes.”
The President may be right. The Obama administration has found a way to “say yes to something needed,” by New Jersey victims of Hurricane Sandy, but it’s not yet found a way to “do that something needed.”