White House faked levee repair for photo op!

Unless we are completely gullible we know that politicians stage photo-ops, we know that they are more attentive to appearances than to substance and we have learned that one needs to take whatever they say to the media with a grain of salt.  But when the President diverts "assets" needed for New Orleans disaster relief for his own public image we must cry "dereliction of duty."

From a press release LA Senator Mary Landrieu sent out today:
But perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment. The good and decent people of southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast - black and white, rich and poor, young and old - deserve far better from their national government.

Thanks to Americablog for the Landrieu press release.