The day Arizona was in the eye of Hurricane George (Rips *)

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0830montini30.html

I'm guessing that Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, will not be remembered as the day President George W. Bush stopped by a retirement community in El Mirage to discuss prescription drug benefits for seniors.

As nice as it was to have the president visit the state we live in, I believe it would have been OK with us if Mr. Bush had canceled or at least postponed his plans in order to monitor the progress of Hurricane Katrina and to review federal relief plans.

As it is, however, the president decided to visit El Mirage. Life goes on. He spoke briefly about the hurricane, promising disaster relief. Then, after urging Americans to pray for those most affected by the storm, Bush said, "I also want to talk about immigration." I've got a feeling that historians looking back on this day will not describe that transition as a particularly shining presidential moment.

As important as the topic of immigration is to people living in Arizona, and as self-centered as we all can be, I figure that most of us would not have minded if the president hadn't discussed our troublesome border at the same time that huge storm was pounding cities on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi.

It may have been nice for us to hear the president tell Arizona residents, "It's important for the people of this state to understand that your voices are being heard in Washington, D.C." But I think that it would have been acceptable if, just for a day, the president focused all of his domestic attention on the meteorological event affecting Greater New Orleans.

Say it loud & often