Obama at Tulane

Obama gave a wonderful speech today in New Orleans. He said so many of the things that I wanted to hear. Click here to read the entire speech that Barack Obama delivered at Tulane University today.

Here are some excerpts:

The Times-Picayune
Thursday February 07, 2008, 10:03 AM
Sen. Barack Obama’s prepared remarks to be delivered to a rally at Fogleman Arena:

…To many Americans, the words “New Orleans” call up images of broken levees; water rushing through the streets; mothers holding babies up to avoid the flood. And worse – the memory of a moment when America’s government failed its citizens. Because when the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast extended their hand for help, help wasn’t there. When people looked up from the rooftops, for too long they saw empty sky. When the winds blew and the floodwaters came, we learned that for all of our wealth and power, something wasn’t right with America.

We can talk about what happened for a few days in 2005. And we should. We can talk about levees that couldn’t hold; about a FEMA that seemed not just incompetent, but paralyzed and powerless; about a President who only saw the people from the window of an airplane. We can talk about a trust that was broken – the promise that our government will be prepared, will protect us, and will respond in a catastrophe.

But we also know the broken promises did not start when a storm hit, and they did not end there.

When President Bush came down to Jackson Square two weeks after the storm, the setting was spectacular and his promises soaring: “We will do what it takes,” he said. “We will stay as long as it takes, to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives.” But over two years later, those words have been caught in a tangle of half-measures, half-hearted leadership, and red tape.

Yes, parts of New Orleans are coming back to life. But we also know that over 25,000 families are still living in small trailers; that thousands of homes sit empty and condemned; and that schools and hospitals and firehouses are shuttered. We know that even though the street cars run, there are fewer passengers; that even though the parades sound their joyful noise, there is too much violence in the shadows.

To confront these challenges we have to understand that Katrina may have battered these shores – but it also exposed silent storms that have ravaged parts of this city and our country for far too long. The storms of poverty and joblessness; inequality and injustice.

…When I am President, I will start by restoring that most basic trust – that your government will do what it takes to keep you safe.

The words “never again” – spoken so often in those weeks after Katrina – must not fade to a whisper. The Army Corps of Engineers has rebuilt levees that were most damaged by the storm, but funding has sometimes stalled, and New Orleans remains unprotected.

We can’t gamble every hurricane season. When I am President, we will finish building a system of levees that can withstand a 100-year storm by 2011, with the goal of expanding that protection to defend against a Category 5 storm. We also have to restore nature’s barriers – the wetlands, marshes and barrier islands that can take the first blows and protect the people of the Gulf Coast.

If catastrophe comes, the American people must be able to call on a competent government. When I am President, the days of dysfunction and cronyism in Washington will be over. The director of FEMA will report to me. He or she will have the highest qualifications in emergency management. And I won’t just tell you that I’ll insulate that office from politics – I’ll guarantee it, by giving my FEMA director a fixed term like the director of the Federal Reserve. I don’t want FEMA to be thinking for one minute about the politics of a crisis. I want FEMA to do its job, which is protecting the American people – not protecting a President’s politics.

…That is why the second thing we need to do is to make sure that reconstruction is making a real difference in peoples’ lives.

Across this city, we see the evidence that George Bush’s promises were empty. It’s not acceptable that federal money is not reaching communities that need it, or that Louisiana officials have filled out millions of forms to get reconstruction funds. When I am President, the federal rebuilding coordinator will report directly to me, and we will ensure that resources show results. It’s time to cut the red tape, so that the federal government is a partner – not an opponent – in getting things done.

Instead of giving no-bid contracts to companies headed by the President’s former campaign manager, we will make sure that rebuilding benefits the local economy. I have worked across the aisle in the Senate to crack down on no-bid contracts, and to make sure that emergency contracting is only done immediately after an emergency. When I am President, if there is a job that can be done by a New Orleans resident, the contract will go to a resident of New Orleans. And we’ll provide tax incentives to businesses that choose to set up shop in the hardest hit areas.

…The children of New Orleans are America’s children. We cannot stand by while they see a future filled with violence, or poverty, or hopelessness. Our true measure of success must be ensuring that the children of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast can dream the same dreams as every child in America.

That is why the third part of our effort to rebuild trust must be providing a world-class education.

Over two years after Katrina, too many schools are still closed. Kids are still going to class in makeshift buildings and trailers. Class sizes run as large as forty children for each teacher. This is not acceptable. It’s time for FEMA to speed up payment of the $58 million that Congress recently allocated for school repairs. And it’s time to invest in education, so that New Orleans has the first-class school system that it has needed for so long.

…Because the trust we seek is not a one-way street. It’s going to take folks working together and doing their part. The government cannot rebuild the Gulf Coast for the people of the Gulf Coast; the government can only rebuild the Gulf Coast with the people of this region.

All of this will cost money. The federal government has already promised the resources, but they need to be spent more efficiently and more wisely. When I am President, we will target funds to programs that make a difference, and make sure that resources meet the needs of the people – and that means working closely with state and local officials, and asking that they keep up their end of the bargain.

I promise you that when I’m in the White House I will commit myself every day to keeping up Washington’s end of this trust. This will be a priority of my presidency. And I will make it clear to members of my Administration that their responsibilities don’t end in places like the 9th ward – they begin there.

…What better place to begin this work than New Orleans?

Here, in the city that gave us jazz, we know that even the most painful note can be followed by joy. Here, in this city, if we look hard enough, we can imagine the unseen – homes filled with families; businesses putting folks to work; schools extending opportunity; the next verse in the American song. That is what is possible if we can trust each other; and if we have the imagination to see the unseen, and the determination to work for it.

Obama Rope Line at Tulane

This is truly an innovative and visionary project, and it is just what NOLA’s 9th Ward seems to need, genuine benefactors who will provide the 9th Ward families who want to return an achievable path to follow to make this happen. Brad has pledged 5M of his foundation’s funds, and another person has matched that pledge to get the project going. And in looking at the information available on the MIR site, the project is well underway. There is a page on the site for homeowners to go to that explains the entire process from contacting MIR to moving in to your new house, complete with contact information and links to PDF s for the application form and various other informational documentation.

If you haven’t forgotten New Orleans, and you want to join Brad to get 9th Ward families back home, please visit the MIR site and make a cash donation (I did), or choose the adopt a house option where you can buy items for a house such as linoleum floors, solar panels, washers, dryers, landscaping, or the entire house ($150K). Brad’s done all the hard work to get the land cleared and the startup funding and project infrastructure in place, now he needs us to pitch in. Show NOLA’s 9th Ward that we haven’t forgotten.

Update: 12/05/07
One of the most exciting aspects of the project is the design of the houses themselves. The houses were designed by leading architects from all over the world based on criteria and specifications that the former Lower 9th Ward residents had direct input into. The Designs page on the MIR site explains the intention of the project to be mindful of the cultural and historical traditions of the Lower 9th Ward, and the special architectural aspects that came to characterize and identify this unique neighborhood. Equally important in the drivers for the design of the homes were what MIR lists as the four main guiding principles; safety, affordability, sustainability, and high design quality.

The resultant designs (there are thirteen listed so for on the Designs page) are quite innovative and attractive. You can view each of them from the menu on the Designs page, and you can also take a virtual tour of a home from the Donation page (you don’t actually have to buy/donate anything to take the ‘tour’) which lets you view the interior of a home and to see what components are being used to build it. Below are my favorite designs. Click on a picture to go to the page with the full sized view and a link to the architects profile.

Billes Architecture Design

BNIM Architects Design

Constructs LLC Architects Design

GRAFT Architects Design

Even though I am disappointed by today’s loss, I am really excited about the Saints future prospects. If they are this good at this stage of the game, they could be a force to contend with for several years to come. They have nothing to hang their heads about either. It was a great game today, and it was a wonderful season. Now I can just sit back and enjoy the superbowl, not having to worry about who will win. I like all the remaining teams and I am hoping for a couple more exciting and well played games before kissing this NFL season goodbye.

On a sidebar – Roger Federer and Andy Roddick are both playing well at the Australian Open (as is James Blake). If they both continue to win they will meet in the semifinals, and if Nadal keeps winning on his side of the draw we could see a Nadal – Federer or Nadal – Roddick final. Something to look forward to.

Check out this video of The Edge and some New Orleans musicians doing a rendition of Vertigo. It is quite entertaining.