Obama tells Flint residents: 'I've got your back'

[webfact]

Obama tells Flint residents: 'I've got your back'
By KEVIN FREKING

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Sipping filtered city water to show it's again drinkable, President Barack Obama promised Wednesday to ride herd on leaders at all levels of government until every drop of water flowing into homes in Flint, Michigan, is safe to use.

He also promised that the aging pipes that contaminated the water with lead will be replaced, but cautioned that the project will take time. Obama said he wanted to use the crisis to make long-term improvements to the city, where more than 40 percent of residents live in poverty.

"It's not going to happen overnight, but we have to get started," Obama told hundreds of people gathered in a high school gymnasium. Obama spoke after he was briefed on the federal response to the water contamination and had met privately with nine residents.

Obama said he understood why people are scared and angry and feel let down. He said what happened in Flint was a manmade disaster that didn't have to happen. But he said it did happen and everyone must now work together to fix it.

"I've got your back," Obama said. "I will not rest and I'm going to make sure that the leaders at every level of government don't rest until every drop of water that flows to your homes is safe to drink and safe to cook with and safe to bathe in."

He called providing safe drinking water a basic responsibility of government.

After coughing several times during his remarks, Obama asked for and drank from a glass of water. He also drank city water after getting a lengthy briefing on the crisis, which forced residents to spend months drinking, cooking and bathing with bottled water.

Obama declared a state of emergency in Flint in mid-January and ordered federal aid to supplement the state and local response. By then, however, the crisis was in full bloom.

It took several months for the nation to focus on the beaten-down city's plight, raising questions about how race, more than half of Flint's residents are black, and poverty influenced decisions that led to the tainted water supply and the sluggish response.

The city, in an effort to save money while under state management, began drawing its water from the Flint River in April 2014. Despite complaints from residents about the smell and taste and health problems, city leaders insisted the water was safe. However, doctors reported last September that the blood of Flint children contained high levels of lead.

The source of the city's water has been switched back to Detroit, but the lead problem still is not fully solved. Most people are drinking filtered or bottled water.

The political and legal fallout is ongoing. An independent commission appointed by Republican Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder determined the state was primarily responsible for the water contamination in Flint, and he issued an apology. The Obama administration's response, through the Environmental Protection Agency, has also come under criticism from Snyder and some in Congress who say the EPA didn't move with necessary urgency.

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told Congress that, while staff repeatedly urged the state to address the lack of corrosion controls, "we missed the opportunity late last summer to quickly get EPA's concerns on the public's radar screen." An inspector general is investigating the EPA's response.

Congress is also grappling with how to help Flint, but progress has been slow. A Senate committee last week approved a $220 million aid package as part of a broader bill that would authorize nearly $4.8 billion for water-related projects around the country. The bill could come up for a Senate vote in May.

Snyder spoke in the gymnasium during Obama's meeting and was loudly booed. Snyder said he understood why residents were angry and wanted to say he was sorry. "You didn't create this problem," Snyder said. "Government failed you."

Many in the audience yelled back at Snyder, "You failed."

Snyder was booed again when Obama spoke and mentioned him along with other elected leaders he had met with Wednesday.

"No, no, no," Obama said. "We're trying to do some business here."

Outside the school, Reneta Richard, a teacher and Flint resident, said she hoped Obama's trip would lead to something positive. She recently bought a house and said she's there for the long haul.

"I want him to leave a check — right here, right now — for pipe removal and medical bills and the life we're going to suffer," said Richard, 37, a single mom. "This isn't going to be over in 10 years."

___

Associated Press writer Ed White contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-05-05

[colinneil]

Obama got your back, glad i am not a Flint resident.
Obama <deleted> up every other thing he has done.

[ezzra]

Yeah, he's got their back, that because he can't look at them in front and explain how is that in the 21st century, a town doesn't have water to drink..... Obama, the leader from behind.....

[shirtless]

Obama saying ive got your back , yeah folks he is right behind you

[arrowsdawdle]

Obama got your back, glad i am not a Flint resident.

Obama <deleted> up every other thing he has done.

Never forget that he and Crooked Hillary had the ambassador's back at Benghazi....NOT!

[SOTIRIOS]

....wow.....

[quandow]

HNIC can say ANYTHING at this point, he's out.

[ehs818]

Wow, seems like nothing but Obama bashers today. Hope you like your boy Trump better. Think Fascism is better than Obama? You only have yourself to blame when Trump does away with your First Amendment rights. Sad sad sad.....

[Dagnabbit]

He's had 7 and some years to "get their back" - what's he going to do in the months remaining?

[pitrevie]

He's had 7 and some years to "get their back" - what's he going to do in the months remaining?

Maybe he will engineer a financial crisis to equal that of the mess left behind by his predecessor but he will have to be quick.

[bassman]

"Obama said he wanted to use the crisis to make long-term improvements to the city, where more than 40 percent of residents live in poverty"

More of the democrat parties deliberate intent to keep people poor and eating out of their hands. 40% unemployment in any community is unacceptable, unless your a liberal who considers the downtrodden, poor, and gang dominated as democrat voters. A shame these people could not get jobs being filled by illegal aliens (otherwise known as future democrat voters).

Obama should be ashamed of his lame EPA's response to this crisis, his hands are dirty in this affair.

[Gracas]

Obama has got your back and one hand in your pocket.

[wabothai]

Wow, seems like nothing but Obama bashers today. Hope you like your boy Trump better. Think Fascism is better than Obama? You only have yourself to blame when Trump does away with your First Amendment rights. Sad sad sad.....

If the trumper does he won't last very long.

Obama has done little in his 8 years. The world has become a dangerous place during his reign.

Besides he refused to re-investigated happenings in 2001, weakness, to say the least. Who cares what he tells Flint other than the Flinters.

Edited May 5, 2016 by wabothai

[elgordo38]

What about the other communities that suffer the same problem. Good Ole boy Rick Snyder gives the people an apology and hopes that ends this fiasco. He is just another right wing wing nut job

trying to squeeze every penny of savings out of the system and was caught. Its what Republican governors do squeeze every ounce of savings out of their jurisdiction and leave a mess behind.

[hawker9000]

He's had 7 and some years to "get their back" - what's he going to do in the months remaining?

Well, "got their back", and got them IN the back are pretty much the same in his mind...

[ujayujay]

Obama got your back, glad i am not a Flint resident.

Obama <deleted> up every other thing he has done.

Loudmouth and professional son Trump would make it sure better.

[RickBradford]

He's had 7 and some years to "get their back" - what's he going to do in the months remaining?

Well, "got their back", and got them IN the back are pretty much the same in his mind...

I'd rather he was in front of me so I could see what he was up to.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

How long is the knife.

[Andaman Al]

Obama got your back, glad i am not a Flint resident.

Obama <deleted> up every other thing he has done.

Seem to see this was a Republican local Government scam he is trying to clear up and the US debt crisis was instigated with snowball fully rolling by George W, doing whatever was needed to make Haliburton stock rise for his mate Dick. Still at least everyone in the US is not a loser, some Republicans are very popular with their bank managers.

[Trouble]

Seems like most here tend to either forget or do not understand that for the most part the decisions which led to the original problem in Flint were made by local elected officials like the city council. By trying to save money they decided to buy water from a cheaper source in 2013. The water from the Flint River contained high levels of chlorine which is highly corrosive to iron and lead used in the pipes. Right after the switch in April 2014 people started complaining about the water. In Jan 2015 a public meeting was held for people to complain about skin problems for some children. It's in 2015 that essentially everything hit the fan. State and Federal agencies were in conflict over what to do and what to tell the public. That became a cluster-&lt;deleted&gt;. Seems like the problems could have been avoided by adding phosphorous to the water a fix that would have cost the city $50,000 per year. The reason the city is in such dire financial straits is the fact that it is the second most poverty-stricken city in the US for it's size and the fact that 20% of all city spending is mandatory to pay pensions of retirees from city government. The city is/was in financial receivership.

Obama for his part made this trip for public relations and nothing else. He simply moves on now looking for somewhere else to try to be presidential. Snyder, the governor is being blamed by the Democrats, which is political in motivation. Just goes to show how a stupid move by mostly Democratic, black politicians elected from a mostly poor black population, having not done their homework, reverberates throughout the nation and people try and place the blame on others. There is no doubt that state and federal agencies screwed up as well after looking into the matter and bickering over what to do. It is a given that the system did not work. However, if I were a resident of Flint, I would want the whole city council voted out, rather than trying to place blame on the state. After all it was the Flint water system and the Flint city council that took the initial action without due diligence.

[connda]

Of course he has their back, just like he's had America's back since 2009 -- bohica. Change you can believe in, but I doubt he'll drink the water thought.

[arjunadawn]

This is the pot calling the kettle black. Its a bridge too far to assign blame for natural disasters to a political party. This is seriously weak. However, this is not a natural disaster. This problem is significantly caused by liberal Democratic stewardship for a very long time. Saying "I got your back" seems oddly like "Here, let me help you get dressed" to a rape victim.

This issue is entirely a result of management, or the lack of it. This problem was entirely preventable, and its origins entirely political. America is sadly an object lesson in Democratic stewardship. While there's plenty of blame to go around for the various failings in the US currently, in this case, its entirely one party's failed management.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/430072/flint-lead-water-scandal

[slipperylobster]

Wow, seems like nothing but Obama bashers today. Hope you like your boy Trump better. Think Fascism is better than Obama? You only have yourself to blame when Trump does away with your First Amendment rights. Sad sad sad.....

no President is going to do away with any amendments.

ask the Supreme Court. That requires a judicial review upheld by the Supreme Court.

You may want to look at how our government works. Three branches...Legislative, Judicial and Executive. It's called " balance of power".

You might be confusing our system with a dictatorship or monarchy.... which it is not.

Edited May 5, 2016 by slipperylobster

[connda]

Wow, seems like nothing but Obama bashers today. Hope you like your boy Trump better. Think Fascism is better than Obama? You only have yourself to blame when Trump does away with your First Amendment rights. Sad sad sad.....

If one casts off their normalcy bias and looks at the world through the lens of a political atheist, you'll notice that events like the Flint water issues are not 'events' but a slowly building problem of institutional neglect and faulty priorities. BTW, the US has already sunk into classical 'fascism' where there is no clear delineation between government and corporate interests, with both channeling the nations wealth to the few (oligarchy). Those who point fingers at one 'political party' or the other, and toss around words like 'fascist' as a pejorative simply don't grasp the realities of a system that is built to harvest wealth while leaving a trail of human misery. Of course, then again, you're not suppose to understand. Good luck on both sides with that 'finger pointing' that leads to nowhere.

[ratcatcher]

[connda]

Wow, seems like nothing but Obama bashers today. Hope you like your boy Trump better. Think Fascism is better than Obama? You only have yourself to blame when Trump does away with your First Amendment rights. Sad sad sad.....

no President is going to do away with any amendments.

ask the Supreme Court. That requires a judicial review upheld by the Supreme Court.

You may want to look at how our government works. Three branches...Legislative, Judicial and Executive. It's called " balance of power".

You might be confusing our system with a dictatorship or monarchy.... which it is not.

Three branches...Legislative, Judicial and Executive. It's called " balance of power".

In theory, yes; in practice, no.

Study history in detail from the inception of the Constitutional Convention to the present day and you will see that the so-called 'balance of power' is a now a rather mythical concept. Most people are too lazy, or distracted, or invested in their own POV, (or just simply brain-washed) to see past the commonly accepted, seldom challenged, main-stream narratives that you (and everyone else) is bombarded with from the time they enter public school until they draw their last breath. If people really understood the nature of the world, they'd be breaking out the pitchforks and guillotines again (figuratively, of course).

My advice? Stay numb my fellow clones, you'll be happier topping off your 'blue pill' with a finely crafted beer or or exquisite wine.

"Now I've got that feeling once again. I can't explain you would not understand. This is not how I am. I have become comfortably numb." -Pink Floyd

Edited May 7, 2016 by connda

[NancyL]

All of you blaming the Democratic party "leaders" of the City of Flint for making the decision to switch the water supply are

forgetting one very important detail. All of the decisions related to the switching of the water supply AND the response to

it occurred between 2011 and 2015 when the city was in receivership, being run by a series of financial managers appointed by

Republican Governor Rick Synder.

This was a cost-cutting decision spearheaded by Republicans, with the governor fighting tooth and nail for Flint's "right" to

switch from Detroit City Water.

Get your facts straight: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint_water_crisis

[JHolmesJr]

I got yo back….yo!!!

There he ​goes again….rapping instead of doing something helpful.

[thaihome]

Seems like most here tend to either forget or do not understand that for the most part the decisions which led to the original problem in Flint were made by local elected officials like the city council. By trying to save money they decided to buy water from a cheaper source in 2013. The water from the Flint River contained high levels of chlorine which is highly corrosive to iron and lead used in the pipes. Right after the switch in April 2014 people started complaining about the water. In Jan 2015 a public meeting was held for people to complain about skin problems for some children. It's in 2015 that essentially everything hit the fan. State and Federal agencies were in conflict over what to do and what to tell the public. That became a cluster-. Seems like the problems could have been avoided by adding phosphorous to the water a fix that would have cost the city $50,000 per year. The reason the city is in such dire financial straits is the fact that it is the second most poverty-stricken city in the US for it's size and the fact that 20% of all city spending is mandatory to pay pensions of retirees from city government. The city is/was in financial receivership.

Obama for his part made this trip for public relations and nothing else. He simply moves on now looking for somewhere else to try to be presidential. Snyder, the governor is being blamed by the Democrats, which is political in motivation. Just goes to show how a stupid move by mostly Democratic, black politicians elected from a mostly poor black population, having not done their homework, reverberates throughout the nation and people try and place the blame on others. There is no doubt that state and federal agencies screwed up as well after looking into the matter and bickering over what to do. It is a given that the system did not work. However, if I were a resident of Flint, I would want the whole city council voted out, rather than trying to place blame on the state. After all it was the Flint water system and the Flint city council that took the initial action without due diligence.

The city council did vote to switch to the Flint River source in 2013 in order to reduce cost for the bankrupt water supply fund. I think what the republican governor is being blamed for is this:

March 23, 2015 - Flint City Council members vote 7-1 to stop using river water and to reconnect with Detroit. They are overruled, however, by the state-appointed emergency manager, Jerry Ambrose, who declares the vote was "incomprehensible" because costs would skyrocket and "water from Detroit is no safer than water from Flint."

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/04/us/flint-water-crisis-fast-facts/

TH

[connda]

flint.jpgobama.jpg

James Coburn would have made a much more convincing POTUS imho.