During his Friday visit to storm-battered Louisiana, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney met with local officials and at least one local resident who was affected by the flooding.
AP/The Huffington Post had this report from Jodie Chiarello, 42:
Chiarello said she told Romney, "I lost everything" and that the presidential contender advised her on how to get assistance. "He said that he was going to do the best that he could for us," she said."He just told me to, um, there's assistance out there," Chiarello said of her conversation with Romney. "He said, go home and call 211."
Melissa Harris-Perry, who has New Orleans roots, reacted to this story on PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton Monday. "The idea of someone telling a hurricane survivor to and call… it angers me… and the phone lines are down. My mother just got power yesterday. The idea that one could just go make a call, even beyond the question of a lack of empathy… that demonstrates a lack of understanding of what the problem actually is."