“I just wish the President could have another term in Washington.” — Vaccarella, above at photo-op with Pres. Bush

Note: See UPDATE at end of this article for more on Vaccarella’s political history.

History will record that it was Pres. Bush’s egregious reaction to the Hurricane Katrina disaster that caused him to lose, and never regain, favor among voters. With the anniversary of the disaster upon us, the White House is in full damage-control mode, trying to deflect the public’s attention away from the memory of bodies floating in the streets of New Orleans while the president flitted about the country campaigning and joking around with a guitar.

Yesterday the Bush political team staged a photo op in which a “Katrina victim” who drove his FEMA trailer from St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana to Washington was “allowed” a brief audience with the president.

As Rockey Vaccarella embarked on his trip earlier this month, he infused his sojourn with dramatic tension by speculating with reporters about whether or not the president would see him when he arrived in D.C.

But as cliffhangers go, the outcome of Rockey’s trip was all too predictable. Dear Leader did break away from his busy schedule to give an audience to his loyal common, albeit a hurried handshake in front of cameras outside the palace. For this momentous occasion, Vaccarella made a statement that might strike a cynical observer as having been written by a White House political operative:

You know, it’s really amazing when a small man like me from St. Bernard Parish can meet the President of the United States. The President is a people person. I knew that from the beginning. I was confident that I could meet President Bush.

Rockey concluded with this chilling aspiration:

…I just wish the President could have another term in Washington.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Rockey’s visit was thoroughly stage-managed by the Bush team, with dinner at the White House and other appointments for Vaccarella scheduled well in advance. It also shouldn’t surprise us to learn that other than being a “small man…from St. Bernard Parish,” Vaccarella is a wealthy business man and erstwhile Republican politician.

Will Bunch at Attytood has this great play by play of the behind-the-scenes machinations of the White House political machine grinding its gears — and one doltish CNN reporter gobbling it up, hook, line and sinker:

It was exactly one year ago that the headlines were all about Bush, on another lengthy vacation in Crawford, refusing to meet with an average American who was devastated by a tragedy — Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq. It was a publicity bloodbath, and it rolled right into the horrors of Katrina and a seemingly indifferent White House, beginning the long slide in Bush’s approval rating.

Now comes Rockey, a plain-talking character who lost it all in Katrina, who nearly died in the hurricane, forced to hang onto a rope for four hours (some of that was captured on film), and now wants to government to do more for Katrina victims. And what a difference a year makes — not only did Bush, not in Crawford but hard at work in the White House, meet with this “average American,” but check out the glowing praise our president received in return.

First, here’s the way that the media spun the meeting: A triumph for the little guy:

CNN’s RICK SANCHEZ: I don’t know if you were watching a couple days ago, but you might remember that we talked to a man named Rockey Vaccarella. I got a lot of phone calls on this interview. He’s a Katrina victim who was driving to the White House with a FEMA trailer. And he seemed to strike a nerve with people. He’s there now. He’s actually been invited inside. He wanted to go and met with the president. Well, guess what, the president has decided to meet with him. Last night he met with Donald Powell (ph), the government’s point man for rebuilding the Gulf Coast. Told him just what he and his family went through during Katrina.

A minute later:

SANCHEZ: And amazing his persistence because he was originally told that the president was just busy. Look, he’s not going to be able to meet with you.
SOLEDAD O’BRIEN: He’s like, that’s all right. I’m still going.
SANCHEZ: I’m going to hang out there.
O’BRIEN: I’ve driven all this way.
SANCHEZ: He was confident when he told us that the president would come out and find a way to talk to him.

Here’s so here’s what Rockey told the nation just now on TV:

You know, it’s really amazing when a small man like me from St. Bernard Parish can meet the President of the United States. The President is a people person. I knew that from the beginning. I was confident that I could meet President Bush.

And my mission was very simple. I wanted to thank President Bush for the millions of FEMA trailers that were brought down there. They gave roofs over people’s head. People had the chance to have baths, air condition. We have TV, we have toiletry, we have things that are necessities that we can live upon.

But now, I wanted to remind the President that the job’s not done, and he knows that. And I just don’t want the government and President Bush to forget about us. And I just wish the President could have another term in Washington.

This guy is a symbol of the misery that so many people in Louisiana and Mississippi? If we didn’t know any better, this couldn’t have been more of home run for Bush if the whole thing had been set up by Karl Rove.

Hmmmmm…

In fact, we had a hunch — that maybe, just maybe, Rockey Vaccarella had a background himself in GOP politics.

And, whaddya know? Turns out that the earthy Vaccarella — a highly successful businessman in the fast-food industry — is indeed a Republican pol, having run unsuccessfully under the GOP banner for a seat on the St. Bernard Parish commission back in 1999. We don’t have a good link, but here (via Nexis) is part of his bio that ran in the New Orleans Times-Picayune on Oct. 15, 1999:

ROCKEY VACCARELLA
PERSONAL
Republican
35. Born in New Orleans. Grew up in Arabi and Chalmette. Lived 11 years in
Meraux.
Married, two children.
Graduated from Chalmette High, 1982. Attended St. Bernard Community
College.
Director of operations, Lundy Enterprises, as manager of 31 Pizza Hut restaurants and 450 employees. Former general restaurant manager of Popeye’s Chicken & Biscuits on East Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette.

And in fact, Vaccarella seemed very confident that he would be meeting with Bush when he left home, to the point where he had a date scheduled and everything:

Dinner with the President is planned for the evening of August 22nd.

As it turned out, dinner last night was with the White House aide running Katrina relief, and he met Bush at the White House today…

This is a White House that has pledged, as you recall, “create our own reality,” and they’re doing it again. How many times we will in the media act as Charlie Brown, kicking with futility at the phony football that Rove and this White House hold out for us, again and again and again.

UPDATE: Found this on a Louisiana GOP politics page, appears to be from summer of 1999 and pertains to a local race, I’m guessing for the St. Bernard Parish council:

District D: Ex-N.O.P.D. and now insurance writer, Joseph Gallodoro collected 40% to Rockey Vaccarella’s 16%. Unfortunately, during the race Rockey’s son got arrested. Maybe this had something to do with his lower totals. No incumbent in this race.

Rockey looks and sounds like one of us. His ad in today’s Times-Picayune, 11/14/99, appealed to the body politic. He appears to be a hardworking individual who wants to get elected to public office. He may continue to align himself with the common folk if elected, or he may join the ranks of the chosen who cons himself into shady deals and millions when he leaves office. You know this politician. He gets into office borrowing money to win. Promising perks to others to get elected. And, collecting thousands by helping to award contracts to illegal bidders, etc. when he wins the office. Later, at term’s end, he’s the won who says he tried his best all four years- only this time he doesn’t have to borrow money to run. Rockey doesn’t look the type. I could be wrong, but first he has to pull an upset to win.

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