Obama doesn't fear snow

[yesthattom]

Obama gives chilly reception to canceled school

"Can I make a comment that is unrelated to the economy very quickly?" the new president told reporters at a gathering with business leaders. "And it has to do with Washington. My children's school was canceled today. Because of, what? Some ice?"

The president said he wasn't the only one who was incredulous.

"As my children pointed out, in Chicago, school is never canceled," Obama said to laughter. "In fact, my 7-year-old pointed out that you'd go outside for recess. You wouldn't even stay indoors. So, I don't know. We're going to have to try to apply some flinty Chicago toughness."

Asked if he meant the people of the national's capital are wimps, Obama said: "I'm saying, when it comes to the weather, folks in Washington don't seem to be able to handle things."

Comments

[cantkeepsilent.livejournal.com]

This actually disappoints me. How much does President Obama think that area cities and towns should spend on salt trucks and winter boots for all their children so that the commute is safe? Driving on an inch of ice is no joke and taking a bunch of pedestrians and school buses off the road during such morning hours is a plus.

And is it really true that Chicago schools never close? Here in Rochester, we have three or four snow days a year, when the snow is falling faster than the sidewalk plows can clear them or the wind chill falls below -25. I know Chicago gets this kind of weather too; are they doubleplusgood at winter management or just indifferent to child safety?

[kimuchi.livejournal.com]

I grew up about 150 miles north of Chicago on Lake Michigan, and I think we typically had 1 or 2 snow days in a year. Along the lake you don't get the super-super-cold temperatures you inland people get, and I can't remember school ever being closed due to cold. Despite the lake effect, snow hasn't really been all that heavy in that area for as long as the Obama girls would remember (bet there were some snow days at their old school this winter, though!).

[cantkeepsilent.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there are effectively three reasons to cancel classes: snow, cold, and ice. Snow is extremely rare but you throw in the towel when it starts falling at two inches an hour. The cold is somewhere around -25 wind chill like I say. I mean, we've got kids walking a mile and a half each way to school, and that sucks enough even when you're dressed for it and the sidewalks are clear.

Ice, though. Whoa. If Chicago doesn't get black ice, then Obama should be glad that his current job doesn't require a commute. Holy cow, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. That's why snow days are built into the schedule; I say take 'em and say a prayer for the people who have to be on the road anyways.

[kimuchi.livejournal.com]

I can't speak for Chicago, but my podunk hometown does a pretty good job with ice. Of course, they're prepared for it to happen every year, where DC probably wouldn't be.

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

When it's still coming down, it's one thing. But canceling for snow that stopped a couple of hours before the first bus has to roll is common and ridiculous.

[holzman.livejournal.com]

How much does President Obama think that area cities and towns should spend on salt trucks and winter boots for all their children so that the commute is safe?

I don't know about President Obama, but it seems to me that if the cost of keeping the roads clear is less than the money lost because everything closes, you keep the roads clear. In Chicago, that dollar figure is very, very high.

And is it really true that Chicago schools never close? Here in Rochester, we have three or four snow days a year, when the snow is falling faster than the sidewalk plows can clear them or the wind chill falls below -25.

Pretty much -- Chicago mayors are retained or replaced based largely on whether they manage to keep the streets clear of snow so that the city can function. The day it was -75F in Chicago, I went to work and I think the schools were open.

If spending what Chicago spends on keeping the streets clear when it snows made financial sense for Rochester, they'd do it too.

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

Maybe if they didn't close at the sign of a few flakes people would learn to deal better.