Obama drinks Flint water as he urges children to be tested for lead
Showing support for the beleaguered residents of Flint, Michigan, President Barack Obama drank filtered city water on Wednesday to show that it is again safe following a lead-contamination crisis.
WASHINGTON — Visiting a Michigan city where thousands of children were poisoned by lead in their drinking water, President Obama blamed the crisis in Flint on a mindset that "less government is the highest good," which he said has led to disinvestment in poor communities.In a speech to a restless audience at a high school gymnasium, Obama also urged parents of those children to get them tested — but also to have faith in their resilience and not to use the poisoned water as an excuse not to expect great things from them."That attitude is just as corrosive to democracy as that stuff that put lead in your water," he said. "It's not enough to fix the water. We need to fix the culture of neglect."
Obama's visit to the eastern Michigan city of 100,000 people came three months after he declared a state of emergency to help the city deal with the fallout from a drinking water crisis. In addition to the poisoning from corroding lead pipes, the switch to under-treated water from the Flint River in 2014 is suspected in the deaths of 10 people from Legionnaire's disease.
But Obama reassured Flint residents that the water is safe now — as long as it's properly filtered.
"I really did need a glass of water. This is not a stunt," he said as he asked for water during a bout of coughing. "If you’re using a filter, if you’re installing it, then Flint water at this point is drinkable."
Obama didn't assign any specific blame for the water crisis, which has already led to the indictments of three water officials. Obama said only that "some very poor decisions were made."
"This was a man-made disaster. This was avoidable. This was preventable," he said. "I do not believe that anybody consciously wanted to hurt the people of flint, and this is not the place to sort out every screw-up that resulted in contaminated water."
He said the good news is that the Americans from all over the country have rallied around Flint, and the federal response is now in full swing. The president promised free water and filters, expanded Medicaid to treat children who may have been exposed, and job training programs.
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