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2.28.2006
Uh, Don't Say That
Tonight on the ABC Evening News which featured an interview of President Bush by the (very hot) Elizabeth Vargas:
VARGAS: When you look back on those days immediately following when Katrina struck, what moment do you think was the moment that you realized that the government was failing, especially the people of New Orleans?
BUSH: When I saw TV reporters interviewing people who were screaming for help. It looked - the scenes looked chaotic and desperate. And I realized that our government was-could have done a better job of comforting people.
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13 comments:
Well, we knew Bush never reads anything and apparently doesn't learn much from others who were calling for help. He had to see some TV of the disaster and the plight of the refugees. Maybe he needs to see some TV of the mess he's created in Iraq.
It was NOT THE GOV FAULT
Typing a denial of the government's responsibility for what happened before, during and in the aftermath of Katrina, no matter how big of CAPS you use on your typewriter doesn't change the fact that the government's response at all levels was pathetic, but more so at the federal level because it had much greater resources to respond than local and state government and failed to do so initially. It was typified by the President's own initial response to the situation which was to attend a Republican fund raiser in California even as the hurricane was hitting New Orleans and people were dying. Maybe that's what you call great leadership, but, considering the advanced warnings and potential destruction forecast by the weather service, I and many others call it something else that's not printable here.
Hurricanes happen. People can forecast them. There was no reason for the President not to attend other commitments. And it's easy to say you would have acted differently with months hindsight and sitting idly at your computer.
It didn't take me or most other Americans, regardless of political affiliation, six months to come up with that assessment. I thought it was pretty obvious in the days after the hurricane hit, as we watched the needless suffering and chaos, that the government had screwed up. The only thing we agree on is that hurricanes do happen and we do have the ability to predict with some accuracy where and when they are going to come ashore and what the projected effects will be. All the more reason to be prepared and ready to respond when we all knew this was projected to be one of the worst storms to strike the Gulf Coast in history and all the more reason the President shouldn't have been so disattached to what was going on until two days after the storm when he suddenly became aware that he and his appointees had screwed up. Sucking up to rich donors as poor people die is hardly a Presidential duty that should have taken precidence when he did know, or should have known, what was about to happen
Scrogdog, it is not the federal government's job to respond "initially", it is the job of the local and state to do so. Then, when informed of their inability to cope with a serious disaster, the federal government will respond. It has the ability to respond in a much bigger way, but people seem to forget that big "wheels" take some time to get "turning". I'm not saying the feds did everything correctly once they started responding, but there will always be some delay for them to get "on location". Our favorite national past-time--finger pointing--overlooks the fact that a "big disaster" is just that--a big disaster--and nothing anybody is going to do at any level will make it "all better" overnight (another bad habit us Americans have--demanding that everything "get fixed" immediately).
Blame anyone you want to blame. If you're going to blame anyone, blame the mayor of New Orleans. How many school buses were left unattended? Those buses should have been used to evacuate. I'll give one thing to the mayor, he did get out all the "important" people of influence. WHAT A GUY!!
Blame anyone you want to blame. If you're going to blame anyone, blame the mayor of New Orleans. How many school buses were left unattended? Those buses should have been used to evacuate. I'll give one thing to the mayor, he did get out all the "important" people of influence. WHAT A GUY!!
Oops! Sorry for the repeat.
Some of you don't seem to be aware of several investigations into the hurricane aftermath - done by all members of congress and others. They have given all levels of government bad grades but have saved their most severe criticism of the federal response. Yes, locals need to be first involved, but in situations of this magnitude, it is the federal government that has the massive resources needed. FEMA and the president's staff failed. (The Coast Guard got very high marks.) In order to prevent further disasters like this, we must learn form mistakes – not stick your head in the sand and say it was some mayor’s fault.
There is still failure today....what about all of the mobile homes that tax dollars have paid for that are just sitting unused on some lot...What is up with that...
I believe the people in New Orleans new they lived in a bombshell. It was only a matter of time before this happened and everyone was aware of the possibilities. The entire govt. failed miserably but the finger pointing should start at the city itself. Knowing what they did and do, a plan should have been implemented long ago.
Only an idiot would blame the president for the problems created by a natural disaster and an unnatural do nothing city that lived below sea level with no workable plan for such a disaster.
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