You forget whom we're talking about here.
Posted on 09/07/2005 4:56:57 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
Compliant Lauer Feeds Hillary Softballs on Katrina: Was Witt Right in Bashing W's FEMA? Posted by Mark Finkelstein on September 7, 2005 - 07:15.
When Matt Lauer eventually leaves the Today show, he can look forward to a career in slow-pitch softball. His talents were on full display this morning in his interview of Hillary Clinton.
The conventions of good journalism dictate that when guests, particularly intrinisically political ones, are interviewed, they are challenged on their assumptions.
But when Today's Matt Lauer interviewed Hillary Clinton this morning, what seemed at first to be a lead-up to such a challenge turned out in fact to be just the contrary - Lauer handing Hillary yet another club with which to bash the Bush administration.
Lauer began by reading from Hillary's letter criticizing the federal response in general and FEMA in particular.
You might have thought that Lauer would have raised the issue of incompetence at the state and local [read Democratic] levels. But no, Lauer entirely bought into Hillary's logic, lamely inquiring whether Her Hilllaryness felt "this was a problem with an entire [federal] system, or did some key individuals make poor decisions?"
The notion that the federal response has actually been fairly decent under the unprecedented circumstances was never even contemplated.
Nor did Lauer challenge Hillary when she claimed that by declaring a state of emergency prior to the storm hitting, the Bush administration assumed the lead responsibility for dealing with the storm, thus ignoring Gov. Blanco's delay of a crucial 24 hours in responding to Pres. Bush's offer of aid.
Then came the crucial moment. As Hillary pontificated on regarding her proposal for a Katrina Commission, Lauer interrupted, saying he wanted to ask her to comment on something former Clinton administration FEMA Director James Lee Witt had written.
My reporter's antennae went up, thinking this would be where Lauer would challenge Hillary with a contradictory statement, and one having that much more credibility coming from one of Hillary's own.
Au contraire! Lauer served up this steaming softball of an excerpt from a Witt letter written before Katrina: "I'm extremely concerned that the ability of our nation to prepare for and respond to disasters has been sharply eroded . . . and that the FEMA [local officials] knew and worked well with has disappeared."
And rather than questioning the veracity of Witt's allegation, Lauer again entirely bought into them, asking Hillary why "the capabilities of FEMA had been diminished."
Of course Hillary was only too happy to oblige with a paen to the wonderful way FEMA was administered when she and Bill were in charge and lamenting how things have fallen apart under W.
Lauer did ultimately get around to quoting to Hillary from RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman thusly: "you tell me who's taking what should be a moment of national unity and trying to score politically."
A woe-is-me Hillary complained that "that's what they always do. I've been living with that for the last four-and-a-half years."
Don't worry, Hillary. Matt and friends will be there for you when those mean Republicans attack.
Finkelstein has degrees from Cornell University and Harvard Law School.He lives in Ithaca, NY where he hosts "Right Angle," a local political talk show. Finkelstein specializes in exposing liberal bias at NBC's Today Show.
Today Show/NewsBusters ping.
"W's FEMA?"
I believe FEMA was a Clinton creation.
It would have looked equally fitting for Laurel to be dressed in leather shorts, shirtless, with a leash being held by Hitlery.
Matt Lauer. King of the Hillary butt sniffers.
I actually watched The Today Show for once and you captured perfectly the entire exchange.
Somehow, it wasn't mentioned that Hillary was one of those Democrats who actually voted to put FEMA with Homeland Security. Now she's flip flopped. LOL
And slightly off topic:
The Washington Post wrote an article earlier in the week that was unclear regarding a date. It stated the president pressed the Governor to sign paperwork to activate the military to secure the city on Friday.
What was not known, and reporters have not responded to my e-mails for clarification, was whether the Friday in question was the Friday before the storm or the Friday after the storm.
This Washington Times article makes it clear the Friday in question was BEFORE the storm.
So the Governor refused to sign paperwork to mobilize the National Guard or the military BEFORE the storm and at the direct request of the President of the United States.
As a result of her negligence, the city of New Orleans was unprotected from the rapists and murderers who preyed on the weak in the shelters. They also shot at FEMA and other rescue groups which delayed relief efforts.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1479114/posts
Huh the Brown led FEMA did a great job dealing with 4 Florida hurricanes.
But of course FEMA was dealing with competant state and local govts, not the hillary/witt/blanco/landrieux/nagin cesspool called Louisiana.
i still want to know how much jessie and al have given.......
I mean by that "FEMA under the Bush administration."
IIRC it was Sen. Lieberman who demanded FEMA be folded into DHS. The rest of the Democrats chimed it, Bush went along. The Democrats favorite solution to everything, huge bloated bureaucracies that don't work. Case in point DHS. And lets not absolve the 9/11 Omission Commission from the DHS boondoggle, they wanted this huge pile as well.
Good thing we found out before we had a real problem to deal with.
Great point - I hadn't realized that. But of course consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, as far as Her Hillaryness is concerned.
"Oh, there was just a little bit of unrest, it's to be expected."
I call BS on that notion. The civil unrest caused a delay of rescue and relief for at least 24 hours (not to mention the innocent people who were raped, maimed and murdered), and the mayor and governor did nothing to quell the civil unrest.
We need to consider Witt's prior role in the various disaster agencies to see what sort of foundations he laid down. I see his sudden appointment by Blank-o (who did he replace? did she even HAVE someone??) akin to Gorelick being on the 9-11 Omission - is he in place to do something or to help with the coverup?
A helpful freeper on a thread last night listed the handful of Democrats who voted AGAINST the Homeland Security Bill which included putting FEMA under the unbrella of that agency.
Closer scrutiny reveals the lies surrounding Katrina evacuation and recovery
http://www.enterstageright.com/archive/articles/0905/0905evac.htm
By Linda Prussen-Razzano
web posted September 5, 2005
Having lived on Long Island for most of my life, I weathered only the most minor effects of hurricanes. Typically, their devastating strength drained along the coastline as they churned northwards. When I was a child, my father comforted me through Hurricane Belle; not by holding me and telling me everything would be alright, but by his activity in securing our house, his purchase of supplies and preparations, and his explanations of hurricanes and their threats.
While the storm whipped overhead, my piqued curiosity prompted me to ask about all different kinds of natural disasters. We passed the time discussing typhoons, tornadoes, earthquakes, and floods. I never thought I would use this information, but I did; twice.
At 19, my passenger and I found ourselves caught in the only flash flood in the history of Long Island. What started as a heavy rain became an overwhelming downpour within minutes. Not unlike the City of New Orleans, the patch of road on which I traveled was nestled in a natural funnel. In the space of minutes, we experienced more rain in that small bit of road alongside Eisenhower Park than all of Long Island had received in a year. With traffic surrounding me, I had not choice but to inch forward to the overpass that would take me to higher ground. Just moments before my car cleared the water now pouring in under my doors, the engine stalled, and my Monte Carlo sank back down the embankment, eventually to be completely submerged.
We had to wait until the water rose inside the car and the pressure stabilized before we could get out.
The gas pumps at the corner station began bubbling up, turning the water so black you couldn’t see your hand just two inches under the surface. An elderly man, trapped in his car, didn’t want to leave. Plodding through chest deep water, my passenger and I managed to get his door open and help him slog back to safety.
Everyone caught in that mess experienced a loss, but it is nothing compared to Katrina.
The second time I used my father’s sage advice came when I moved to Texas. In the bottom tip of the tornado belt, I knew what to do when the sky turned an ominous shade of green, the clouds started rotating above my head, and where to seek shelter to maximize my potential for living. It was in those few moments, when the doors and windows rattled and I imagined that my new house would be reduced to kindling around me, that all my priorities changed…forever.
The folks in Louisiana and Mississippi experienced wide scale devastation during Katrina. New Orleans, and other parts of the coast, experienced a second, even more devastating blow from the horrible flooding. One is bad enough, but both? It’s a catastrophe beyond comprehension, and our fellow Americans need our compassion, our generosity, and our understanding as they rebuild their entire lives.
We should be coming together, as we did after other catastrophic events in the last decade, to help and heal.
Sadly, that is not the case.
What I find astonishing is the almost immediate response from Bush Bashers to blame everything that happened, from the actual hurricane itself, to the anarchy that quickly erupted, on the President and his administration. When they do so, they not only distort the truth, they outright lie to the public, and they are doing so daily through any media venue that will give them the opportunity.
Lie #1: President Bush doesn’t care about the people of New Orleans.
This outrageous lie is thoroughly debunked by the fact that it was President Bush who pushed for a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans.(1) Governor Blanco issued only a voluntary evacuation order, but admitted that she received a call from the President on August 27, 2005, urging her to make it a mandatory one. He wanted as many people as possible out of the path of the storm.
So much for the President not caring.
Despite the fact that New Orlean’s own Emergency Response Guidelines call for a mandatory evacuation of the City if a strike by a Category 3 Hurricane is projected, with 72 hours advance notice to all residents, Mayor Nagin didn’t order a mandatory evaluation until Sunday. Further, he only did so after Max Maxfield, the National Hurricane Director, called Nagin at his home to plead that he empty the City. (2)
Why did Nagin wait so long? He was worried about the legalities. If people want to affix blame, perhaps they can look at lawyers.
How ironic, that The Drudge Report (3) and Free Republic (4) have pictures of dozens of New Orleans’ submerged and now useless school buses, buses that could have been used to transport residents out of the City prior to the storm, bring in supplies after the storm, and help evacuees escape the flooding. Meanwhile, Governor Blanco issued a request to the State of Louisiana to provide her with buses from local school districts.
According to a Washington Post report on Sunday, September 4, “Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state's emergency operations center said Saturday.”
Bush’s offer to have the federal government aid in the evacuation was rejected. (5)
Lie #2: The Bush Administration was slow in coordinating help.
Mike Brown, Under Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for Emergency Response and Preparedness, received the order from President Bush on August 27, two full days before the storm hit the region, to prepare for Katrina disaster relief. (6) The President also declared the entire region under a State of Emergency, so that FEMA could coordinate efforts at the request of the Governors. (7) Under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, the Federal Government and FEMA are not allowed to interfere with local operations unless they are authorized by state and local leaders.
Blanco did not authorize this until September 1, 2005.
Further, according to an Association Press report on August 30, “The federal government began rushing baby formula, communications equipment, generators, water and ice into hard-hit areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, along with doctors, nurses and first-aid supplies. The U.S. Defense Department sent experts to help with search-and-rescue operations.” (8) FEMA was there and helping, in the capacity that was allowed by local officials, but could not swing into full gear until after Blanco gave them permission.
Lie #3: The Bush Administration did nothing to control the anarchy.
The local and state governments have control over law enforcement activities in their state, and such activities could only be coordinated through the federal government with their permission. It was not until terrible reports of rapes and violence, videos of looting, and reports of shoots being fired at rescue workers did Governor Blanco relinquish any claim of control on an out-of-control city.
An August 31, 2005 Fox News Report reveals, “The looting prompted authorities to send more than 70 additional officers and an armed personnel carrier into the city. One police officer was shot in the head by a looter but was expected to recover, authorities said. Blanco said she will ask President Bush for military troops to help keep looting under control.” (9) Almost immediately thereafter, FEMA, the military, and the Bush Administration began to restore order.
Further, on September 2, 2005, the Bush administration “sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law.” (10)
Lie #4: The Bush Administration did nothing to prevent the flooding.
Predictions of wide spread devastation have been known since Hurricane Camille in 1969. Despite these, it was local officials who reportedly appropriated funds designated for levee improvements towards such necessary purchases as a casino, hotel, and other projects.
Amazing, isn’t it?
From the carnage inside the Superdome, to the massacre of the truth on television, this is a sad time for all of America.
Just don’t forget who helped all this to happen….because despite what the media wants you to believe, it wasn’t President Bush.
Linda Prussen-Razzano is frequent contributor to Enter Stage Right and a number of other online magazines.
Footnotes:
1. Associated Press, “Mandatory Evacuation Ordered for New Orleans,” August 28, 2005, 10:48 a.m. CT.
2. Knight Ridder Newspapers, “National Hurricane Director had to call Nagin at home Saturday night to plead: "Get people out..." by Marc Caputo, David Ovalle, and Erika Bolstad, August 28, 2005
3. www.drudgereport.com
4. www.freerepublic.com
5. Washington Post, “Many Evacuated, but Thousands Still Waiting, White House Shifts Blame to State and Local Officials,” Manuel Roig-Franzia and Spencer Hsu, Washington Post Staff Writers, Sunday, September 4, 2005; Page A01
6. FEMA Press Release, “Emergency Aid Authorized For Katrina Emergency Response In LA” August 27, 2005
7. Associated Press, “Bush Declares Emergency in Louisiana,” August 27, 2005
8. Associated Press, “Federal Government sent emergency supplies to Louisiana as early as Tuesday,” August 30, 2005
9. Fox News.com, “It’s Not Safe In New Orleans,” August 31, 2005
10. Washington Post, Ibid
You forget whom we're talking about here.
Not exactly - but in any event, it is obvious that the offer from the feds to assume command and control was tendered on Friday, September 2.
Hitlary said something that made my mouth fall open. She said that in the Clinton Administration---they worked so hard to bring all the federal agency together...to communicate and share information. Something like that.....
Oh look, Witt is playing the role of 'Richard Clark' in this disaster. All that's missing so far, is him claiming to be a Republican. Think he'll try that?
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