White House Passive in face of Democrat, Media Smear on Hurricane

Powerline ^ | 9/4/05 | John Hinderaker

[Jacksonville Patriot]

A New Low for the MSM?

The mainstream media's handline of Hurricane Katrina and the disasters in New Orleans is a disgrace, possibly the worst instance yet of media bias. Insane claims by left-wing nuts that President Bush botched the recovery effort on purpose so as to kill black people are repeated by the MSM in a chin-stroking mode, as if to say, "It's an interesting question--they might be on to something." Meanwhile, no one points out that it was President Bush who implored Governor Blanco to issue a first-ever mandatory evacuation order for the city, an action by the President that probably saved tens of thousands of lives.

Similarly, the media yammmer on and on about the allegedly slow federal response to the hurricane, without noting that the Governor of Louisiana has the power to call out the National Guard. Accusations that lawlessness and looting in New Orleans are somehow the federal government's fault are repeated endlessly; hardly anyone bothers to criticize the looters and other criminals themselves. And where is the outrage that should be directed toward the New Orleans Police Department? They were the authorities on the scene, and they, under the direction of the city's Mayor--who had an emergency plan in place, but apparently made no attempt to implement it--had the responsibility to maintain law and order. Yet some policemen reportedly joined in the looting, while a great many others turned tail and abandoned their responsibilities.

But it's hard to defend the administration when the administration won't defend itself. Yesterday Homeland Security head Michaeal Chertoff declared that the feds are now in control of New Orleans, but refused to defend the government's performance so far:

Chertoff defended the job of FEMA Director Michael Brown and declined to get into a discussion about whether the government moved quickly and forcefully enough to deal with the catastrophe. He shrugged off suggestions that the demand for National Guard troops in Iraq had depleted the numbers available to respond to the crisis. "I think when we go back and look at it lot of things worked well and some things didn't work well," he said.

That simply isn't good enough. I understand the administration's problem: it's hard to mount a defense without pointing out the scandalous performance of the state and local authorities who were responsible for emergency preparation and for the initial response to the hurricane. But if the administration thinks it can ride out the current news cycle as it has passively ridden out so many news cycles in the past, it's crazy. As Chertoff himself said yesterday:

We need to prepare the country for what's coming ... we are going to uncover people who died hiding in the houses, maybe got caught in floods, it is going to be as ugly a scene as you can imagine. Yes, that's right. And each new horror, and each painful step in the reconstruction of New Orleans over the years to come, will be the occasion for more Bush-bashing. This story is never going to die a natural death, and it is probably too late already for the administration to combat the media-driven impression that the disaster is somehow its fault.

I've often criticized the administration for not responding forcefully enough to unfair attacks by the far left and the media--often, for not responding at all. But this time the administration's habit of quietly riding out the storm could have incalculable costs.

I'm parting company here with two people whose judgment I respect. Michelle Malkin has recommended that President Bush fire FEMA head Michael Brown. Brown is, apparently, a political appointee with few qualifications for the job beyond general competence and management skill. This is hardly unusual in Washington; the conventional assumption is that staff who report to the head of an agency furnish the necessary expertise. As seems to have happened; FEMA's response to hurricanes last year was widely praised. In any event, whatever the wisdom of Brown's appointment in hindsight, firing him now would be an admission that FEMA performed poorly in the current crisis--an assertion that is constantly repeated, but for which I have seen, at this point, little hard evidence. There will be time enough for sorting out, in a rational environment, the pros and cons of FEMA's efforts; firing Brown now would accomplish nothing but to uselessly fan the flames of hysteria.

Hugh Hewitt, meanwhile, has advised conservatives to "turn the other cheek" in reaction to unfair criticism from the left. Among other reasons, he believes that the American people will react negatively to the left's maniacal, over-the-top attacks. Hugh thinks the current vile assault on the administration could be another Wellstone funeral moment. I think he's wrong; the MSM, in full support-the-Democrats mode, is daily making respectable even the wackiest attacks on the administration. Of course, I'm not by nature a cheek-turning sort, but I think that has too often been the administration's approach. This time, it could be fatal.

Meanwhile, the insanity continues. The Democrats know that in order to defend itself against their onslaught, the administration will have to criticize the people who really bungled the job--the Governor of Louisiana, the Mayor of New Orleans, and other local officials. So, earlier this morning Senator Mary Landrieu threatened President Bush with violence if he does any such thing:

Louisiana Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu threatened President Bush with physical violence this morning on ABC's Sunday morning news program "This Week". "If one person criticizes our sheriffs, or says one more thing, including the President of the United States, he will hear from me - one more word about it after this show airs and I - I might likely have to punch him - literally," says Landrieu. For the first time, the Democrats and their allies in the MSM (to the extent one draws the distinction) believe that they have the administration on the run, in a way that could destroy President Bush. Destroying the President is the goal they have pursued passionately since January 2001. In that regard, nothing has changed in 4 1/2 years. The administration, it seems to me, has two choices: defend itself, or suffer crippling damage from which it likely will never recover.

Posted by John at 10:37 AM | Permalink

[one more state]

PING

[TXBubba]

According to an ABC poll, the public is not blaming Bush. They're blaming the local government.

Can you or someone provide this poll? I would like a bit of good news verified.

[BonnieJ]

What I am wondering is what happened to the Karl Rove "story" that was 24-7 for weeks? There is no continuity to their attacks, they are simply ever-present. And not very original or convincing either. Who on earth is buying it that Pres. Bush is to blame for a hurricane?!

[Texas_Jarhead]

Gee, thanks for setting me straight.

[Travis McGee]

I hope that sooner or later the MSM discovers that New Orleans did have a written emergency plan to cover the evacuation of the poor, but that the idiot mayor of New Orleans ignored it, and allowed the evacuation buses to be ruined by the flood, forgotten.

The city leaders had at least two full days to use these hundreds of buses to evac the poor, exactly as their own emergency management plan called for.

Here's the southeast Louisiana evac plan supplement, most recently revised in 2000. Go to page 13, read paragraph 5. It states:

5. The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating.

[Yosemitest]

Let the democrats shoot off their own foot. The Cutting Edge: IT'S IDEOLOGICAL, NOT RACIAL.

[airborne]

"Can you provide this poll?"

http://abcnews.go.com/US/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1094262&page=1

[mercy]

There's plenty of blame to go round. People will figure this out. EVERYBODY screwed up. It will all equal out.

Everybody knows Lousyanna is a cesspool of corruption and Nwalins is the heart of it. The GOP's not going to lose any voters over this. The balance of power is not going to shift.

The more the Rats howl the more good folks will realize how evil they are.

[Nathan Zachary]

Thanks! I was looking for that second pic. Those are the transit buses that Nagin seemed to have forgotten about, along with the 279 school buses in the top pic. there should be 345 transit buses though. All together, they could have moved 20,000 people easily in ONE trip.

[EternalVigilance]

White House Passive in face of Democrat, Media Smear...

To whatever extent that might be true, I would say that such tactics would qualify as what I call 'political judo'.

Let the force of your enemy's stupidity carry them forward to disaster....

It's one the things the Bush political team is quite good at.

When your enemy is destroying himself, don't interfere.

See my tagline:

[TXBubba]

Thanks! And I found it on a thread right after I asked. A bright spot in my day.

[hershey]

Michael Chertoff came on Meet the Press and handed Russert his lunch. Russert can't be as stupid as he sounded. The contrived indignation over thousands of people (blacks),left for dead! Chertoff reminded him feds can ask, plead with local and state authorities for permission to take over, which they did, but the feds' role is to support local and state efforts until given permission to move in whole hog.

Russert then demanded: how can you possibly be prepared for an other attack here, perhaps nuclear, and Chertoff said, we have to deal with the situation as it is, but think and plan ahead, not dwell on the past. Dwelling on the past wastes energy and brains better spent on preparing for the future. He hinted that he wouldn't be wasting any more time on foolish interviews where he had to answer stupid questions.

Chertoff was extremely impressive, as always.

[one more state]

Democratic Mayor NO Democratic Governor LA Democratic Governor TX bailing them out Media Bailing them out Same old song and dance

Let this ride out. We've got judges to pick. The whole cournty's got the Dems and MSM's number.

[oceanview]

the president himself can't go political, but there is no reason why some of our senators can't be out there refuting people like Mary Landrieu et al.

[dfwgator]

They are not being passive, it's just they are too busy trying to save lives. Now is not the time to respond to their ridiculous moonbat allegations.

[js1138]

Bush is a grown-up, and grown-ups don't expect infants to be grateful.

Similar things were said about Bush before the last election, but he easily increased his margin of victory.

Don't mistake what the press says for what the people know.

[Logical me]

Wow, just shows how nuts these CRATS are. Louisiana Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu threatening our President. What a stone nut and should join the ranks of the Mayor and Governor. Where do these lame brain come from?

[Dolphy]

We should shut up and let the Democrats continue to damage themselves. The author is wrong.

I absolutely agree with you. Firing back or joining the blame game will make us feel better but ultimately accomplish nothing. The fact that some people missed 3 days of food or a shower is nothing in comparison to the challenges that await in handling 10s of thousands of displaced people and the rebuilding.

Once again the Democrats show that their vision of the world and in crisis, extends as far as the next sunset.

[one more state]

PING

[hershey]

Just remembered another bit between Russert and Chertoff. Russert sneered that they'd known for ten years that NO ws a soup bowl and not prepared for a really bad hurricane. And Chertoff said, yes, local and state govt. had had ten years to upgrade and hadn't done so. Chertoff gave chapter and verse of when and how the feds begged state and local officials to evacuate, early, early on. The levee break was after the storm had passed, and by then the mayor and gov. woke up to the front page of the Time Picayune, trumpeting: 'We Dodged the Bullet'. Those pictures of hundreds of school buses sitting in water should haunt the dems. But it won't. When the truth won't serve, they go with the big lie.