Posted on 09/11/2005 1:57:58 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
President Bush ought to be visibly angry that storm victims in and around New Orleans continued to die in isolation days after the water stopped rising. The nation need not wait for Bush to have the vice president investigate or for Congress to hold hearings. Major accusations of mismanagement are consistent with news reports live from the scene. The closer everyday people are to the disaster, the angrier they seem.
Bush needs to hold key leaders accountable right now.
``We've got 28 miles of coastline here that's absolutely destroyed, and the federal government, they're not here,'' retired Air Force Capt. William Bissell told a reporter in Biloxi on Monday.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune, whose staff regrouped on higher ground and continued covering the rapid deterioration of the city on the Web (www.NOLA.com), called for every official of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be fired.
The newspaper noted that reporters were exploring all the flooded neighborhoods, Wal- Mart trucks were bringing in supplies, and still ``the people trained to protect our nation, the people whose job it is to quickly bring in aid, were absent. Those who should have been deploying troops were singing a sad song about how our city was impossible to reach.''
Michael Brown, undersecretary for emergency preparedness and response, was over his head in the job before the flood was a foot deep. He should have the decency to resign. His public comments have been bewildering; he seemed to know less about what was happening than did the average TV viewer.
Instead of simply reassuring everyone that everything was fine, he should have explained why aid was delayed and when it would get there. Miracles weren't expected, only simple honesty and competence.
The 50-year-old lawyer from Oklahoma once was in charge of emergency services for Edmond, Okla., a town of 71,000. After losing a race for Congress in 1988, he worked in the 1990s as rules enforcer for a horse association. When Bush became president, Brown got a job as lawyer for the emergency agency and soon rose to the top position.
Brown has presided over an agency in decline that has become, as the Washington Post aptly described it, a ``bureaucratic backwater.''
Bush should replace Brown with someone experienced in disaster management who can restore the agency's reputation, funding and spirit. And FEMA should be made independent of the Department of Homeland Security.
But Brown isn't to blame for all that went wrong around New Orleans.
Instead of getting the nation ready for a major urban disaster, Congress has treated disaster grants as gifts to be shared equally, regardless of need.
While the huge federal Department of Homeland Security was being created and money spent with abandon, no one had a plan for how to control a lawless city. After Hurricane Katrina hit, a third of the New Orleans police force disappeared. Federal authorities hesitated, as did state and local authorities, who had responsibility for the initial evacuation orders.
Now some observers are calling for Washington to take charge sooner and rule with a heavy hand. Clearly federal aid must be better managed and more quickly deployed, but states and cities should beware giving away too much authority too soon.
No mayor would want the Defense Department deciding when to evacuate or how to do it. But moving, feeding, housing and, in some cases, medicating 250,000 people is far beyond the capacity of cities and states.
Until the federal government is ready to do that, and do it fast, the homeland cannot be considered secure.
Attractive post.
The damage that sits along Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama is something we need to address.
It involves more than how many people went without food for a few days.
Bush gets on the tube and addresses the nation. I know he can do it. I've seen him do it. He needs to do it again. It will make the MSM look like the pack of dogs they are if they continue this bs after he lays it out to the country.
And I seriously believe he is livid about how this was handled, from all levels. Of course there have been some very bright stars in this and Bush can point to them as examples of the right things to do, but he needs to go before the country to express constructive criticism, way in a firm tone(with some seething outrage just under control). That would give the country some confidence. That is one thing the bully pulpit is for.
I think that's what Laura Bush did the other day.
Now the President needs to take the mike and expand on her remarks.
In this situation, that was a bit lacking and the msm/Democrats are making the most of it.
Just goes to show how estranged people are from their communities. "Government" has replaced community, and brought with it a concommitant accountability gap.
What's gained, for the country, by the President's being angry? Do you need him to validate your anger?
There's been a concept among a number of commentators in the last two weeks, suggesting that it's essential for the President to feel certain things ... sorrow, guilt, sympathy, outrage, anger, whatever. I'm puzzled by this. He's not an adequate President if he doesn't feel what each citizen feels?
To admonish irresponsible behavior by the media or others might have some value, but a judgment of behavior does not require anger.
Excellent post!
I agree with you about President Bush. Sorry I misunderstood your earlier comment.
"Bush should show some outrage." ~ Cincinatus' wife
"So...we would love to hear him go postal....just once. ; )" ~ pollyannaish
Like this?
September 05, 2005
TRIBES http://www.ejectejecteject.com/
I love it! LOL
I never mentioned "going postal."
The man at the top can show outrage w/o losing control.
It will be interesting to see what he says Thursday night.
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