If I were Bush, I would round up those working for me and ask them to give me a 100% accurate picture of what is going wrong and what is going right. I would demand documentation and physical evidence to back up whether or not each agency was fulfilling its obligation. If the answers were positive, I would do just what he is doing. I would stand behind my staff, support them in their efforts and continue with the job. But I would also get in touch with people like the Governor and mayor and tell them exactly what was going to rain down on their heads when the task at hand is complete. I would explain that the facts are, and will remain facts, and the only thing that can influence the record will be their performance from this point on.
I suspect this is possibly what Bush has done. He knows the law. He knows the facts. He knows what is right and what is wrong. And as a man of moral courage and integrity, he is ensuring the job gets completed...before the boom gets lowered. The mayor and the governor are aware of that as well. The schizophrenic behavior of the mayor is evidence of a man who knows his future is hanging on a thread. The efforts by the governor to surround herself with well known shields reveals a woman who knows she's gonna need some help. Bush, on the other hand, seems more and more confident and in control. Someone is holding a good hand...and someone isn't.
The Washington Post has released an article confirming many of the suspicions voiced in my last post, to wit:
"Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). 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.
The 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. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. "Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away
from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals," said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1476915/posts
"Strategic Politics Rule #1: Don't play poker with President Bush. You'll lose."