Is it any surprise, then, that the administration's response to the devastation in New Orleans is of a piece with its response to the sacking of Baghdad once our troops arrived? "Stuff happens" was the way Don Rumsfeld described the destruction of Baghdad's hospitals, universities and museums while American soldiers stood around. Now stuff has happened in New Orleans, too, even as FEMA was turning away offers of assistance. This is the stuff-happens administration. And it's willing, apparently, to sacrifice any claim America may have to national greatness rather than inconvenience the rich by taxing them to build a more secure nation.
History is filled with leaders who ruined their countries by following their imperialist ambitions halfway around the world while ignoring the glaring problems at home. It's probably too much to hope that Dubya can turn things around and start working towards healing the deepening divide between rich and poor in this country, but hey... hope is what made this country great, right?
UPDATE: If you haven't seen it yet, here's something else you should read. Jenny posted this open letter from the residents of Louisiana to President Bush. Powerful stuff.
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A view from the other side of the aisle:
Blame Amid the Tragedy by Bob Williams - Wall Street Journal
Many in the media are turning their eyes toward the federal government, rather than considering the culpability of city and state officials. I am fully aware of the challenges of having a quick and responsive emergency response to a major disaster. And there is definitely a time for accountability; but what isn't fair is to dump on the federal officials and avoid those most responsible--local and state officials who failed to do their job as the first responders. The plain fact is, lives were needlessly lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana's governor, Kathleen Blanco, and the city's mayor, Ray Nagin.
The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his emergency operations center.
The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city.
Yeah what he said. 8-)
I agree that the governor and mayor are also to blame, but one of my biggest problems is that FEMA's response has been an absolute disaster, and it's largely due to that agency being absorbed into the Department of Homeland Security. Its budget has been slashed, its latest director is a political appointee who has no field experience, and the focus of their preparation has been almost exclusively on recovering from a terrorist attack as opposed to a natural disaster. It was a reactionary decision following 9/11 with very little forethought, which is not uncommon in the Bush government. But I think this disaster has exposed a lot of things that are symptomatic of a much larger problem, and that's mostly why I think the criticism of Washington and the Bush Admin. is justified in this case.
Not to MENTION that the levees that broke were supposed to be given structural updates and upgrades but Bush cut the $$ out of the budget so he could fund operations in Iraq.
There's no debate here. Obviously there is enough blame to spread around like a disease, but ultimately in a situation like this, city and state governments are only able to draw on the resources allotted to them by the federal government. Their plan, in this case, wasn't able to be carried out because FEMA didn't respond with what they asked for.
It's unprecedented. And I don't think anyone, including Bush and the FEMA director, wanted people to suffer or be killed. But it's one hell of a wake-up call to initiate better communication and coordination.
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