"Four years after the frightening experience of Sept. 11, Americans have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency. When the government fails to meet such an obligation, I as president am responsible for the problem, and for the solution."
-- George W. Bush
Thank you George. After five years we have needed to hear at least one apology from the highest ranking official in our country and not the situation spun around to point blame elsewhere. While I believe the local and state governments of Louisiana should be held accountable for their role in this disaster, namely not heeding warnings about a severely stressed levee system in New Orleans, the feds needed to shoulder the blame post flood and amazingly they have. The way I was taught, if you don't accept responsibility for your mistakes, you don't learn from them. People, regardless of political affiliations, who repeatedly point the finger, wind up doing that their entire lives without stepping back and wondering why it is they always find themselves in hot water. While I am no fan of the Bush administration, I think Dubyah is doing the right thing by giving the people of the Gulf Coast words of encouragement and promises to rebuild the area. I know it will be costly, but it must be done. The Gulf Coast, regardless of its vulnerability to hurricanes, is an important part of our country's economy and has been a summer refuge for many vacationers for decades.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco need to step up as well and apologize for their negligence on the local and state level and work with the federal government not only to revive the jazz capital and Mardi Gras tourist playground that was part of the city, but give willing residents a chance to permanently get out of the section 8 slums they were living in and into a better environment. Nagin is conveniently blameless about this disaster like suddenly its the federal government's responsibility to make sure every city in this country has an established plan of emergency. Nagin clearly didn't do the necessary work to evacuate citizens in time. The more outraged he becomes with Washington, the more it looks like him trying to spin this into a black and white issue and not taking the blame that he knows also falls on him. Nagin's city was known for its corrupt politics, police force and outrageous crime statistics years before the flood. New Orleans, for all its history and beauty, was no model of how a major city should operate.
The rebuilding of structures and spirits will happen in New Orleans, but it must begin from the inside and work out.
(Side note: When I first saw this picture I thought, "Why the hell is the president giving a hurricane briefing from Disney World?")
Comments
Yea he does almost look like the magic kingdom....
Mojo Sure it's partly damage control, but at least he has some public plans for recovery of the area unlike anyone in the state of Louisiana (and you know I make it no regular habit to be a defender of Dubyah). Nagin and Blanco seem to be scratching their asses and still blaming the feds from everything I have heard. Yes the guy, Michael Brown, did resign but I'm sure that move was highly suggested for damage control reasons. When you have the media covering the desperate situation at the convention center and 48 hours later the heads of FEMA and DHS say they hadn't heard anything about it, someone's gonna be sent home packing. His resume that included his most recent job being the president of a Arabian horse judging association didn't help matters much.
However, I was never one of the "Bush-haters". I've come to disrespect him over the years, but he is not responsible for everything that is wrong in the world. I find it odd that people like to talk about how dumb he is, like he can barely tie his own shoes, and then in the next breath talk about him like he's some evil genius, plotting schemes to take over the world. To me, he really doesn't seem like this ogre that everyone says he is. Clueless, yes. Evil, no. It's the guys behind him we have to watch out for.
There's a couple things.... Ol' Boy from FEMA? Where was his staff of advisors? Those people decided to sugar-coat.
I am glad that even though you may not like the president, you put most blame where it should - local govt. I am a supporter, soooo.... I'll shut up.
I like your sense of humor!
Anyhow - just a stop by. Take it easy!
OH! And that baby is super cute.