Experience Necessary - Topsy Turvy Revisited
Most of the time that a Presidential administration engages in a coverup, it is a lousy idea. The initial goof, however embarassing, is rarely as damaging as the attempt to conceal it. Katrina Gate, however, is one of those stories that the President was smart to try to smother. This week's release of the pre-storm video conference, showing what Bush knew and when he knew it, caused six months of denials to evaporate. Bush failed to act upon the certain knowledge that a storm "bigger than Hurricane Andrew" was about to touch down on the Louisiana shore and the almost as certain understanding that the levees would not hold. Like the Seinfeld bunch, our man in Washington is guilty of criminal indifference.
The video conference footage itself is bizarre. Sitting at the far end of a long table in a makeshift setting at the Crawford Ranch, Bush, his face shrouded in darkness, recites the bullet points provided about helping the good folks in the zone of danger. There is a sound man sitting behind him to this left, someone else seated at his right. The one-camera setup at a distance offered no close-up of the President's face. From a distance, one could not help but notice his rigidity. He has to be thinking, "When will this all be over?" It's not sure if he's thinking about the video conference or his second term.
Bush did nothing about the coming storm. He did not mobilize supplies, people, evacuation efforts. He did not send in the National Guard, but then they were previously engaged, bird-dogging (we'll get to the VP soon) oil fields in Iraq. His stunned expression immediately after hearing of the September 11 attacks reappeared in the video conference. The only difference this time was that someone had pulled together some bullet points, which Bush repeated ad nauseam.
The coverup is scandalous because Bush has denied vehemently having prior knowledge of the storm's potential. Bush's levee has been breached, and the waters are running free at last. Yes, he knew -- and he did nothing. Even if the damage was unavoidable, mobilization could have saved and protected people's lives. The administration's failure to act is disgraceful. Politically, it is such bad news that it truly is worse than the coverup, although it confirms again that Bush has no compunction about lying, as if additional confirmation were needed, or pushing off blame on subordinates and those who criticize him. Damage control is not new. The lack of damage prevention may not be new, but rarely has its failure been so blantant and clueless. 2008 cannot get here fast enough. What people like Bush and Clinton fail to recognize is that, short of treason, a Presidential acknowledgement of wrongdoing is the quickest way to kill a hot story.
As a leftward leaning democrat, it would never have crossed my mind to vote for Bush in 2000 or 2004. But, assuming all things were equal, and my vote was undecided, it would have gone for Gore for the simple reason that Gore already had executive experience. This being the executive branch of government, its first duty is to execute and carry out the laws of the nation and to further the interests of the American people.
Bush attempted to counter this image by bringing on board experienced members of previous adminstrations. Indeed, whatever the political disagreements, it made one think that even if the man at the top is a marionette, we may get a few adroit puppeteers. This turned out to be a disappointment. Not only where such old hands as Cheyney and Rumsfeld, along with their staffs, ideologues of a high order but they have not done a good job bringing order to the chaos inherent in West Wing operations.
FEMA was placed under the direction of Homeland Security, which has been nothing but four years of pork and handouts. They were not ready or able to handle the crisis. This is not a surprise. The administration has failed to produce adequate results except for production of favoritism legislation. Anyone who's ever been warned about magicians would know it. My father told me to ignore the running commentary and watch the magician's hands. He was right, you know. See if you catch the President's slight of hand.
The video conference footage itself is bizarre. Sitting at the far end of a long table in a makeshift setting at the Crawford Ranch, Bush, his face shrouded in darkness, recites the bullet points provided about helping the good folks in the zone of danger. There is a sound man sitting behind him to this left, someone else seated at his right. The one-camera setup at a distance offered no close-up of the President's face. From a distance, one could not help but notice his rigidity. He has to be thinking, "When will this all be over?" It's not sure if he's thinking about the video conference or his second term.
Bush did nothing about the coming storm. He did not mobilize supplies, people, evacuation efforts. He did not send in the National Guard, but then they were previously engaged, bird-dogging (we'll get to the VP soon) oil fields in Iraq. His stunned expression immediately after hearing of the September 11 attacks reappeared in the video conference. The only difference this time was that someone had pulled together some bullet points, which Bush repeated ad nauseam.
The coverup is scandalous because Bush has denied vehemently having prior knowledge of the storm's potential. Bush's levee has been breached, and the waters are running free at last. Yes, he knew -- and he did nothing. Even if the damage was unavoidable, mobilization could have saved and protected people's lives. The administration's failure to act is disgraceful. Politically, it is such bad news that it truly is worse than the coverup, although it confirms again that Bush has no compunction about lying, as if additional confirmation were needed, or pushing off blame on subordinates and those who criticize him. Damage control is not new. The lack of damage prevention may not be new, but rarely has its failure been so blantant and clueless. 2008 cannot get here fast enough. What people like Bush and Clinton fail to recognize is that, short of treason, a Presidential acknowledgement of wrongdoing is the quickest way to kill a hot story.
As a leftward leaning democrat, it would never have crossed my mind to vote for Bush in 2000 or 2004. But, assuming all things were equal, and my vote was undecided, it would have gone for Gore for the simple reason that Gore already had executive experience. This being the executive branch of government, its first duty is to execute and carry out the laws of the nation and to further the interests of the American people.
Bush attempted to counter this image by bringing on board experienced members of previous adminstrations. Indeed, whatever the political disagreements, it made one think that even if the man at the top is a marionette, we may get a few adroit puppeteers. This turned out to be a disappointment. Not only where such old hands as Cheyney and Rumsfeld, along with their staffs, ideologues of a high order but they have not done a good job bringing order to the chaos inherent in West Wing operations.
FEMA was placed under the direction of Homeland Security, which has been nothing but four years of pork and handouts. They were not ready or able to handle the crisis. This is not a surprise. The administration has failed to produce adequate results except for production of favoritism legislation. Anyone who's ever been warned about magicians would know it. My father told me to ignore the running commentary and watch the magician's hands. He was right, you know. See if you catch the President's slight of hand.
posted by Evan Sarzin at 6:10 AM
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