The Prez should learn hurricane lesson from Jeb

[nycmjkfan]

Great Opinion Piece from the Orlando Newspaper regarding who Bush should blame and his overall ineptitude!


Did Jeb Bush lay the groundwork for his brother's failure in New Orleans? Consider the evidence.

To begin, look what happened when Hurricane Rita was moving in on the Florida Keys. Hospitals and nursing homes were emptied. Rescue workers and supplies were lined up and ready to go.

We've got the hurricane-response gig down in Florida.

Last year, we got whacked by four of them. They weren't as bad as Katrina, but they were huge and unprecedented blows.

Florida got up off the canvas after each and carried on.

This allowed President Bush to swoop in, hoist some water bottles at a relief station, then hop back on Air Force One for his next campaign stop.

All the while, Jeb was efficiently handling things, backed up by experienced emergency officials.

Florida learned long ago not to rely on the federal government. FEMA's response after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 was so atrocious that it sparked a congressional inquiry. Investigators concluded that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had become a dumping ground "for political appointees" who had "little or no experience" in disaster and emergency management.

Holding to this tradition, George Bush managed to load FEMA down with more dolts than his dad did.

Presidents may not learn their lessons from history, but Florida did. It developed the best emergency-response system in the nation. When hurricanes hit, the state and locals get matters under control, then bring in FEMA to buy new television sets for everyone in Miami-Dade.

You will note that after last year's onslaught of hurricanes, nary a brickbat was tossed at Jeb for how he handled the storms. Yet there was one revelation after another about FEMA waste and incompetence.

I suppose this should have been a clue that FEMA still had no clue.

But it went right over not-so-curious George's head. He must have figured FEMA had these hurricane things under control.

If Florida had been run by leaders as incompetent as Louisiana's leaders, then perhaps FEMA's cracks would have shown in time for corrective action before Katrina.

Now we segue to New Orleans and Katrina. George Bush was riding his mountain bike at the Crawford ranch, figuring his boy at FEMA -- political minion Michael Brown -- was handling everything, just as it appeared he had handled everything in Florida.

Brown, meanwhile, figured Louisiana was handling everything, just like Florida had handled everything.

And it appears Louisiana figured FEMA was handling everything.

So nobody was handling anything when the worst natural disaster in decades unfolded. Evidently, back at the ranch, the Prez was watching baseball instead of CNN.

When he finally did get to the Gulf Coast, he still didn't comprehend what was going on and told "Brownie" he was doing a "a heck of a job." Perhaps Trent Lott had received his new TV by then.

This raises broader questions.

Is Dick Cheney the Brownie of Iraq? Is Michael Chertoff the Brownie of homeland security? Is John Snow the Brownie of the budget deficit?

Is George Bush the Brownie of the White House?

At least Jeb Bush is not the Brownie of Florida.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-miket2205sep22,0,2371474.column?track=mostemailedlink

[JHB]

1. Conspicuoulsy missing is any mention of FEMA under Clinton...

Treating FEMA as a dumping ground for dirt-dumb dolts is a Republican "tradition", not a natural condition.