The Atlanta Journal Constitution has an article in which Karen Hughes, Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the State Dept. is making the case that it was the crime and looting, not the slow government response to Katrina, that the world finds so objectionable despite the fact that most foreign coverage has actually centered on the slow response. 

I suppose in Karen's world we can separate the two, but what I do find objectionable is that in the much wider realm of all that happened on the Gulf Coast last week her preoccupation with crime and lawlessness betrays a much larger concern for domestic politics and shaping opinion here at home over her actual job which had something to do with improving America's image abroad.  Its almost like they created the post to keep her close by in case the President has a PR problem he can't solve?

Since her method in the past consisted of mind-numbing message discipline and relentlessly browbeating or threatening to cut off access to reporters who question that message it should be interesting to see if the rest of the international community comes around to Ms. Hughe's point of view.

Interesting snippet from the NY Daily News article on Bush's PR disaster:

Some top Bush aides think a brand-name disaster boss like Giuliani, dubbed "America's Mayor" for his leadership after 9/11, or former secretary of state Colin Powell would remind Americans of the administration's sluggish initial response to the hurricane.

"You don't want someone overshadowing the President," said an official in the "ride it out" camp. "That leaves him looking weak."

The "ride it out" camp has been running the show for some time.  The President has shown a remarkable power to ignore huge policy problems because to address them might make it appear that he has made a mistake.  The result is the twin disasters of Iraq and Katrina. 

Essentially, this results in a selling out of every policy goal in a plan to preserve political capital.  Nothing gets done and the President loses political capital daily, and the power to fix the very problems that he is creating and not fixing.  In the end, it results in a perverse reversal of the priorities a president should have--he or she should use political capital to solve the problems the country faces.  But when the political capital is so closely protected that nothing gets done, the entire purpose of the exercise is lost.  It is almost as if he is setting himself up to run for a higher office--but there is none, save perhaps, Commissioner of Major Leauge Baseball.

Ironically, if Bush could step up and admit his mistakes, the country would surely forgive him and Democrats might be wrong-footed going into the 2006 midterm elections.  Don't look for it to happen.

I heard about this earlier today but Think Progress has the video of a Gulfport, MS resident yelling, "Go f*ck yourself, Mr Cheney....". 

By the way, seeing Cheney thrown into action once again makes me think Jon Stewart is right when he says it seems like Bush only knows three people in his entire administration, Rice and Rove being the other two...

Yes, the House just approved the $51 billion aid package for victims of Hurricane Katrina and 11 conservative Republicans of high moral and political principles voted NO. 

The other day I said I thought that Congressional Republicans weren't really serious about a special House-Senate Conference to look into Katrina and of course a few hours later Hastert and Frist were in front of the microphone.  What hasn't been mentioned very much is that none of the Democratic leadership of either the House or Senate were invited nor does it appear they were even consulted.  If Sam Rosenfeld's piece in Tapped is any indication it appears that Frist and Hastert really aren't very serious about any sort of meaningful bipartisan investigation of Katrina.  Did I mention the Democrats are so pissed that Pelosi and Reid are saying they won't participate?

Hurricane Katrina's power not only destroyed an entire city, it caused a number of people to make absolutely moronic statements.  Take CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, whose on-the-air Jimmy the Greek moment thus far has been given a mysterious free pass by the media, the likes of which are usually reserved to the Bush Administration.  "You simply get chills every time you see these poor individuals, as Jack Cafferty just pointed out, so tragically, so many of these people, almost all of them that we see, are so poor and they are so black . . . ."

Blitzer's gaffe can be excused since he was forced to speak sans teleprompter, which is like permitting a blind man to fly a commerical jet.  But the following social commentary was posted by that self-absorbed, academe dufus Glenn Reynolds, who argued that every household should stockpile supplies in preparation for a disaster: 

Whenever I say this, I get responses along the lines of "poor people can't afford to stockpile food." But here's a family survival kit for $50 (link omitted) and it's pretty good. Most poor people in America can afford food (that's why so many poor people are fat). They do have other problems that make preparation less likely, though (if you're the kind of person who thinks ahead and prepares for emergencies, you're much less likely to be poor to begin with) and local authorities have to be ready . . . .

And this man is a law professor, teaching the impressionable (read gullible) minds at the University of Tennessee Law School in subjects such as Constitutional Law and the very practical Space Law.  Note: The survival kit Reynolds referred to included 12 cans of Dinty Moore beef stew.

To Professor Reynolds I pose the following in the Socratic method: Have you lost your fucking mind?

This is going to be hard to believe for some in the IRONMOUTH community, but it looks like the House Leadership has torpedoed any House hearings on the federal response to Hurricane Katrina in favor of partisan posturing and some vague House-Senate conference proposal that will probably never happen.  No real official explanation of why they once again have abdicated their government oversight responsibilities but unofficially some point to the fact that many committees with oversight functions are still recovering from overwork during the Clinton administration.  In fact, former Government Affairs Committee chairman Dan Burton, IN (R) is said to have run out of interesting prop ideas and novel ways of proving imaginary crimes a full six years ago. 

It took five years, but Thomas Friedman of the New York Times finally broke down and wrote an op-ed piece critical of the Bush Administration and its conservative agenda.  What he still doesn't get, however, is that Bush's 9-11 mandate was completely undeserving.  He writes that his "gut reaction" told him that Bush and Cheney were the "right guys to deal with Osama," but then he disparages the Bush Administration for using 9-11 to push through what he describes as a "radically uncompassionate conservative agenda."  But Friedman fails to mention the quagmire in Iraq, the failure in Afghanistan, and the fact that Bush and Cheney not only never dealt with Osama, they could care less about Osama.  He fails to admit his gut was wrong.

The Bush Administration's ineptitude in their tragic mishandling of Hurricane Katrina should not be surprising.  It's de rigeur.  Bush and Cheney were never the "right guys" to deal with Osama or anything else of importance.  When it comes to raising campaign funds, they're the "right guys."  When it comes to applying that ol' Texas saying of "dance with the one that brung you" to the world of politics, they're the "right guys."  When it comes to manipulating the likes of Thomas Friedman and others in the press with Orwelian tactics, they're the "right guys."

If Thomas Friedman still cannot come to this all too obvious conclusion following Hurricane Katrina, my God, what will it take?  What other calamity must our nation endure before he and the majority of Americans finally have an epiphany?

Jonah Goldberg at NRO's the Corner:

. . .what I objected to, and still object to, is the reflexive playing of the class card. Is it really true that some middle class retirees who heeded the advice of the government to leave town, only to watch their homes be looted after a lifetime of hardwork for a better life are suffering less than a poor person who lost his rented apartment? What's the metric for measuring this sort of suffering? What about the small businessman who worked his entire life to build something he's proud of? What about the families who lost loved ones, but had the poor taste to make more money than the poverty line?

Jonah gets property values messed up with human values.  Let's face it, the tragedy facing New Orleans' poor has very little to do with the loss of their "rented apartments" and a lot more to do with the loss of their lives.  I've seen very little out there about the "loss of apartments" or even homes (Trent Lott's excepted) and very much about the destruction of human life. 

And that's where the poor are getting victimized.  Because they do not possess the same resources as those better off, they could not flee the city when Katrina approached.  Therefore, many died from drowning, lack of medical care and perhaps violence.  This isn't about the loss of rented apartments.  Its about the loss of life.  Jonah needs to know that the "metric" for measuring that is the same for each one of us.

Since some conservative pundits are on hold awaiting Katrina talking-points I've notices those who are moving on the "attack local authorities" meme are often using past events like 9/11 as a measure of local leadership.  That's fine, but I propose we look at past examples of federal leadership in times of crisis or massive natural disaster and I still find this administration's performance horseshit.  For those of you who want to practice this past analogy line of attack try this:  Remember all the looters and hungry abandoned people during the Mississippi Flood of 1993 and how it took FEMA four days to get relief to them?  Oh, that's right it didn't happen.   

Think Progress takes us through who would replace Mike Brown as head of FEMA and its not pretty... unless you need somebody to provide event planning for the President's political campaigns.

From today's New Orleans Times-Picayune:

Dear Mr. President:

          We heard you loud and clear Friday when you visited our

devastated city and the Gulf Coast and said, "What is not

working, we’re going to make it right."

          Please forgive us if we wait to see proof of your promise

before believing you. But we have good reason for our skepticism.

          Bienville built New Orleans where he built it for one

main reason: It’s accessible. The city between the Mississippi

River and Lake Pontchartrain was easy to reach in 1718.

How much easier it is to access in 2005 now that there are

interstates and bridges, airports and helipads, cruise ships,

barges, buses and diesel-powered trucks.

          Despite the city’s multiple points of entry, our nation’s

bureaucrats spent days after last week’s hurricane wringing

their hands, lamenting the fact that they could neither rescue

the city’s stranded victims nor bring them food, water and

medical supplies.

          Meanwhile there were journalists, including some who

work for The Times-Picayune, going in and out of the city

via the Crescent City Connection. On Thursday morning,

that crew saw a caravan of 13 Wal-Mart tractor trailers headed

into town to bring food, water and supplies to a dying city.

Television reporters were doing live reports from downtown

New Orleans streets. Harry Connick Jr. brought in some aid

Thursday, and his efforts were the focus of a "Today" show

story Friday morning.

          Yet, the people trained to protect our nation, the people

whose job it is to quickly bring in aid were absent. Those

who should have been deploying troops were singing a sad

song about how our city was impossible to reach.

          We’re angry, Mr. President, and we’ll be angry long after

our beloved city and surrounding parishes have been

pumped dry. Our people deserved rescuing. Many who

could have been were not. That’s to the government’s shame.

          Mayor Ray Nagin did the right thing Sunday when he

allowed those with no other alternative to seek shelter from

the storm inside the Louisiana Superdome. We still don’t

know what the death toll is, but one thing is certain: Had the

Superdome not been opened, the city’s death toll would have

been higher. The toll may even have been exponentially

higher.

          It was clear to us by late morning Monday that many people

inside the Superdome would not be returning home. It

should have been clear to our government, Mr. President. So

why weren’t they evacuated out of the city immediately? We

learned seven years ago, when Hurricane Georges threatened,

that the Dome isn’t suitable as a long-term shelter. So

what did state and national officials think would happen to

tens of thousands of people trapped inside with no air conditioning,

overflowing toilets and dwindling amounts of food,

water and other essentials?

          State Rep. Karen Carter was right Friday when she said

the city didn’t have but two urgent needs: "Buses! And gas!"

          Every official at the Federal Emergency Management

Agency should be fired, Director Michael Brown especially.

In a nationally televised interview Thursday night, he said

his agency hadn’t known until that day that thousands of

storm victims were stranded at the Ernest N. Morial Convention

Center. He gave another nationally televised interview

the next morning and said, "We’ve provided food to the people

at the Convention Center so that they’ve gotten at least

one, if not two meals, every single day."

          Lies don’t get more bald-faced than that, Mr. President.

Yet, when you met with Mr. Brown Friday morning, you told

him, "You’re doing a heck of a job."

          That’s unbelievable.

          There were thousands of people at the Convention Center

because the riverfront is high ground. The fact that so many

people had reached there on foot is proof that rescue vehicles

could have gotten there, too.

          We, who are from New Orleans, are no less American

than those who live on the Great Plains or along the Atlantic

Seaboard. We’re no less important than those from the Pacific

Northwest or Appalachia. Our people deserved to be rescued.

No expense should have been spared. No excuses

should have been voiced. Especially not one as preposterous

as the claim that New Orleans couldn’t be reached.

          Mr. President, we sincerely hope you fulfill your promise

to make our beloved communities work right once again.

When you do, we will be the first to applaud.

I'm getting sick of this administration's government by photo-op ways but evidently not the editors over at National Review Online.  They take it a step further and suggest nothing could be more moving than the empty political symbolism of having the 2008 Republican National Convention in New Orleans.  I would just be happy with some actual evidence that they can govern competently instead of looking to another disaster as a  means of political positioning.  Moving the 2004 convention to New York City and having it as close to September 11th as possible was sad enough, but how would they make this fuck up look like anything but a fuck up?

President Bush met this morning with members of the Red Cross at its headquarters in Washington, D.C.  Coincidentally, news cameras were there.  Bush gave an "impromptu" speech.  In three minutes, Bush mentioned the words "Red Cross" no less than thirty times, and referred to its volunteers repeatedly as an "Army of compassion."  He then asked Americans to pony up "hard cash donations to the Red Cross" if they want to help out in the hurricane relief effort.

Aside from him confusing the Salvation Army with the Red Cross, Bush tipped his hand on how he will deflect criticism and deny any accountability for the government's pathetic and criminally negligent response to Hurricane Katrina.  His not so hidden message?  Don't blame the government; it's not the government's job to help people in need and provide emergency relief.  That's a job for the Red Cross.

Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré has stepped up and began to provide the first real leadership in the efforts to rescue stranded New Orleans. 

He commands the First Army, and coindentially is from southern Louisiana. 

An example:

The general came to rescue of one young mother trying to carry her twin babies down the street in the terrible heat and humidity of New Orleans, Starr reported. The mother was so exhausted the children were almost falling out of her arms.

The general went up to the woman and took both of her babies, handing them off to soldiers to carry, as he promised the mother that they were going to get her some help. The troops helped the three hurricane victims to a Coast Guard ship, where they were treated for exhaustion and dehydration.

His cell-phone interview on CNN was stirring, with the General calmly explaining the steps being taken and absentmindedly punctuating his answers with a simple "over" as if he was transmitting orders to subordinates.   

The general wows them wherever he goes, says his deputy commander Maj. Gen. John A. Yingling:

"He’s like a rock star — ‘Mick Jagger’ Honoré."

Here he is demonstrating his "hobby"--tomahawk throwing:

He's as good at getting the job done as he is at throwing those tomahawks.  The results are showing already--

There were quick successes. Minutes after the military convoy halted near the convention center, Guard members were hiking up the ramp to where thousands were waiting — some cheering, some cursing. The soldiers set up mess lines for food and water, ladling out pork rib lunches and bottled water to the famished refugees.

Said New Orleans Mayor Nagin, previously critical of the slow response of the federal government:

That's one John Wayne dude down here that can get some stuff done.  He came off the doggone chopper and he started cussing and people started moving.

Not a second too soon.