Two days after hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast I was, like all you, devastated by the images we saw and the stories we heard coming out of the affected areas. It was clear that the situation on the ground had devolved into worst case scenario. At the time I felt uncomfortable placing blame for the tragedy on the shoulders of president Bush, because we on the left do have a tendency to blame him for everything that ails our country. But as we get a clearer picture of the woefully inadequate emergency response by our government, the failure of George W. Bush to live up to his own reputation has become so glaringly obvious it cannot be ignored.
[contd.]
The conventional wisdom is that Bush won reelection in 2004 in part due to his image as a wartime president. He responded strongly to the attacks of September 11. He announced the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. He took us to war – not once, but twice – in the name of making America safer. All of this provided the people with some sense of comfort. Personally I thought the new Department of Homeland Security was a sham. Its main contribution to our security after countless months and hundreds of millions of dollars was a color coded terror alert system that had all the perceived significance of a walk down Sesame Street. And I never understood why it was so goddamn important that we rush into war in Iraq. Be that as it may, the people wanted to feel safe, and they honestly believed that George W. Bush was the one to do it. With the events of hurricane Katrina unfolding in front of us, it is painfully clear that our government was too slow to respond with aid and evacuation efforts. Every death in New Orleans from this day forward was preventable. With the proper government response, the majority of people would be safe right now, and we would all breath a collective sigh of relief. As it is, we have nothing but chaos and misery ahead. It’s been almost exactly four years since September 11, 2001, and this is the best response we can get to an emergency that FEMA declared among the top three most likely catastrophic disasters facing America?
The challenges that we face on the ground are unprecedented. But there’s no doubt in my mind we’re gonna succeed. – George W. Bush, August 31, 2005
I’m sorry Mr. President, but you’ve already failed us.
[cross-posted “over there”]
