Okay… Those of you who know me (and those of you who only read my LJ) know that I have no love lost for the current President of the United State, George W. Bush. Quite frankly, I think he's a fudging idiot… (Hey, I have kids and am trying to modify my language accordingly).
But to lay at his feet the total fault for the response (or lack thereof) of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is rather… like trying to blame a team's failings on their coach. I was as disappointed as everyone else in Miami when Doug McClean of the Florida Panthers was fired. And then we went to see the Panthers trounce Boston 10-5 in the first game afterward… ANYHOW… The point is that the team - in this case the mayors of the areas impacted, the parish presidents, the local federal representatives and senators, the governors, AND the President of the US all have enough blame to share.
Bush did do the right thing in (finally) recalling Mike Brown to DC; however, I do think it was too little, too late. Instead of sitting in a chair in an elementary school, reading a book to kids, and not reacting at the incidences that comprised 9/11, this time el Shrub-o was sitting on his farm in Crawford, Texas, on a vacation (funny… just about every time the news reports on him, he is “on vacation at his Crawford, Texas ranch”). At least we know that our “fearless” leader, who has tons of military experience, is consistently lying down on the job.
He may not be totally at fault, but as the nation's leader, he is duty-bound to do just that - LEAD. Let's make the connection here: Help really didn't start trickling in until three days after the storm. Isn't it ironic that Bush didn't return from his vacation until two days after the storm hit? Combine this with the fact that FEMA is a federal bureaucracy that is under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security, and you have the explanation of some of the chaos…
Anyhow… my disjointed thoughts are getting the best of me on this Sunday morning, so let me sum it up with this:
Bush isn't totally at fault for the poor response, but neither did he cut off his vacation to get back to DC to face, arguably, the largest disaster to face this nation since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. And as the Chief Executive of this company called the United States, he, once again, showed that he was napping on the job.
I just want to thank those of you who voted for him… and hope that you are happy with his leadership style.
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