How Bush Blew It

[hardheadjarhead]

An article outlining the roles of the key players in the Katrina drama:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9287434/site/newsweek/


Regards,


Steve

 

[Flatlander]

I think that Bush's lag in jumping in on this was certainly irresponsible. Were I him, I think I'd have reached out to see if there was assistance that the government could provide. But its indicative of a larger problem: different levels of government need to have clearer policies regarding the delegation of emergency responsibilities and defined communication protocols. Cities and national governments need closer relationships than they currently enjoy. There are circumstances such as this which require dialogue between all levels of government.

In my view, the blame for the fallout from this mess lies with the people of New Orleans. I know that's a harsh thing to say, but I do believe that the citizens of the city bear responsibility for the usefulness, quality and upkeep of those levies. If the people had made their safety a priority, perhaps this wouldn't have turned out quite so bad.

The Civic leadership should have had better emergency planning in place. The truth is, the city existed in a very illogical place. The potential for such an event to occur must have been known, all things considered, and was obviously inadequately prepared for.

I have no idea how they are going to begin to salvage that place. The largest American natural disaster (thus far) was certainly a big one.

 

[kelly keltner]

I have a new idea for a reality show.
We'll call it "Wheel of Natural disaster"
Let's see how many folks stay in the path of a huricane with 4-5 days notice to get out of the area. When It's over we will spin off to a new show "The blame game."
We had ships heading to the are with relief and supplies. It makes no sense to put them in the path of the storm. If we have citizens shooting at the relief worker's does it not make sense to secure the area so they can be safe.

Sure there were areas where the "system" did not work as well as it could have/ should have worked. Sure we have to learn from our mistakes and make strides to improve on how we respond to disasters. It would be the same if any president were in office.

Kell

 

[michaeledward]

It would be the same if any president were in office.

No, really, it wouldn't.

None of the Presidents senior advisors wanted to bring 'bad news' to the President because, he reportedly behaves badly. So, in order to properly prepare the President for what he was going to see when he arrived in New Orleans, a senior aide made a DVD copy of the Nightly Newcasts so the President could review them while he was enroute to New Orleans on Airforce 1.

The President is living the life of an untreated alcoholic. Blame everything on someone else. It's never his fault. Senior Advisors can't tell him what is going on, because of his reactions.

I think there are very few former Presidents that have been so isolated from reality.

 

[ginshun]

So the reason for the slow response to Katrina was that Bush's senior advisors were afraid to tell him about it for fear he would throw a tantrum?

Do you have a source for that?

 

[michaeledward]

So the reason for the slow response to Katrina was that Bush's senior advisors were afraid to tell him about it for fear he would throw a tantrum?

Do you have a source for that?

Yes! ... (Welcome to the reality based world).

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9287434/site/newsweek/?rf=technorati

Sept. 19, 2005 issue - It's a standing joke among the president's top aides: who gets to deliver the bad news? Warm and hearty in public, Bush can be cold and snappish in private, and aides sometimes cringe before the displeasure of the president of the United States, or, as he is known in West Wing jargon, POTUS. The bad news on this early morning, Tuesday, Aug. 30, some 24 hours after Hurricane Katrina had ripped through New Orleans, was that the president would have to cut short his five-week vacation by a couple of days and return to Washington. The president's chief of staff, Andrew Card; his deputy chief of staff, Joe Hagin; his counselor, Dan Bartlett, and his spokesman, Scott McClellan, held a conference call to discuss the question of the president's early return and the delicate task of telling him.

....

The reality, say several aides who did not wish to be quoted because it might displease the president, did not really sink in until Thursday night. Some White House staffers were watching the evening news and thought the president needed to see the horrific reports coming out of New Orleans. Counselor Bartlett made up a DVD of the newscasts so Bush could see them in their entirety as he flew down to the Gulf Coast the next morning on Air Force One.

 

[ginshun]

Yes! ... (Welcome to the reality based world).

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9287434/site/newsweek/?rf=technorati

I guess I still don't understand. Is that article claiming that the president knew nothing of the hurricane until Aug. 30? That doesn't seem quite right.

What would have been a better way to inform him of the current situation than to show him all the newscasts about it?

 

[heretic888]

I guess I still don't understand. Is that article claiming that the president knew nothing of the hurricane until Aug. 30? That doesn't seem quite right.

Why not??

President Bush has stated several times in the past that he doesn't feel the need to watch or read the news. Apparently, because they consist of nothing else other than "eh, opinions".

This would be completely keeping in character with our Commander-in-Chief.

 

[ginshun]

Why not??

President Bush has stated several times in the past that he doesn't feel the need to watch or read the news. Apparently, because they consist of nothing else other than "eh, opinions".

This would be completely keeping in character with our Commander-in-Chief.

Sorry, maybe it was the fact that I read this earlier today:

Sunday, August 28

Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation. The President’s call came just prior to the news conference and occurred after the decision had already been made. for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding.

I suppose you guys are right though. It makes perfect sense that his aids were afraid to tell him about the hurricane two days later.

 

[heretic888]

I suppose you guys are right though. It makes perfect sense that his aids were afraid to tell him about the hurricane two days later.

Hey now, I'm not making a claim one way or another regarding the President's response to Hurricane Katrina. I haven't done the research to warrant a concrete position on this subject.

However, as I said before, a severely delayed response owing to an ignorance of daily news would not have been atypical of President Bush. It would, in fact, be a very much in-character response that we could expect from his past leadership.

That being said, I would perhaps be somewhat skeptical of a timeline posted on an online blog. But, that's just me.

Laterz. :asian:

 

[Tgace]

Well he posts all the events with links from the dated source. Id trust that more than some anonymous persons opinion on a martial arts forum.

 

[heretic888]

Id trust that more than some anonymous persons opinion on a martial arts forum.

Again, if you'll actually read my posts, I am not making a claim one way or the other in regards to the appropriateness of the President's response.

Oye.

 

[Flatlander]

Ginshun, your link in the quote "Hurrican Katrina Timeline" doesn't seem to be working correctly.

 

[michaeledward]

I guess I still don't understand. Is that article claiming that the president knew nothing of the hurricane until Aug. 30? That doesn't seem quite right.

What would have been a better way to inform him of the current situation than to show him all the newscasts about it?

I believe you are incorrectly reading the time line in the story. There are two items here.

No one wanted to tell the President that the hurricane was so bad that he had to end his vacation two days early.

After ending his vacation, before his first trip to the Gulf Coast, aides were concerned that he did not have a clear understanding of what the reality on the ground. They made a copy of the Nightly News for him to review what was going on. (This would have been .... Thursday evening, for Friday morning's trip, I think).

Apparently, the aides giving the President information were filtering it such that the President was as informed as the rest of the country, who were getting their information by simply turning on the television.

 

[Tgace]

Again, if you'll actually read my posts, I am not making a claim one way or the other in regards to the appropriateness of the President's response.

Oye.

If you read mine you will see Im referring to your comment about the timeline, which Ive looked at and found to be as accurate as one could ask as most sources are from the Times-Picyaune.

Gosh
Sheesh
Oye
Arghh

 

[heretic888]

Oh, for Buddha's sake...

If you read mine you will see Im referring to your comment about the timeline, which Ive looked at and found to be as accurate as one could ask as most sources are from the Times-Picyaune.

Gosh
Sheesh
Oye
Arghh

For the umpteenth time, please read what I'm actually posting.

I never claimed the timeline was inaccurate or unreliable. I merely suggested fostering a skeptical attitude concerning information from online blogs. That is all.

Yikes.

 

[ginshun]

Ginshun, your link in the quote "Hurrican Katrina Timeline" doesn't seem to be working correctly.

I didn't actually post a link. The link in the quote was from the blog, I don't know what the deal with it is, and the blog itself was posted by Tgace in a different thread.

 

[Tgace]

Oh, for Buddha's sake...



For the umpteenth time, please read what I'm actually posting.

I never claimed the timeline was inaccurate or unreliable. I merely suggested fostering a skeptical attitude concerning information from online blogs. That is all.

Yikes.

Ahh the tactic of discounting a point based on the online source regardless of where the original data came from..I get it.

Yoinks
Jinkies
Zoinks
HubbaHubba

 

[heretic888]

You have to be kidding me...

Ahh the tactic of discounting a point based on the online source regardless of where the original data came from..I get it.

Yoinks
Jinkies
Zoinks
HubbaHubba

Oh, for the umpteenth time plus one, actually read what I'm writing in my posts. Its really not that hard. Just take two minutes to review a few brief comments.

Nowhere did I "discount" any "point" based on its source. I merely, yet again, suggested one may want to foster a skeptical outlook on such sources. "Skeptical outlook" does not mean "discount without critical inquiry" or "reject without a second thought". It merely means to be critical of such sources.

And, yes, in general, secondary sources aren't exactly the best references in the world. Especially when dealing with historical events here.

This time, actually read what I'm actually writing. Maybe then you'll "get it".

Laterz.

 

[hardheadjarhead]

The President is living the life of an untreated alcoholic. Blame everything on someone else. It's never his fault. Senior Advisors can't tell him what is going on, because of his reactions.

I think there are very few former Presidents that have been so isolated from reality.

Excellent observations. He does in truth fit that description. I never thought of it that way before.

I "googled" this and found that somebody actually wrote an article on this called "Dry Drunk Syndrome and George W. Bush":

http://www.counterpunch.org/wormer1011.html

The behaviors are as follows:

Exaggerated self-importance and pomposity
Grandiose behavior
A rigid, judgmental outlook
Impatience
Childish behavior
Irresponsible behavior
Irrational rationalization
Projection
Overreaction
Obsessive thought patterns

Its a good article. Hits the nail right on the head. Having grown up with some alcoholics, I can attest to that.


Regards,


Steve