GOOD STUFF AT TRUTH SERUM
If you go to Fred's weblog at
http://truth-serum.blogspot.com/
and check out the first four or five posts, you will find some items of interest!
Fred provides some good links, and the one to the Scott McClellan press briefing is simply amazing. It looks like the media may finally be smelling some blood. McClellan is right when he speaks of the need to help hurricane victims, but he keeps repeating that like a mantra, as if he has been instructed to use the disaster and the fact that relief is being provided (no matter how late) as a way to divert attention from other aspects of the disaster and from other current issues. If the press is attacking Scott McClellan like this, I doubt the POTUS will hold another press conference before the end of his term... and he may spend a lot of time finding ways of avoiding the press altogether. Being openly questioned by angry people is something his handlers have always helped him avoid, and I doubt anything will change in this case.
Also, check out the story from DailyKos about firemen being used as props... a link is provided, and it is appalling stuff.
I'm very glad help is being provided by the federal government and other agencies even if it has been way too late for thousands of people. Even so, I just don't see how Bush and his friends are going to successfully spin Hurricane Katrina in their favor. I know they will try... At the moment, life is giving Karl Rove lemons, and we all know how successful the guy is at making lemonade.
http://truth-serum.blogspot.com/
and check out the first four or five posts, you will find some items of interest!
Fred provides some good links, and the one to the Scott McClellan press briefing is simply amazing. It looks like the media may finally be smelling some blood. McClellan is right when he speaks of the need to help hurricane victims, but he keeps repeating that like a mantra, as if he has been instructed to use the disaster and the fact that relief is being provided (no matter how late) as a way to divert attention from other aspects of the disaster and from other current issues. If the press is attacking Scott McClellan like this, I doubt the POTUS will hold another press conference before the end of his term... and he may spend a lot of time finding ways of avoiding the press altogether. Being openly questioned by angry people is something his handlers have always helped him avoid, and I doubt anything will change in this case.
Also, check out the story from DailyKos about firemen being used as props... a link is provided, and it is appalling stuff.
I'm very glad help is being provided by the federal government and other agencies even if it has been way too late for thousands of people. Even so, I just don't see how Bush and his friends are going to successfully spin Hurricane Katrina in their favor. I know they will try... At the moment, life is giving Karl Rove lemons, and we all know how successful the guy is at making lemonade.
10 Comments:
It's very interesting that you say Karl Rove is good at turning lemons into lemonade, because The Architect is one of the people I hold responsible for Bush's reaction. Any leader is only as able as his advisors, and while The Architect is politically astute in most circumstances, I can't help feeling that he kept President Bush insulated from what was going on. How does this translate into blaming Bush in part for the disaster? He should have known the type of people he was hiring and should have hired better and more competent people to fill several of the positions. At this point, I feel the failure was primarily in the positions of FEMA director, Chief of Staff (The Architect), Vice-President Coronary, er, Cheney, and SecDef Rumsfeld. This is in no way meant to absolve those at the local and state level. Mayor Nalin and Governor Blanco of Louisiana, and to a lesser extent only because of the far smaller damage sustained by the state, Governor Riley of Alabama, deserve some blame for their gross mishandling of this catastrophe. If I were a betting person, I would say that, of the three, only Riley has a chance at retaining his seat at the next election.
Snave,
It's liquid, it's yellow but don't drink it!!!
Rove's 'Lemonade' is really urine.
word verification: qmxark
My comment about Rove was mainly intended to mean that he's probably already found some ways to try to spin all of this horrific stuff in a way that's positive enough to make the administration look like it was actually doing the best it could do, in an efficient manner (and part of that will undoubtedly be accusing Democrats and independent thinkers of playing "the blame game").
I think you are correct if your belief is that Rove has messed up this time, that he has insulated Bush too much. I would also agree that Bush himself isn't entirely to blame for all this... after all, it has been a team effort (or chaotic non-effort, depending on how one looks at it). And the other folks you named? Absolutely, them too. All the same, I think Bush may end up assuming quite a bit of blame that ought to be equally shared, or even shared more, with those beneath him in the chain of command. This whole business is pulling my chain, anyway...
I will make an honest effort on this blog not to start harping about whether or not this might be Bush's undoing... at least not until the folks in the hard-hit areas are out of harm's way and until I'm through with the initial anger at the POTUS, FEMA, state and local officials, et al, AND until I am over my astonishment at how goofed up it all is... My mind is still fairly boggled by the whole thing.
I get the feeling Bush is running out of emotional gas. I don't know if he's on some kind of medication but the past few times I've seen him on tv he seems totally wrung out. If things keep going south I think we may see some kind of meltdown if a reporter or Democrat gets a little too aggressive with their questioning...
Thanks for post. I'm short on time but to say Bush is insulated is an understatement. This guy lives in a toxic waste bubble straight from NO. He hasn't the slightest clue as to what is going on more that 10 feet in front of him. Did you happen to se the Nancy Pelosi story today regarding her interview with Shrub. Geeeeeez!
Other-Fred, I'm no fan of Pelosi either. I find her shrill and with a demeanor that is more reminiscent of an overpromoted party whip like Newt Gingrich than a House party leader. In short, when I hear her speak, I grab for the air freshener in much the same manner I did for the amphibian.
And yes, Snave, I was saying that Rove is largely to blame for the President's reaction to the disaster in my region. I noticed that, once President Bush spoke to the Coast Guard pilots who had been involved in the rescue efforts, the tone and speed of the response changed dramatically. I think it was clear from the body language that there was no bullshit being spoken by that young hero. The President is a former military pilot, and though it's about 30 years removed, I believe such people are able to understand each other better, much like doctors can understand another doctor better than an average person could.
I've posted a more thorough opinion on the response, both foreign and domestic, to Hurricane Katrina on my blog. One thing I omitted is the probable necessity, or at least the benefits, of accepting medical aid from Third World nations, as their medical personnel are likely to have far more experience with treating and recognizing the types of diseases we're likely to see in the wake of this disaster. Of course, the water purification equipment being offered by many nations will be of great help as well for the same reason.
Marquis, I've heard rumors that President Bush is known to have a foul temper at best. Perhaps this is what you're seeing. The United States has been hit with a string of natural disasters over the last couple of years. In addition, we are in the midst of a war. I'm GLAD to see leaders apparently emotionally strained in such circumstances. It proves that they still have their humanity and are not either vampirically obsessed with power or overmedicated like Bill Clinton or Richard Nixon.
As a side note for Bill Clinton, he was the President of the United States of America, the leader of the Free World. Couldn't he have gotten hotter women than Paula Jones or Monica Lewinsky? Even Henry Kissenger (thank goodness for the prohibitions against non-natural born citizens from becoming President) was able to shag prettier women.
I was talking to this guy in Matt's blog who was pointing out that the Corps of Engineers is claiming that they were not underfunded.
I went to the Corps of Engineers site, and I think that General Strock guy is protecting Bush. His arguement is not actually logical if you think about what he said, but it got me looking at the Corp of Engineer's budget over at Government Printing Office's webpage.
It's too bad you can only get temporary links from that because it is interesting to look at. I wish I could make permanent links to it. :-(
The one thing that is clear is that when a government wants to change its funding priorities, then what it does is restructure things by dividing pre-established agencies, merging parts of them with other agencies and creating new ones, so that you cannot possibly compare the outlays with previous years. That way no one can possibly be held accountable for bad decision making.
However, what I did find was that, for example, the estimate for the Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies Transfer in the Construction program for the Corps of Engineers for 2004 was $2 million, whereas the actual expenditures for that section was minus $3 million.
But you have to look at these budget files to know that it's an accountant's nightmare because there are a zillion little funds, and I guess they just grab a little here and there when they want money for something. Otherwise, I don't understand how they could be down $3 million, unless they just borrowed off that account (or section of the budget) for something else.
But then I couldn't even find a Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies Transfer section in the 2003 budget.
I don't know about you guys, but I want an audit of the federal budget on all agencies that would be responsible for this mess that compares how the money was shifted around, and who was responsible and whether the funding was insufficient. And I want to know just how the war in Iraq affected funding. I want the Government Accounting Office to do the audit, and I want it in Barnes and Nobles before the next election.
I think the democrats should demand this audit. I know Conyers asked the Government Accounting Office to investigate the election. I don't know if they did it, but it kind of implies that the minority party has that authority.
PS That does look like a good blog. I'll have to take a closer look when I am awake.
This would be bad enough to Democrats in the next Louisiana and Mississippi elections?
Like the hurricane the emotions where devastating, but after the political storm what will be the political scenario.
GTX, not only do I think it could be bad for at least certain Democrat elected officials in Louisiana in the next election, think it SHOULD be bad for them. Governor Blanco should have four-laned the Interstates and major roadways sooner. Also, Mayor Nalin should have, I don't know, turned it onto the Weather Channel in the day or two leading up to Katrina's landfall and order the mandatory evacuation of the city sooner, perhaps used those buses that are now worth little more than scrap metal and museum pieces to transport thousands of people out of the city. Twelve hours before landfall, and reporters were stunned to see people on carriage rides in the French Quarter and getting their faces drawn. Where was Mayor Nalin? Why didn't he order the mandatory evacuation of his city, knowing that this could be the Big One? I'm not saying that others aren't to blame for the levees and the response to the disaster, but, in my view, he owns a good chunk of the blame. The buses were still available for the better part of 24 hours after the storm. Why didn't Mayor Nalin commandeer them to transport survivors to higher ground, knowing that the city could flood? Why didn't he do his damned job, and why is he portraying himself as a victim when he's responsible for so many deaths?
Post a Comment
<< Home