I would like to clarify some of this.
First of all, the federal government does not have as big a role in the chaos that resulted from Katrina.
The responsibility to evacuate the people, supply them, and call upon the federal government rests with the state and local governments, not federal. THIS IS THE LAW. Therefore, Bush could do very little until the mayor and governor called upon him for assistance. The state is responsible for evacuating people. Not the feds.
Want to hear reasons why the state and local government are so inept? First off, they did not begin evacuations until Saturday, despite the fact that a category-5 hurricane was on its way to a city below sea level. The freeway heading into N.O. had four lanes outbound, four lanes inbound. The four outbound lanes were packed with cars. The four inbound lanes were completely empty.
There were dozens of schoolbuses that could have been used to evacuate the poor and others who could not get out on their own. They now sit in a lake, half submerged, unused and unusable for evacuation.
The Superdome was being used as the major holding area for evacuees. However, it quickly ran out of food, water, and other necessities. There was no stores of emergency food and water for such an evacuation. Also, there was no real law enforcement in operation, as the NOPD was overextended. Rapes and beatings were occuring often in the Superdome, and the police who tried to stop the violence were easily repulsed.
The National Guard was not mobilised soon enough, which was a state responsibility. Had the Guard been deployed shortly after the levys broke and the city flooded, there would have been far less problems in terms of manpower and law enforcement.
The federal government was also not called upon soon enough, which is the responsibility of the state and local governments. When Bush asked the governor to allow the Guard to be put under one command, she "had to think about it for 24 hours".
What would I have done? One, I would have started the evacuation as soon as it was obvious that the hurricane was strong enough to breach the levys (simulations have been done on this subject, and they were quite similar to the current predicament), evacuated 7 lanes outbound 1 lane in, used the buses/public transportation to get the poor out, and taken quicker action once the levys had been breached.
It is not the responsibility of the federal government to evacuate, supply, rebuild, etc. People complain that the government didn't do enough for them, even going so far as to blame the feds for the problems they face. The fact is, the state and local governments did far more wrong than the federal government.
Some have gone so far as to say Bush made the hurricane destroy New Orleans... Seriously. They have. Kinda the same people who think Bush planned 9/11.
I weep for the fact that people like Dean would use a terrible national disaster like this to forward the political schemes of their own party, as well as for personal gain. I also weep that there are millions of people who simply believe what they hear and accept it as fact. "The season has come for Americans to look homeward ... instead of continuing to spend billions of dollars in Iraq," said Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va.
Obviously there are others with a political agenda that serves their party's interests. Which is both sad and disgusting.
Bush has cut short his vacation (he is still briefed etc., it's not like he's taking a break from running the country), motivated Congress to put a bill on his desk for relief efforts, and is now organizing his
fourth trip to New Orleans. There is blame to be found on all levels of the government, but I think Bush did a pretty good job of response. Since he does not directly control FEMA, the state & local governments, etc., why should we blame him for their mistakes? That is like saying the school principal is directly responsible for losing a football season, when he does not directly control the coaches, team, etc.
Entitlement programs, i.e. Affirmitive Action, Headstart etc. uplift people's economic standing and it is measurable.
On paper, yes. Greater governmental involvment to the point of control over people's lives may look good in theory, but when you factor in human beings the whole thing tends to pervert itself.
Facts are facts, and the fact is that what Dean professed regarding Katrina and the inept response by the Federal government does have something (though not everything) to with racial bias.
Yes it does. Dean is using the race card to advance his own political agenda, as has happened many times in the past.
I think I have said enough at this point.
