A winning combination for the Worst Administration in American History. Last years election was based on the politics of Fear. Karl Rove used Al-Qaeda, Iraq and the unknown to scare undecided voters in to believing that the 1600 Crew was better equipped to assuage their fears in the event of Something Bad Happening.
The federal government so far has bungled the job of quickly helping the multitudes of hungry, thirsty and desperate victims of Hurricane Katrina, former top federal, state and local disaster chiefs said Wednesday.
...
The slow response to Katrina and poor federal leadership is a replay of 1992's mishandling of Hurricane Andrew, said former FEMA chief of staff Jane Bullock, a 22-year veteran of the agency.
Bullock blamed inexperienced federal leadership. She noted that Chertoff and FEMA Director Michael Brown had no disaster experience before they were appointed to their jobs.
In the last Bush adminstration, FEMA was the place that all the county political hacks who wanted "adminstration" jobs were sent...it was thought to be a good place to house loyal short-ball hitters. Then Andrew happened. In the 90s, Clinton revamped FEMA and created a functional, dynamic organiztion capable of responding to real emergencies.
Then came Bush v. Gore, and guess what? Well, just look south and see. So, I wonder how those "undecided" voters especially those in LA and MS are feeling about the 1600 Crew right about now?
Maybe when, or if, they ever rebuild some of those levees in New Orleans they can name one for Grover Norquist, to remind people of what happens when they forget that sometimes community comes before self here in America. And that sometimes "drowining the government in the bathtub means drowning the city in the lake"...wow, that's good gubmint at your service!
