April 27, 2006

Who Blew the Big Blow?

Hatched by Dafydd

Associated Press has a piece about the Senate Homeland-Security Committee's report on Hurricane Katrina, assigning blame and (to some extent) suggesting changes for the better. The thrust of Lara Jakes Jordan's story is accurately summarized by the headline and first two paragraphs:

Katrina Report Rips the White House Anew

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Senate inquiry into the government's Hurricane Katrina failures ripped the Bush administration anew Thursday and urged the scrapping of the nation's disaster response agency. But with a new hurricane season just weeks away, senators conceded that few if any of their proposals could become reality in time.

The bipartisan investigation into one of the worst natural disasters in the nation's history singled out President Bush and the White House as appearing indifferent to the devastation until two days after the storm hit.

The AP story is hard-hitting, incisive, and merciless in reporting how the Senate report castigates the White House. But it is one other thing: the story is a complete fabrication.

Jordan's audacity is breathtaking. I will have more to say about this in the next post, after I finish reading the executive summary. But from the first half (all I've read so far), the report actually lodges far more serious accusations against the State of Louisiana and Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and against the City of New Orleans than against any federal agency, though you would never know it from the AP story.

Even in the case of the feds, about half the most serious problems in the federal response are long-term (multi-president) failings that certainly do not constitute "singl[ing] out President Bush and the White House." (For example, not building better levees in New Orleans.) Jordan does her best imitation of Mary Mapes in this piece.

In fact, the worst accusation made against Bush in the report so far is that for the first two days after landfall, he directed the federal response from his Crawford ranch, rather than from Washington D.C.

It just occurred to me that whenever a senator or representative leaves D.C., he is either on vacation, on a junket, or campaigning. Co-chairs of the report Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) may literally not understand that when Bush goes to the Prairie Chapel Ranch, he is in communication and control just as much as he is at la Casa Blanca. He's not on holiday; he's working at the branch office.

More, and more specifics, anon. This is in the way of an "incoming" for y'all not to believe everything you read in the papers!

Hatched by Dafydd on this day, April 27, 2006, at the time of 9:58 PM

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Comments

The following hissed in response by: hunter

Astonishing, but not surprising-
Astonishing that the MSM still thinks we are all sheep to be fed stale fodder.
The report's main idea, that we should end FEMA jsut as the storm season starts, is not surprising in its stupidity.
The WH really should stop cooperating with both 'bipartisan commissions' and the MSM.
Both are a waste of air.

The above hissed in response by: hunter [TypeKey Profile Page] at April 27, 2006 11:54 PM

The following hissed in response by: Davod

I have little regard for any politician. Why would Collins say FEMA needs to be disbanded. I can understand someone who knows noting about what FEMA is supposed to do saying this but she is supposed to be better informed.

The above hissed in response by: Davod [TypeKey Profile Page] at April 28, 2006 3:10 AM

The following hissed in response by: solilsolate

Odd incomplete headline--why do you think she didn't tell us anew what?

The above hissed in response by: solilsolate [TypeKey Profile Page] at April 28, 2006 3:46 PM

The following hissed in response by: solilsolate

Odd that the reporter didn't correct that incomplete headline--what do you suppose she meant to say after anew?

The above hissed in response by: solilsolate [TypeKey Profile Page] at April 28, 2006 3:48 PM

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