But Nothing Went Wrong I Tell You, Nothing!!!!

Well, I just heard on CNN and then verified by checking Fox that Bush says he accepts responsibility for things that the federal government did wrong in the response to Katrina. This puts his more zealous supporters in awkward position. 1) A dedicated minority will now have to accept that the response was less than perfect and all the stories of problems weren't just stories made up by the "MSM". I haven't actually been able to stomach reading the posts but it's my understanding that this blogger for instance is advancing the general proposition that the federal response was a model of perfection. I wonder what he'll say now. Is Bush a Bush-hater? Has the MSM gotten to him with orbital throught-control beams or something? The mind boggles. 2) Those who are connected enough to reality to allow for the possibility that not everything was handled as completently as it could have been but were going for the popular "blame the locals" strategy now have to confront the fact that Bush is more willing to hold himself to account than they are.

As I type, I'm sure fingers are furiously pounding away at keyboards forming posts saying something to the effect that Bush is only responding to pressure from the dastardly MSM. Oh yeah, that sounds just like him all right. And isn't the fact that he never, ever does that the reason you like him? Everywhere you turn, some kind of brain malfunction or self-contradiction. Does not compute! Does not compute! etc. etc.

(I did trackback for this so if some partisan robots come over here from there, please be aware that I'm not a Bush-hater, I'm pro War on Terror including War in Iraq and I find the response of the Bush-haters on these issues to be equally tiresome. I volunteered for the 96-hour task force for Bush in New Hampshire and, obviously, voted for him, though I regret some of that now. I just think that the pro-Bush blogosphere has gotten increasingly shrill and goes to lengths to defend to Bush administration beyond even what they do themselves.)

Comments

[Jeff G]

Wow, that's deep, man.

But perhaps you should "stomach" reading things before you turn them into your own personal strawman. Because then you won't come across looking so ridiculously uninformed and petty.

I have never said the FEMA response is a model of perfection. What I have done is tried to investigate where the failures occurred, why, how, etc. I've said I refuse to scapegoat FEMA until all the facts are in. At other times in our history, such a position was lauded. Now, I'm the automaton.

Whereas, your "analysis"? Seems to be limited to your firm belief -- unsubstantiated -- that you can see into the minds of people you don't know, turn them into cartoon characters, and then dismiss them with easy, cliched, and untimately empty and shallow assertions -- all under the cover of "I'm not a Bush-hater." Well, so what? The truth is the truth, no matter what side you're on.
But you just go ahead and take your potshots. If you were anybody of importance, I'd rip you to shreds. But since nobody reads your shitty thoughts anyway, this will have to suffice.

[Eric Deamer]

Is it better to write shitty thoughts that no one reads or write shitty thoughts that a chorus of like-minded bloggers reads? Honestly, I don't know. It's one of life's great mysteries.

You must lead a rich and meaningful life that you chafe at not having the chance to rip someone to shreds in an internet comment box. Anyway, since you feel that you have some special purchase on "the truth" why do you even bother attempting communication with mere mortals?

[Zino]

Shitty thoughts? Sorry, there is nothing shitty about Jeff's thoughts. In fact, his is probably the most informative blog on the web right now in relation to what has and is happening in NO.
Here's a challenge for you, and if you come through, you get a gold star. Other than the usual petty bureaucratc bungling, just what, specifically did FEMA do or not do to deserve the MSM beating it is getting? I suggest you at least read the FEMA website so you have some idea of what FEMA is tasked with, and what it's powers really are. If you come up with an answer, you will be the first one to do so, and I bet even Jeff would give you a gold star. There are a lot of people who know more than you seem to, and they are as puzzled as I am about the hit that FEMA is taking for not doing things it was never meant to do.
See you in a while...

Zino

[Eric Deamer]

Zino:

See, this is what I'm talking about. We're not even dealing with a common reality here. If you read something, anything other than your idol Jeff's blog you could see countess examples of FEMA not only not providing a relief effort but getting in the way of people who were trying to do so. Have you read Matt Labash's piece in The Weekly STandard? There were a lot of good examples there. He was actually on the scene. Was your man Jeff? But beyond that, and this is exactly what I'm talking about, the matter's been decided. "Heck of a job Brownie" was taken off the case. Please enlighten me on how that means that FEMA was doing a good job. Even the president is willing to admit that mistakes were made. Why on earth would anyone not on the payroll voluntarily defend a given presidential administration on an issue where even that administration has admitted mistakes? I honestly just don't get it.

[Zino]

I am not going by Jeff's word. He is not my idol. What Jeff is, is thorough. He makes no points without links and verification. Perhaps I have missed something, but, if my eyes don't decieve me, you have not posted a specific example of FEMA failing. Yes, of course, bureaucracies are staffed by bureaucrats, and mini-turf wars and SNAFUs are part of the deal. I have personal experience with FEMA(though on a much smaller scale), and they can be very frustrating. But as to overall performance in this situation, FEMA has met it's timelines, and is now doing it's best to cope with total destruction covering an area the size of a small country. Given the scope of this catastrophe, I don't think that any organization in the world could do any better than FEMA is doing. What I see is that the feds were blindsided by local and state governments who threw their hands in the air and followed their own emergency plans just long enough to point their fingers at Washington. Governor Blanco not only is totally incompetent, but in reality, she obstructed the relief efforts. Nagin did absolutely nothing. He didn't even have a spare battery for his cell phone! A little understanding of LA history (political history, that is)wouldn't hurt here, either. I do not blame Bush or the feds for not expecting a TOTAL breakdown at the local level. Even in a nuke attack, I would expect that some amount of responsibiliry would be shouldered at the local level. And in that case, the President COULD call in troops as law enforcement agents, whereas in this case, by the Constitution and the law, he could not without a sign-off from the governor. She refused to do that.
I doubt that the federal government will get caught with it's pants down again, but the way things played out was almost unimaginable a week before the storm. Before this, state and local governments were responsible for evacuations and providing for their own in a disaster. And before this, the locals have always done what they were supposed to do, and held up their end of the deal. That will change now, and the left will the winner. It will be one step closer to it's goal, because however this is fixed, you can bet that it will leave a serious breach in state's rights vs. federal power. What do you want to bet that the "fix" for this problem will give the federal government the right to demand control from any state in times of "disaster"?
I would recommend that you take the time to go into Jeff's archives and follow this story from beginning to end. Maybe you will also see that NO ONE has posted a valid answer to the question I put to you. When I stumbled onto Jeff's site, I pretty much accepted that the feds had screwed up, too. I mean, even Michelle Malkin was screaming for Browne's head. But still, I did have a nagging feeling that something was not right. I had noticed, even before I found Jeff's blog, that there were no specific charges to be found anywhere. Just a general "Boy, did Bush fuck up" attitude.
What I see now is a sort of mass hysteria, fed by partisan baloney from the left and the MSM, who make no secret of their hatred for Bush. Please, I beg you, if you have one single FACT to post that belies what I say, post it. You haven't done that yet(and neither has anyone else), and that is all I ask.

I haven't read the Standard article you refer to, but if you post the link, I will read it.

[Zino]

Good answer! You certainly know how to hold your own in a discussion! I will take this to mean that since Brown was "fired", your case is made. Brilliant!

[Zino]

"The links
are all out there if you're willing to explore media
outside of your echo chamber"

My point exactly. And please stay out of my e-mail. If I wanted you there, I would have e-mailed you...