Chapter 40: Katrina

I can’t believe how poorly the government appears to have responded to the disaster after Hurricane Katrina. The storm itself was bad enough, but for the federal government to not send personnel until late in the week was simply reprehensible.

So much of the response bothers me, I barely know where to begin. I didn’t see it myself, but I’ve heard from several people that Mike Brown, the director of FEMA, said to Ted Koppel that they didn’t have “confirmation” of the degree of damage and human suffering until Thursday. Why not? Koppel asked whether anyone actually watched the coverage, but I’m thinking that perhaps they don’t trust media reports (this is the Bush administration, after all), so they were waiting for people to call. And since the cell coverage was sketchy at best, they didn’t get the necessary confirmation. I don’t know. Maybe that’s not what happened. But one way or the other, not enough was done.

I hope the Republicans in power are made to pay for this debacle by being beaten at the polls, but that’ll be 14 months from now, and people will have forgotten much of the rage they’re feeling now.

I’m a bit surprised at the lack of leadership from both parties. The governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, was recently in New Hampshire. Sure, he says it was a vacation, but politicians go to New Hampshire to set themselves up for the early primaries, establish connections with voters, etc. Whether he’s considering a run for the White House or not, his state borders Louisiana. What have they done? Perhaps the media isn’t covering such developments at a national level, but I’ve been pretty immersed in the philanthropic efforts going on, and I haven’t seen anything that specifically points to efforts conducted by Arkansas. As my link indicates, the state has done something, but people need to be told about them.

Nor has there been anything from Tennessee of particular note. And Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is more likely to make a run for president. Tennessee borders Mississippi; where’s he been? I’ve not heard anything about John McCain (R-AZ) or Hillary Clinton(D-NY). I’ve not noticed anything about Joe Biden (D-DE). I may have missed their efforts (Biden's staff hasn't updated his Web site since August 30), but if any of these people are planning on showing they have the leadership capabilities to lead a diverse country through difficult times, this would be a nice time to show it. The only one who’s exhibited any candor is the mayor of New Orleans, and he’ll probably never get re-elected because this catastrophe happened during his watch.

Leadership is the issue, in my opinion, and there’s not been enough of it exhibited. I wasn’t a fan of Rudy Giuliani, but he did a spectacular job of leading after 9/11. It wasn’t about party, nor should this effort be about party. It’s about getting information out, getting resources in, and showing that someone in government is in charge.

President George Bush’s imperial mid-week flyover was an embarrassment. The man spent his month-long vacation in Texas and cut it short as a result of the storm. Where did he go? Back to Washington. Are you telling me the most powerful man in the world couldn’t be flown into the New Orleans area to show he actually cared about people in the country he leads. Don’t tell me it wasn’t safe enough. He’s the president of the United States, with the most dedicated troop of body guards money can buy at his disposal. He should have been there. Then when he finally got there, the photos were of him hugging a few people and walking dry streets. I’m sorry, Mr. President, I’d have had more respect for you if you’d walked through the flooded roads in your hip boots. Get your hands dirty, Mr. President. This is dirty work. But necessary.