Defending the Chimperor

OK, I'm leaving Colorado Springs today for the mountains where I won't have internet access, but I'll part with this post.

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In the days since Hurricance Katrina struck the issue has turned into a political football. Unsurprisingly there has been a rush to blame Bush. Strangely there has been relatively little talk of the local response, at least that I've seen. Well, could that be because Louisiana has long been a Democratic bastion? The mayor of New Orleans is a Democrat, the governor is a Democrat and the state only elected its first Republican senator since reconstruction last year. Look, I don't think any of that should be at all relevant right now, but if we're going to play politics with this, then it needs to be pointed out.

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Now, let's talk about Bush. Mike has already attacked him for spending his time clearing brush in Crawford rather than, well, he doesn't really say. Presumably Bush was supposed spending his time planning the flood defenses of New Orleans, which of course is ridiculous.

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Much has been made over the fact that Bush didn't rush to complete construction of the levee around New Orleans on his watch. Well, guess what? We've known that New Orleans is vulnerable to hurricanes at least since Hurricane Betsy struck in 1965. The problem didn't suddenly arise when Bush took office. So if we accept the argument that the POTUS is in charge of assuring the security of that city, then that means that LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton and Bush 43 all bear some of the blame. But don't take my word for it:

"It has been known for a long time that New Orleans was not adequately protected from the worst storms," says Paul Kemp, an oceanographer at LSU's Hurricane Center.

Bush also finds himself under fire for an inadequate response to the disaster once it occurred. Like I said in my comments earlier, I find it depressing that when a hurricane hits that people look to Washington first for a response. But nevermind that. Here's what Bush said in his speech after the hurricane hit:

FEMA has deployed more than 50 disaster medical assistance teams from all across the country to help the affected -- to help those in the affected areas. FEMA has deployed more than 25 urban search and rescue teams with more than a thousand personnel to help save as many lives as possible. The United States Coast Guard is conducting search and rescue missions. They're working alongside local officials, local assets. The Coast Guard has rescued nearly 2,000 people to date.

The Department of Defense is deploying major assets to the region. These include the USS Bataan to conduct search and rescue missions; eight swift water rescue teams; the Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group to help with disaster response equipment; and the hospital ship USNS Comfort to help provide medical care.

The National Guard has nearly 11,000 Guardsmen on state active duty to assist governors and local officials with security and disaster response efforts. FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers are working around the clock with Louisiana officials to repair the breaches in the levees so we can stop the flooding in New Orleans.

Our second priority is to sustain lives by ensuring adequate food, water, shelter and medical supplies for survivors and dedicated citizens -- dislocated citizens. FEMA is moving supplies and equipment into the hardest hit areas. The Department of Transportation has provided more than 400 trucks to move 1,000 truckloads containing 5.4 million Meals Ready to Eat -- or MREs, 13.4 million liters of water, 10,400 tarps, 3.4 million pounds of ice, 144 generators, 20 containers of pre-positioned disaster supplies, 135,000 blankets and 11,000 cots. And we're just starting.

There are more than 78,000 people now in shelters. HHS and CDC are working with local officials to identify operating hospital facilities so we can help them, help the nurses and doctors provide necessary medical care. They're distributing medical supplies, and they're executing a public health plan to control disease and other health-related issues that might arise.

So plainly there has been a response. Has it been enough? Probably not. Who bears the blame for that? Well, judging by the media, Bush alone. But as columnist Daniel Henninger notes:

It has been reported in past days how the relief agencies, such as the Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA are struggling; basics such as food distribution are in disarray. On paper anyway, many of these problems had already been addressed. By law, FEMA requires all states, if they are to receive grant money, to file both pre- and post-catastrophe mitigation plans. Experts in Louisiana, and indeed New Orleans, have been drafting one for several years.

That would seem to suggest that local authorities bear at least some responsibility as well. It's also worth noting that someone who has walked in Bush's shoes -- Bill Clinton -- is urging against blaming the current White House occupant.

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Maybe the larger lesson in all of this, as Henninger suggests, is that government isn't very responsive. Indeed, it is perhaps worth noting that my aunt, who works for Home Depot in Texas, began preparations to head for LA within 48 hours of the hurricane to assist with relief efforts at the direction of corporate headquarters (nasty corporations!).

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Now, back to my vacation...

EDIT: After reading this post, I want to emphasize that Bush does bear some of the blame. Cutting funding for the levees will no doubt go down as a bad call. The point of this post is not to absolve him of blame, but to add some context, and counter this notion that everytime something bad happens that it's all Dubya's fault.