Now that the initial sound and fury of the AP’s “exclusive new videos” (which were neither exclusive nor new) that were hyped so heavily earlier this week has passed, folks are taking a long look at just what is on those tapes. And it turns out that a few things were kind of overlooked in the “blame Bush” hype.
For example, this little inconvenient fact:
- At 9:12 a.m. on August 29, 2005, the National Weather Service had received reports of a levee breach in New Orleans and issued a flash-flood warning.
- Shortly after noon that same day, Governor Kathleen Blanco assured Bush administration officials that no levees had breached.
Now, my instinct would normally tell me to chalk this up to the chaos and confusion of the moment in the wake of a totally unprecedented magnitude of disaster in modern US history, and to note that NWS had already issued its alerts, but since folks want to make the blame game here a blood sport, I think we ought to call for Blanco to resign or be removed from office, and possibly charged with numerous counts of negligent homicide.
And possibly a lawsuit from Hershey, for allowing the destruction of Ray Nagin’s “Chocolate City.”
Did I miss any of the standard talking points?
The Hershey comment is priceless….
Yes, yes it was, Tom.
Actually, we’ve been calling for Blanco’s removal since right after the storm, for whatever *that’s* worth…
I have to say, I believe I was the first one out with a “Hershey” reference… not certain, but I think so… anyway, just wanted to gloat.
http://www.rightwinged.com/2006/01/nola_mayor_nagin_wants_a_choco.html
I also wanted to say that I don’t know if Blanco can be charged, considering Nagin will have already been charged and convicted of the same exact crimes.
I have to say it’s rather pathetic the lengths you Bushbots are going to prove the president did a heck of a job on the Katrina response. Even Ed Rollins has given up on this loser at this point. Why are you guys still hanging on? You want Blanco? Take her. WHO CARES??? She’s the governor of the state of Louisiana. National disasters call for more than just a state and local response. If Katrina wasn’t a textbook case for the need for a federal response, I don’t know what possibly could be…
No one covered themselves in glory in this case — not Blanco, not Ray Nagin, certainly not Michael Chertoff or even the rehabilitated Mr. Brown. But the president’s clear disengagement, his administration’s blatant incompetance, and that of his hirelings (especially Chertoff, it turns out) is clear enoug for all but the most — I really have to say desperate — Bush cultists to see.
Give it up, man. Bush is incompetant. End of story. Enough with the parsing (“he said topped!!! not breached!!!”) enough with the desperate Blanco defense (“prosecute HER, and leave my beloved president alone!!!”) Get … over … it.
Your president is a failure. Deal with it.
(And I mean that with love, Wizbang. You’re doing a heck of a job.)
Hmmmm.
Really? And how was President Bush disengaged?
When he requested a mandatory evacuation prior to Katrina hitting land? Something that Ray Nagin delayed until it was too late and then didn’t actually bother to make it mandatory?
When he and his staff repeatedly called Blanco to offer help and to ask how things were going? Where Blanco repeatedly refused federal help!
Here’s a clue for you: The President’s powers within this country are very much proscribed by the Constitution and by acts of Congress. This is specifically to prevent the President from ever become a tyrant, but it also serves to hinder his responses. Something that you very much don’t understand.
Christ it’s like beating a dead horse over and over again with you liberals. But no matter how many times you scream about this, it doesn’t make it true. And here’s something else for you: If you liberals stop talking about it right now there’s a chance your version of events will be the one remembered. But the more you yap about it the more the truth comes out.
Keep it up. Pretty soon the whole country will understand just how completely incompetent Blanco and Nagin were and how much that prevented federal help.
I recall some politician – I think it was a senator – being interviewed by phone on one of the cable news channels and denying, live, that there was any flooding while they showed images of exactly that.