Mea culpa.
I just realised that the WaPo article I linked to in my post from Sunday is the very article that contains that bogus claim -- presented straight -- from the White House official saying that Governor Blanco had never declared a state of emergency in Louisiana. Josh Marshall shot that one down before I even linked to the piece (of course, the article is still pretty devastating to everyone involved, bogus quote or no bogus quote. Though, not surprisingly, the White House fares the worst). This is why I keep this a semi-private blog; there's so much info flying around, it's easy to mess up.
Why, though, if Governor Blanco's administration was aware of what was coming as early as August 26th, was the pre-hurricane evacuation so pathetic as not to include vehicles to get the carless out of the city? That's on the feds as much, or more than it is on Blanco or Nagin. But still, as terrible as the aftermath of the storm has been, the response seems to have been as much of a dithering mess before the storm as after. According to the Guardian timeline, Nagin first recommended evacuating New Orleans on Saturday and made it manditory on Sunday the 28th. Also on Saturday, the 27th, Blanco sent her official letter to the White House requesting federal aid and the declaration of a national emergency for the state, retrospective to Friday the 26th. The first national guard troops were heading to the Gulf region as early as Friday as well. The hurricane didn't hit until Monday the 29th. Every level of government -- local, state, federal -- evidently had some inkling of what was coming; there were plenty of warnings being made about the levee system too. But not nearly enough was done. When the levees broke on Monday night, all those people were still in the city. Pretty much all the horror we've seen since then is because they weren't helped or forced (however you want to look at it) to evacuate.
There's plenty of blame to go around for what happened before the flood. But I think the concensus is right: the biggest villain here is still definitely FEMA, who messed up before, during and after the flood. And the decline of FEMA rests squarely with the current federal government. Blanco and Nagin might be blue dogs, but they're not fundamentally, philisophically opposed to the very existence of active, functional government (Blanco, for instance, attacked her GOP opponent for the governorship in 2003 over health care cuts), which is more than you can say than for a crowd who would hand over control of the country's foremost civilian rescue agency to the president's former chief of staff's college roomate, while rounding out operations with some other, less illustrious, campaign hacks. With that precedent, the White House ought to be careful where it plays the "blame game".
Anyway, Alexandra Starr in TNR follows up on the strategy behind that bogus claim the Bushies dropped on the WaPo and suggests it's a bad idea to tangle with Blanco, whatever her virtues and vices.
Blanco, who appears to be girding for a fight with the administration, could make things complicated for Bush. A big part of Bush's p.r. effort seems to involve making multiple appearances in the devastated region. When Blanco belatedly learned about Bush's visit earlier this week, she cleared her schedule and joined the president on his tour of Baton Rouge--and their obvious mutual dislike dominated subsequent news reports. (Witness the extent of Blanco's remarks when she introduced Bush: "I know I don't need to make any other introduction other than 'Mr. President.'") And it's not just photo-ops that could be marred by the simmering tension. Blanco recently hired former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief James Lee Witt to advise her on recovery efforts (a move that suggested just how much faith she has in the maligned current FEMA director Michael Brown). Witt was widely lauded for turning FEMA around during his tenure from 1993 to 2000. If the White House and Blanco do end up pointing fingers more openly, any criticism Witt levies at the Bush administration would carry weight.
Senator Mary Landrieu has already been messing with Bush's p.r. routine. Maybe Karl Rove should think about calling off his leaking thugs before the Admin ends up taking on more southern belles with D's behind their names than it can handle at one time. After all, Haley Barbour can only do so much.
Why, though, if Governor Blanco's administration was aware of what was coming as early as August 26th, was the pre-hurricane evacuation so pathetic as not to include vehicles to get the carless out of the city? That's on the feds as much, or more than it is on Blanco or Nagin. But still, as terrible as the aftermath of the storm has been, the response seems to have been as much of a dithering mess before the storm as after. According to the Guardian timeline, Nagin first recommended evacuating New Orleans on Saturday and made it manditory on Sunday the 28th. Also on Saturday, the 27th, Blanco sent her official letter to the White House requesting federal aid and the declaration of a national emergency for the state, retrospective to Friday the 26th. The first national guard troops were heading to the Gulf region as early as Friday as well. The hurricane didn't hit until Monday the 29th. Every level of government -- local, state, federal -- evidently had some inkling of what was coming; there were plenty of warnings being made about the levee system too. But not nearly enough was done. When the levees broke on Monday night, all those people were still in the city. Pretty much all the horror we've seen since then is because they weren't helped or forced (however you want to look at it) to evacuate.
There's plenty of blame to go around for what happened before the flood. But I think the concensus is right: the biggest villain here is still definitely FEMA, who messed up before, during and after the flood. And the decline of FEMA rests squarely with the current federal government. Blanco and Nagin might be blue dogs, but they're not fundamentally, philisophically opposed to the very existence of active, functional government (Blanco, for instance, attacked her GOP opponent for the governorship in 2003 over health care cuts), which is more than you can say than for a crowd who would hand over control of the country's foremost civilian rescue agency to the president's former chief of staff's college roomate, while rounding out operations with some other, less illustrious, campaign hacks. With that precedent, the White House ought to be careful where it plays the "blame game".
Anyway, Alexandra Starr in TNR follows up on the strategy behind that bogus claim the Bushies dropped on the WaPo and suggests it's a bad idea to tangle with Blanco, whatever her virtues and vices.
Blanco, who appears to be girding for a fight with the administration, could make things complicated for Bush. A big part of Bush's p.r. effort seems to involve making multiple appearances in the devastated region. When Blanco belatedly learned about Bush's visit earlier this week, she cleared her schedule and joined the president on his tour of Baton Rouge--and their obvious mutual dislike dominated subsequent news reports. (Witness the extent of Blanco's remarks when she introduced Bush: "I know I don't need to make any other introduction other than 'Mr. President.'") And it's not just photo-ops that could be marred by the simmering tension. Blanco recently hired former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief James Lee Witt to advise her on recovery efforts (a move that suggested just how much faith she has in the maligned current FEMA director Michael Brown). Witt was widely lauded for turning FEMA around during his tenure from 1993 to 2000. If the White House and Blanco do end up pointing fingers more openly, any criticism Witt levies at the Bush administration would carry weight.
Senator Mary Landrieu has already been messing with Bush's p.r. routine. Maybe Karl Rove should think about calling off his leaking thugs before the Admin ends up taking on more southern belles with D's behind their names than it can handle at one time. After all, Haley Barbour can only do so much.
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