Mitch,

No one, certainly not me, has ever said Nagin didn't share some responsibility, the issue is that you are nearly incapable of putting the blame where it lies, namely, with an ideology that says starving and ignoring necessary civic development is a good thing because those protections and programs are a waste. We've seen starkly just how necessary they really are, and it's only through the apathy of the press that we don't see them more often. The press is apathetic because WE as a people are.

The flat fact of the matter is that Nagin had very limited resources to do anything to prevent the loss of life in New Orleans. The National Guard as well as others, advised that the Superdome was safer than anywhere else Nagin had the authority to send them. Yes Nagin and Blanco certainly could have, and should have, arranged for a spot in Baton Rouge, St. Charles, Lafeyette, or even Shreveport, but HE had 1% of the manpower and resources necessary to effect that.

Blanco had more at her disposal, and I've heard, though it's unconfirmed, that she refused to allow the federalization of her Nat. Guard units. If so, that's rather deplorable, unless it was because she already saw how terribly beaurocratic and ineffective the "lean and mean" federal services were. (I don't mean the military btw). Even so, IF the President asked, she should have complied. Even without her assent though, the President easily could have simply ordered it. The reason he didn't is the same reason he failed to act in a reasonable manner and in time, he didn't know how bad it was because he is intellectually incurious and didn't care to find out. Both he, and Blanco were warned last year of the potential impact, both by simulation and by Charley's near miss.

The bottom line though is, that if we stack up the capacity to act, Nagin owned about 1% of the capability, Blanco maybe 20% and Bush/Feds 79%. Beyond that, story after story coming from New Orleans descibes a FEMA that was in the way, borish, inept, and beligerant. The hammer falls where it should here, because the President, through contempt, appointed political hacks to increadibly important positions, and then starved the system again because of contempt or at least, indifference. It was irresponsible prior to 9/11, but after?? I personally think it's reasonable to think of impeachment.

So, when I say you are part of a spin machine, equating it with money is a dodge at best. You willfully participate in the echo-chamber of the right, even though cogent analysis of the capacity and overall governance responsibility must conclude that the US Government, with it's regional responsibility, Military and disaster relief capacity, and it's weather and strategic anayslis capability, dropped the ball far more importantly and impactfully than any other agent.

Attempting to shift that blame makes you look like a chattering chimp (to me), interested more in making sure your side doesn't take a hit, than in working to ensure the causes are identified so that this tragedy doesn't have to repeat itself.

PB

What color is the sky in your world?

I have a noise machine that I use when I travel; it provides a soothing ambient background that covers up whatever noise might disturb my sleep.

I can only imagine that a right-wing noise machine would be even better! What dreams may come....

"I personally think it's reasonable to think of impeachment."

Seeing as how you've no doubt been thinking that since sometime around November 2000, I'm not entirely surprised.

PB

Do you have any experience with local emergency planning? Ever served on the local civil defense committee or participated in disaster preparedness drills? Your post doesn’t sound like it. It sounds as if you think the feds are responsible to do everything because they have more people and equipment. You’re completely wrong.

The entire system of American government is built on the premise that local people understand local problems and can devise local solutions better than some bureaucrat in an office thousands of miles away. The Mayor is supposed to execute his city’s disaster plan, recognizing when they need help and of what kind, and passing his request for help up the line to the county or state. There is a clear chain of command and responsibility starts at the bottom.

It’s not the President’s job to know the St. Paul blizzard emergency plan, the Denver derailment disaster plan, or the New Orleans hurricane/flooding plan. That’s the Mayor’s job, assisted by the county and state as requested upon request. They failed miserably.

The quality of your posts would improve if you actually knew what you were talking about. I suggest you visit your local civil defense agency and volunteer to work on their next disaster preparedness drill.

"The flat fact of the matter is that Nagin had very limited resources to do anything to prevent the loss of life in New Orleans. "

All he had to do - and what he was committed to do under "the plan" - was to evacuate people. Period. He and Blanco waffled on evacuation (and, famously, allowed the city's entire stockpile of buses to get washed out).

You have said at least twice now that Nagin had "no resources" to effect the evacuation. Please support this claim via some independent source. What - were city buses being turned away from the gas pumps for non-payment? What "budget" would it have taken - in an emergency situation, no less - to have done what he was supposed to do, which was haul his evacuees to where the Feds were, per "the plan", waiting?

As to "trying to keep my side from taking a hit" - Pffft. "My side" is taking all sorts of hits from the media, most of them biased, most of them either outright wrong (racism a factor? Give me a break) or woefully and misleadingly out of context ("the feds dropped the ball" - a ball that under the plan they weren't supposed to have picked up in the first place, the part about moving the people around!). I'm hitting back.

I get to do that.

The condescending attitude exhibited by PB and like-minded thinkers is what I find somewhat astounding. His inherent belief is that the people of New Orleans and Louisiana are so incapable of self government that they cannot be expected to employ the assets which they own in a manner which gives people without transporation in New Orleans a means to evacuate from a storm which is known to be approaching for several days. Thus, it falls upon bureaucracies elsewhere to evacuate after the fact.

I'll say it again: if the PBs of the world have their way, and the evacuation of major American cities becomes primarily a federal responsibility, thus giving citizens even less reason to pay attention to their local and state governments, tremendous harm will have been done, harm which will make future catastrophes even worse.

To quote that famous "Conservative" politician Tip O'Neill "All politics is local".

PB, PB, PB. "...intellectually incurious and didn't care to find out"??? Please. I wish someone on the left would decide once and for all if Bush is a stupid chimp or an evil genius, and let the rest of us know.
So, to recap: Blanco and Nagin were imcompetent. Bush did not foresee the incomprehensible level of stupidity displayed by local and state officials, and did not trample on the accepted local > state > federal chain of command fast enough (although if he had he would have been savaged for wresting authority from a Democratic governor). For that he gets 79% of the blame. Nice.
If we were playing poker I'd "see" your Bush impeachment and "raise" you criminal negligence on the part of Blanco and Nagin.

What we really ought to do is launch an investigation to ascertain why the good people of Louisiana and New Orleans elected a governor and mayor with a combined capability of only 21%. Now, THAT'S a scandal.

Did they count all the votes?

Criticism becomes incoherence when Bush is an slobbering idiot except when he's an evil mastermind, and he is a quasi-dictator except when he doesn't act enough like a dictator.
(Colby Cosh has a great riff on the left blasting Bushitler for not acting enough like a dictator and usurping Blanco's authority.)

The blogosphere must be making headways because I heard Chris Matthews, of all people, ask a mayor in North Carolina what role FEMA played, what role the Mayor played & the role that the governor played.

Just as the blogosphere has reported for almost 2 weeks, the mayor said that he was responsible for getting his city evacuated & that he was supposed to call the governor if he needed additional resources & that the governor would contact FEMA if additional resources were needed.

You could've knocked me over with a feather at that point. Who would've thought that the Agenda Media would get a story straight? My crystal ball isn't that good.

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