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September 02, 2005

Thank You President Clinton. Seriously.

Captain Ed points out a CNN interview with former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush in which Clinton takes issue with the blame game the media has played regarding the federal response.

CLINTON: Yes, I think that's important to point out. Because when you say that they should have done this, that or the other thing first, you can look at that problem in isolation, and you can say that.

But look at all the other things they had to deal with. I'm telling you, nobody thought this was going to happen like this. But what happened here is they escaped -- New Orleans escaped Katrina. But it brought all the water up the Mississippi River and all in the Pontchartrain, and then when it started running and that levee broke, they had problems they never could have foreseen.

And so I just think that we need to recognize right now there's a confident effort under way. People are doing the best they can. And I just don't think it's the time to worry about that. We need to keep people alive and get them back to life -- normal life.

I watched some CNN coverage today, and it was awful. I know things are bad in New Orleans, but Wolf Blitzer's reports focused relentlessly on the negative. He reported every rumor, every unsubstantiated story and harped on the lack of federal response thus far. The reporting all seemed to have one goal - lay this at the feet of President Bush.

President Clinton, in this interview, called the media on it and rightly so. For this, I thank him.

Now, I think Bush's speech yesterday was lackluster, and the federal response has been slower than perhaps it should have been, but I do realize that this is a disaster on a scale not ever seen before in the United States. And to be honest, I'm pretty disgusted with the reaction of the American left. They seem almost desperate to cast blame on Bush for this disaster - he should have known about the levees, he cut funding for this program or that.

Let's face the facts. Those levees are old. Really old. People have known for decades that they would fail if a Category 4 or 5 storm hit. Despite knowing this, New Orlean's city leaders did nothing to improve the levee system for decades. American liberals who are now screaming about this being Bush's fault didn't seem to care all that much about New Orleans or its levees before the issue became a convenient political club with which to beat the administration.

I find it sad that for many on the left, the first reaction was to pore over federal budgets and look for a way to pin this on the president. I may not be pleased with the federal reaction, but what I really don't like is the speed and the glee with which his political opponents are latching onto a national crisis to score political points.

If you don't believe me, take a look at Michael Moore's site. Yes, there's some links there to charities, but there's much more complaining and Bush-bashing. He's even complaining about the fact that yucky religious people are in there helping out.

PAT ROBERTSON: Bush uses the tragedy to push government partnerships with faith-based groups -- "Government agencies are working with faith-based and community groups to find shelters for thousands of displaced person."

And indeed, FEMA is directing people to donate to faith-based groups, and at the top of their list is Pat Robertson's "Operation Blessing."

Oh no! What if they get their religious right cooties on the food and water they hand out? What will we do then? I'm not a fan of Robertson at all, but come on...how badly do you have to hate a guy to resent the fact that an organization he started is going to help victims of a natural disaster?

I think there may be legitimate questions to ask about FEMA, about the levees, about the response of the federal government and the Bush administration. All I ask is that we do it later. Right now, let's worry about finding homes for the homeless, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and giving the thirsty a bottle of water.

Is that too much to ask?

For some, the answer is 'yes.'

I never thought I'd say this, but nice work, MoveOn.

Posted by slublog at September 2, 2005 12:00 AM

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