Huricane Katrina: The Infomercial
I’ll give Bush some credit for focusing on poverty reduction and home ownership in his speech this eve. And for again accepting some responsibility. But that whole 1-877-xxx-xxxx bit was strange. Not only did it scream “But wait! There’s more!!” but it seems to me that it’s a bit late in the game to start advertising toll-free methods of reuniting family members separated by the storm. Shouldn’t that have started a week ago?
And I must say that I still sensed a lack of urgency. I get that this isn’t a President known for his speech-making and rhetorical ability to convey emotions. But he is generally quite capable of expressing these sorts of feelings when talking about his upcoming vacation or his new nickname for a foreign dignitary. Why not in the midst of a national crisis?
For me, a valuable comparison has been to the whole Terri Schiavo mess six months ago. Remember? Congress passed a “Save Terri!” bill and President Bush was woken up in the middle of the night and flown from his Crawford “ranch” to sign it. The explanation for the urgency then was “Hours matter. A woman’s life is on the line.”
Yes. Hours matter. Food for thought post-Katrina?
And I must say that I still sensed a lack of urgency. I get that this isn’t a President known for his speech-making and rhetorical ability to convey emotions. But he is generally quite capable of expressing these sorts of feelings when talking about his upcoming vacation or his new nickname for a foreign dignitary. Why not in the midst of a national crisis?
For me, a valuable comparison has been to the whole Terri Schiavo mess six months ago. Remember? Congress passed a “Save Terri!” bill and President Bush was woken up in the middle of the night and flown from his Crawford “ranch” to sign it. The explanation for the urgency then was “Hours matter. A woman’s life is on the line.”
Yes. Hours matter. Food for thought post-Katrina?
posted by OleNelson at 11:33 PM
3 Comments:
Apparently it's harder to reply to a serious post than a light-hearted one. Here are my 3 fen:
As much as I would like to concur with ham-radio lady or Kanye, the proverbial finger cannot be pointed in merely one direction. FEMA made a poor excuse of a timely effort -- Bush's vacation was halted a bit too late -- those who wished to stay on Bourbon Street to party should have evacuated... But what can anyone do now but more forward and learn some important lessons from the past?
I don't mwan to sound un-American or what have you, but really, shame on us. For decades we have our prided ourselves as the "city (nation) on the hill" and when push comes to shove we can't -- or won't -- save our own.
Apparently it's harder to reply to a serious post than a light-hearted one. Here are my 3 fen:
As much as I would like to concur with ham-radio lady or Kanye, the proverbial finger cannot be pointed in merely one direction. FEMA made a poor excuse of a timely effort -- Bush's vacation was halted a bit too late -- those who wished to stay on Bourbon Street to party should have evacuated... But what can anyone do now but more forward and learn some important lessons from the past?
I don't mean to sound un-American or what have you, but really, shame on us. For decades we have our prided ourselves as the "city (nation) on the hill," yet when push comes to shove we can't -- or won't -- save our own.
Sorry - didn't mean to publish that text twice!!
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