Even Bush Supporters

For those that think the current criticism of the federal government's handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is nothing more than liberal partisans beating up on Bush, The Moderate Voice links to a dynamite essay by the conservative TV commentator and former Congressman, oe Scarbourough. Scarbourough, who hails from Florida, knows a thing or two about hurricanes. Here are some excerpts:

First he call the President on his...umm, crap:

"...the bottom line is that despite the fact the president was strapped with two governors who bungled this crisis badly, in the end it is the president who sends in the National Guard and FEMA relief.

The president's suggestion that the size of this storm caught all by surprise just doesn't get it. His administration was 48 hours late sending in the National Guard and poor Americans got raped and killed because of those mistakes."

Then he turns to FEMA head, Michael Brown:

"FEMA’s Michael Brown also shoulders the burden for the suffering in New Orleans. His claim that no one knew of the suffering on the ground until Thursday defies logic. America knew the crescent city was drifting toward chaos on well before Tuesday. Why didn't the man in charge of disaster relief know the same thing?"

The governors of Mississippi and Louisiana don't get off easy either:

"...the first responders in any hurricane are local and state officials. When Florida was struck by four hurricanes last year, Governor Jeb Bush was nothing short of spectacular. Louisiana Governor Blanco was breathtakingly clueless as were other Louisiana officials. The deaths of many lay on their doorsteps.

One state over, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour continues to claim that Katrina caught him by surprise, telling one reporter that it was after all a cat one storm after crossing Florida. That useless fact doesn't erase the fact that the entire Gulf Coast was put on alert as early as Friday that this storm would be historic.

If Barbour thought Katrina would be little more than a category one storm, then he is not to be trusted organizing his sock drawer — let alone the most tragic natural disaster to ever hit his state."

Scarbourough's overall assessment is that government failed. People didn't die because of race or poverty, but because of ineptitude at all levels.

In the coming weeks and months, as New Orleans slowly and painfully recovers, the nation needs to ask its leaders at all levels some hard questions and demand a full accounting. We have to stop saying this is a Republican or Democratic problem. This is a national problem filled with blame all around. The people need to tell its leaders to get its act together and partisan hacks need to stop defending their leaders and work for towards a solution. Americans deserve no less.