Famously Conservative New Hampshire 'Union Leader' Rips Bush Response

[sabra]

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001052874

Famously Conservative New Hampshire 'Union Leader' Rips Bush Response to Katrina

NEW YORK One of the most stalwart conservative newspapers in the nation, the Union Leader of New Hampshire, today blasted President George W. Bush's response to the great Gulf Coast hurricane. Later in the day, the president did arrive back at the White House from the west.

An excerpt from the newspaper's editorial follows.

*

Katrina already is measured as one of the worst storms in American history. And yet, President Bush decided that his plans to commemorate the 60th anniversary of VJ Day with a speech were more pressing than responding to the carnage.

A better leader would have flown straight to the disaster zone and announced the immediate mobilization of every available resource to rescue the stranded, find and bury the dead, and keep the survivors fed, clothed, sheltered and free of disease.

The cool, confident, intuitive leadership Bush exhibited in his first term, particularly in the months immediately following Sept. 11, 2001, has vanished. In its place is a diffident detachment unsuitable for the leader of a nation facing war, natural disaster and economic uncertainty.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

1. I listened to his speech

Thought it was pretty lame and I'm not being partison. I think this disaster is something all of us should care about no matter what our political feelings.

This was a golden oppurtunity for Chimpy but he did not live up to the task.

[sabra]

3. all he did was regurgitated info that was already known

and then said it's going to take several years to recover. I don't forget god bless...

[rodeodance]

13. chewed the cud as they say in cow country

[krkaufman]

27. Yep, just a restatement of the obvious and known. n/t

[physioex]

5. That's right....

And don't forget when the country was under attack Chimpy was trying to read "My Pet Goat".....

[bpilgrim]

18. He told Americans to call 1-800 for help?!? where r our TROOPS?!?

:argh:

peace

[puddycat]

2. That is really critical, at least for that paper. n/t

[WCGreen]

4. It is critical for any newspaper.....

[Bluerthanblue]

22. YOU SAID IT- one of the most pro 'right-wing' rags in my

knowledge-
This is such a breath of honest fresh air,- in all this b.s.- That the ONION LEADER would dis the despot, in such 'right on' comments is .... unbelievable - and a sure sign, that Katrina is NOT going to be 'sept ll redux'.

You obviously know the Leader- i've known it since Mel Thompson/William and Nacky Loeb days.-

[physioex]

6. Ok...This is an Editorial is it LBN? EOM

[mom cat]

21. The "news" is where it was printed! That makes it worthy of LBN.

[Bluerthanblue]

25. Knowing the UL (and i DO) this IS a BIG dis- and important

evidence that the emperor is being seen for the naked fool he is.-

[chicagiana]

7. A good leader would have ...

A good leader would have mobilized the resources when it became clear that New Orleans would be struck by a category 5 hurricane. The boots should have been ready to move into the city the MOMENT the hurricane cleared.

[karynnj]

47. An even better leader would never have reduced the levee work

to save money for tax cuts. An improved levee system would not have avoided a large amount of damage, but it could have prevented the utter destruction that has taken place and it was predictable. My daughter in HS Freshman Earth Science had to read a book that explained how we attempted to control nature by re-routing the Mississippi and dynamically raising and lowering water levels to keep things in balance. It was clear that nature at some point would not be controlled - and it was very important to constantly work to provide a path of least resistance in non-built up areas.

The kids in the class, who found the book tediously written, all ended up understanding enough to know that the prevention work was critical. My daughter actually was explaining to some adults how N.O. was basically below sea water and that there had to be a balance between the fresh water going out to sea and the salt water that could come in from the gulf. If 14-15 year olds could understand the problem, if they cared the administration could too. It was a risk they were willing to take. Again, they were playing with lives.

[Mz Pip]

8. It's hard not to rip him, really.

I watched this thing unfold two days before it hit. It was all over the news. It was coming and while the exact impact point was not certain you could be pretty damn sure it wasn't hitting Maine.

So where was the preparation? Where was the mobilization of support services and the National Guard? 3 days after the fact the Feds are sort of waking up to the fact they have a huge disaster on their hands. What the fuck have they been doing all week?

Mz Pip
:dem:

[calimary]

36. Um... yeah... hurricanes are not like the earthquakes we have here

in California. No warning for them. THIS hurricane was in the making for days, and so was the coverage of it. The weather stories were already leading newscasts WAY before the storm hit. So what was this shithead doing? Sitting around on vacation with his thumb up his arrogant, lazy, self-absorbed ass. It wasn't like there was no warning. It wasn't like ANYONE was caught flat-footed. I mean, a Category FIVE hurricane does get a fair amount of publicity...

ASSHOLE. As Jon Stewart said in one of his recent "Daily Show" commentaries - (paraphrasing) "if it's August and the world is going to Hell, we all know where our 'fearless leader' is - off on vacation." Or as a teaser for one of Will Pitt's recent pieces described it - "the guy who takes more vacations than a French aristocrat."

SCHMUCK!!!

JACKASS!!!!

FUCKWAD!!!!

Sorry - can't help it. I just seethe. Good LORD I hope people wake up and that SOMEBODY starts holding him accountable. :grr:

[Nightwing]

43. Kick!!

You are dead on with your comments and I echo your sentiments regarding *. Never in my life have I ever hated a president so much. Just the sight of him makes my skin crawl and any time I see his smirking mug on camera I can't resist the urge to flip him off.

[Neshanic]

9. The cool, confident, intuitive leadership Bush exhibited....

in his first term.

"Has vanished"

So what is the explanation? Does the paper put forth the "Two Monkey" theory? What could possibly be the cause?

Maybe it was all show. He had the audience in his hand. He had his "Trifecta". Now we have seen the show, and see the strings that make him dance.

Poor freaking saps at that paper.

[calimary]

37. Sorry, I must have missed that first term. I didn't see any "cool,

confident, intuitive leadership" exhibited by him at all. All I saw was a lot of coddling, simpering PR blowjobs. Monica might not have been working in this White House, but SOMEBODY was... A whole bunch of somebodies, actually.

[Writer]

10. How about this, idiot editors, what we saw after the terror attacks...

was just an act. A boy playing Wild West Sheriff who was going to 'round up the in'juns.

It's all an act. This man you long to return never existed in the first place.

[speedoo]

30. Neshanic and Writer...

you nailed it. Thanks.

[Mad_Dem_X]

45. "Never existed in the first place" - EXACTLY

Remember how he ran and hid for three days after 9/11? That is not leadership. W was *never* a leader.

[Sunkiss BlueStar]

11. Ok but

My pet goat was a little too cool confident and intuitive

[rodeodance]

12. whow. grand. bring it ON!!

[Vogon_Glory]

14. Say Bye-Bye to The Union-Leader's White House Press Passes

Uh-oh, the Union-Leader did a naughty boo-boo. They weren't servile enough for Imperious Leader.

There goes the Union Leader's White House press passes!

[Neshanic]

15. Not really, a bald studly male hooker on staff would do wonders for them.

[Nothing Without Hope]

35. ROFL!!! You deserve this Jen Sorensen cartoon - an oldy but goodie

[existentialist]

16. Wasn't he always

Wasn't he always diffidently detached?

[AspenRose]

17. Yes, but I think some in NH wanted to remain willfully ignorant

Like my Rush-listening father-in-law.

[Bluerthanblue]

26. Hey now, not just NH- as a matter of fact, he LOST the primary to

McCain- and it pissed him off no-end. He figured we were an 'ace in the hole'- he got a big surprise- but it didn't last long.
And how many people 'got behind' Bush after the 11th on ALL sides (i didn't- i was furious with him, and his grandstanding macho response).
I'm so glad that he IS losing even the most RW of supporters tho- this is GREAT news in a time when there doesn't seem much great news to be found.

(i'm sensitive, because there ARE alot of NHites who have worked hard, to have OUR voices heard.)

[Old Mouse]

19. Bush's speech made clear his priorities

The opportunity to override of state emission standards is more important than saving lives.

[SoCalDem]

20. He was never cool and confident

He was stunned and confused and merely parroted what he was told to say.. the Shill in the "audience" 'fed' him the line.."We can't hear you".. He took the cue and voiced his next 'line'..:puke:

[antonialee839]

31. Didn't it take him three days of roaming the country

after 911 to show up and give the appearance of being "cool and confident"?

[SoCalDem]

33. From Tuesday AM until Friday afternoon

He hid like a scared rabbit hopping all over the country.. blamed it on the SS.."they wouldn't "let" him come back sooner...

[Strelnikov_]

23. But Blowin' Up Brown People Is So Much More Rewarding

Disaster relief is hard, it's hard work!!

[mzmolly]

24. Hmmm, will the right wing soon declare him a hero for another Presidential

failure?

"Wherever the old George W. Bush went, we sure wish we had him back." ~ Uhm, it IS the "same old George W. Bush" you freaking dumb-asses, you're just now smelling the coffee.

[BrightKnight]

28. The response to this disaster has been very bad.

:rant:

The Corps of Engineers has done nothing. The National Guard is MIA. People are dying because the rescue effort is undermanned. The Police are corrupt.

The fools waited until today to evacuate the Superdome. Idiots!

Mr. Bush is a sick joke as usual. Homeland Security has proved that they are nothing more then a Repiggy pork program.

I understand that the mayor was denied resources that he has requested. The Repugs are either assuring that there are no heroes here or they can't govern their way out of a paper bag.

-----

In the event of a WMD attack we are screwed. It would take them 6 months to assemble resources and decide how to deal with the situation and another couple of years to implement the fatally flawed plan. Everyone would be dead.

[AllyCat]

29. Has anyone heard about Mike Savage dissing the Prez?

I heard through the grapevine that he had skewered the speech and said something about Bush* not being a leader (which we all knew, but to hear SAVAGE say that?). Is it true?

[FVZA_Colonel]

38. He did say that.

He also trashed price gougers (I am certain about oil companies, but there could have been more) as no better than the looters.

[durablend]

44. He even had a heating oil dealer call in

And say that the public are definitely being gouged/ripped off.

If a DEALER is saying it, then we MUST be totally FUBAR

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

32. BREAKING! Editor pulls head out of ass and discovers head has been up ass.

[PinkyisBlue]

34. Union Liar (aka Union Leader)

Yes, this is your typical conservative newspaper that commends Bush's every hand gesture as "great leadership", so the fact that it is openly very critical of him speaks volumes. The President's support is fading.

The paper I read, the Concord Monitor (part of the "liberal press"), noted that the federal agency that is supposed to respond to natural disasters, FEMA, has been severely cut under this administration, and that it now falls under the jurisdiction of Homeland Security.

I wonder when Halliburton will get the no-bid contract to rebuild New Orleans?

[maveric]

39. My Dad wrote for the UL, late 50's and was fired for not conforming

to the paper's political leanings. They fired him for his liberal approach to writing and reporting.
Dad always told me that the UL was supposed to appeal to the upstate pig farmers.
I'm very surprised the Leader is actually attacking bu$h.

[JoFerret]

40. Newsweek agrees - leadership failures

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9148526/site/newsweek/

...Beyond the poll numbers, the Bush administration faces some immediate, urgent challenges—and serious questions about its response to the disaster. For all the president’s statements ahead of the hurricane, the region seemed woefully unprepared for the flooding of New Orleans—a catastrophe that has long been predicted by experts and politicians alike. There seems to have been no contingency planning for a total evacuation of the city, including the final refuges of the city’s Superdome and its hospitals. There were no supplies of food and water ready offshore—on Navy ships for instance—in the event of such flooding, even though government officials knew there were thousands of people stranded inside the sweltering and powerless city.

Then there’s the speed of the Bush administration’s response to such disasters. Just one week ago the White House declared that a major disaster existed in Louisiana, specifically most of the areas (such as Jefferson Parish) that are now under water. Was the White House psychic about the disaster ahead? Not exactly. In fact the major disaster referred to Tropical Storm Cindy, which struck the state a full seven weeks earlier. That announcement triggered federal aid for the stricken areas, where the clean-up had been on hold for almost two months while the White House chewed things over.

Now, faced with a far bigger and deadlier disaster, the Bush administration faces at least two difficult questions: Was it ready to deal with the long-predicted flooding of New Orleans? And is it ready to deal with the long-predicted terrorist attack that might some day strike another of our big cities?

[NewHampshireDem]

41. Hey ... I broke this story YESTERDAY!

:(

Damn me for putting it in the right forum!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=151810&mesg_id=151810

[NoSunWithoutShadow]

46. Know how you feel.

Let's kick it up for you.

:hi:

[Borgnine]

42. Well, it's not like his handlers planned this disaster.

They only seemingly "rise to the occasion" when they plan the tragedies themselves.