The politics of hurricane relief (2004 Florida vs. 2005 Katrina)

[Tesibria]

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2005/09/05/hurricane_track_record/index.html

*snip*
There's no question that the scale of the New Orleans disaster far surpasses what Florida faced. But even so, a look back at the administration's relief efforts in 2004 indicates that a quick response to a potentially politically damaging situation commanded a higher priority from the top levels of government back then than did the flooding of New Orleans in 2005.

*snip*
Some FEMA insiders were so happy with how they handled Florida's flurry of election-year hurricanes that they made a serious pitch within the administration to get FEMA director Mike Brown, now a target of sustained criticism, promoted to homeland security chief.

"Homeland Security sources said after the hurricanes," reported a May 19 Washington Post article, "that Brown and his allies promoted him as a successor to Tom Ridge as Homeland Security secretary because of their contention that he helped deliver Florida to President Bush by efficiently responding to the Florida hurricanes." A FEMA spokeswoman denied the report at the time.

*snip*
In a press release issued just one week before the election, FEMA crowed, "Florida Disaster Aid Tops $2 Billion." The public proclamation was part of a torrent of FEMA press releases trumpeting its Florida relief efforts.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2005/09/05/hurricane_track_record/index1.html