Newsweek: How Bush Blew It

[MadisonProgressive]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9287434/

It's a standing joke among the president's top aides: who gets to deliver the bad news? Warm and hearty in public, Bush can be cold and snappish in private, and aides sometimes cringe before the displeasure of the president of the United States, or, as he is known in West Wing jargon, POTUS. The bad news on this early morning, Tuesday, Aug. 30, some 24 hours after Hurricane Katrina had ripped through New Orleans, was that the president would have to cut short his five-week vacation by a couple of days and return to Washington. The president's chief of staff, Andrew Card; his deputy chief of staff, Joe Hagin; his counselor, Dan Bartlett, and his spokesman, Scott McClellan, held a conference call to discuss the question of the president's early return and the delicate task of telling him. Hagin, it was decided, as senior aide on the ground, would do the deed.

The president did not growl this time. He had already decided to return to Washington and hold a meeting of his top advisers on the following day, Wednesday. This would give them a day to get back from their vacations and their staffs to work up some ideas about what to do in the aftermath of the storm. President Bush knew the storm and its consequences had been bad; but he didn't quite realize how bad.

The reality, say several aides who did not wish to be quoted because it might displease the president, did not really sink in until Thursday night. Some White House staffers were watching the evening news and thought the president needed to see the horrific reports coming out of New Orleans. Counselor Bartlett made up a DVD of the newscasts so Bush could see them in their entirety as he flew down to the Gulf Coast the next morning on Air Force One.

How this could be—how the president of the United States could have even less "situational awareness," as they say in the military, than the average American about the worst natural disaster in a century—is one of the more perplexing and troubling chapters in a story that, despite moments of heroism and acts of great generosity, ranks as a national disgrace.

[Robb]

1. "The war in Iraq was a failure of intelligence ... "

"... The government's response to Katrina—like the failure to anticipate that terrorists would fly into buildings on 9/11—was a failure of imagination."

[Roland99]

2. Wasn't failure of imagination, it was failure to pay attention to reality!

[skiddlybop]

3. FOX NEWS was only reporting Karl Rove talking points

...so of course the entire government thought things were going fine.

Karl Rove and RNC dictated happy-face New Orleans coverage on FUCKED NEWS CHANNEL so of course the entire government thought things were going fine.

FOX NEWS LIED, PEOPLE DIED.

[opihimoimoi]

5. Did they have a hard time to get Bush off his cartoons and see the video

of NOLA under water and no food/water for peeps stranded 4 days, living in shit and dead bodies nearby, rape and looting, gangs of thugs, and the Mayor Begging for Help????

What does the MF watch? Porn? Reruns? It ain't News, das fer shure.

[FormerDittoHead]

It's Obvious - HE DIDN'T CARE

>How this could be—how the president of the United States could have even less "situational awareness," as they say in the military, than the average American about the worst natural disaster in a century...

It's simple. He didn't CARE. If he CARED, he would not have been able to STOP watching the situation. IF HE CARED, he could have thought of something to do as President.

These guys jump through hoops trying to figure out how to take care of Terri Shiavo, how to stop abortions, how to stop affirmative action, etc., they can get things done when they put their minds to it, but FIRST THEY HAVE TO CARE...

[wildeyed]

11. In addition to being constitutionally incapable of empathy,

the man has no natural curiosity. He brags about not reading the newspaper.

[fshrink]

22. That's the whole idea of "compassion".

You know you have, will and currently behaves like an asshole with a very clear class agenda but you claim you suffer inside. Not to mention the fact that the coward in chief cannot be fed large doses of data without increasing the likelihood of a major public blunder. Everything has to be hashed, fragmented, simplified and processed before being fed. That takes time. Regardless of the particular situation, this administration will not be able to act quickly and intelligently.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

4. Couldn't get beyond "Warm and hearty in public"

I was laughing (or was it crying?) too hard.

[kskiska]

39. Ask David Gregory about that one.

Warm and hearty.

[Theory]

6. How Bush blew it.

I fail to see how Bush not knowing that planes would fly into the Towers has anything to do with the mistakes made in the hurricane response. Bush had been in office less than 9 months when 9/11 occured. Seems to me that Clinton should have been a bit more aware of the terrorist threat.

[Olney Blue]

9. Clinton was aware.

You need to read the 9/11 Commission Report.

[snippy]

10. Bush had multiple warnings of the upcoming 9/11 terrorist attacks

and chose to do nothing.

Your post demonstrates once again that Bush's followers, like Bush himself, have no honor or integrity.

[hippiechick]

24. Well, * did do SOMETHING in anticipation of 9/11 ...

... he told all the intelligence communities to stand down on the OBL/Al Q tracking ... and then he went on vacation in Crawford for 5 weeks.

Can you imagine being on a job for less than a year and taking a 5 week vacation ? Jebus, what a lazy little fu*k.

[JanMichael]

15. Clinton was aware of the terrorist threat; that's why his administration

tried so hard to pass that information onto the current one.

It seems that Bush Sr., and Reagan should have been aware of it too..after all the first time the WTC buiding was bombed was less than 60 DAYS (Feb.1993) after Clinton took the oath of office.

[KaryninMiami]

20. Bush DID know that there was a good chance of planes being used as weapons

So did Condi and the CIA, and the FBI and many others in his administration. Then when it happened, he sat for 7 minutes reading My Pet Goat. He also knew that a hurricane was coming and this time, he ate cake and played the guitar with McCain.

And regarding Clinton's awayness of terrorist threats, my suggestion is you read up a bit on how much Clinton did to avert terrorism during his term, including some pretty near misses in 2000. Much of what he did, he did quietly with little fanfare by the way. He also, was well aware of the danger of Bin Laden and wanted to go after him, but was voted down by the GOP congress. When he sent cruise missiles to Afghanistan and the Sudan, the right complained loudly that it was done to deflect criticism of his personal problems

Here's more...

http://www.buzzflash.com/perspectives/Clinton_and_Terrorism.html

http://www.snopes.com/rumors/clinton.htm

Here's a speech from 1996:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/election/august96/clintonspeech_8-6.html

Sorry- you can't pin 911 on Clinton's not being well aware of the possibilities and we now know that Bush and his administration were well aware as well, but chose to ignore the warnings.

Read the 911 Report. Read Against All Enemies by Richard Clarke. Read Intelligence Matters by Senator Bob Graham.

[TheFarseer]

21. How can you blame Clinton but not bush???

If you're going to be that way at least put all the blame on Osama bin Laden.

[nyhuskyfan]

33. Most of the "clues" to 9/11 happened under Bush...

Under Clinton, there may have been some rough planning going on around round tables in a cave in Afghanistan, but the following happened under Bush:

* The Clinton administration left behind a plan to deal with Al Qaeda
* Richard Clarke played up the threat of Al Qaeda
* Sixteen of the 19 hijackers entered the United States
* An FBI agent in Phoenix reported suspicious activity at a Phoenix flight school
* Zacharias Moussaoui was held in custody in Minnesota after he showed no interest in learning how to take off and land
* Several warnings from foreign intelligence agencies of an immenent threat
* The August 6 PDB
* A substantial increase in intelligence "chatter" ("The System Was Blinking Red").


If you want to talk about Al Qaeda as an entity, then the long term blame can go to several places -- going back to the Reagan CIA. if you want to talk about 9/11 specifically, there had been pretty much nothing that happened on Clinton's watch to let anyone know that an attack could be forthcoming. Remember, the Cole attack had just happened a month before the elections.

[meg]

36. Both show the same character flaws in Bush

Bush and his administration were warned about al qa eda. He knew planes could be used as missiles since his Italian economic summit that summer involved a threat to him using planes as missiles.

Bush went on vacation in August. Bush ignored 25 documented warnings including one in August entitle 'Bin Laden determined to strike in US'

Bush doesn't care. Rice said they thought maybe a regular hijacking where just a few hundred people would die, so why bother to fuss?

[Lindacooks]

40. President Clinton WAS aware of the terrorist threat - that's why he

repeatedly told a bored and inattentive Bush that bin Laden and Al Qaeda were going to be his biggest problems.

And what about the August 6, 2001 PDA? BIN LADEN DETERMINED TO STRIKE INSIDE U.S. If that isn't a crystal clear warning, nothing is.

[Spiffarino]

44. Typical

I wish Freeps would stop pulling Clinton out of their arses at every sign of trouble for their boy. Did you forget the August 6, 2001, PDB?

BIN LADEN DETERMINED TO STRIKE IN U.S.

Look it up.

[Zenlitened]

46. Theory, you're doin' a heck of a job.

:rofl:

[Zenlitened]

47. Granite block in three moves!

It's like they're not really even trying anymore. :(

[thebigidea]

48. there is no fucking "training wheels" period for a President

less than 9 months? So he gets a free pass until, when, exactly? 2 years in office? 3 years? the second term?

if the asshole isn't ready to do his job on day 1, maybe you shouldn't have voted for him.

[DeepModem Mom]

7. DAMN him -- he doesn't even watch the news!

I guess we knew that, but the Katrina tragedy shines the spotlight on the total insanity of someone who calls himself the President being so arrogant, so lacking in curiosity, so uncaring that he doesn't watch the news on televison.


ON EDIT: I know some here don't watch TV news either, but you are getting news in other ways. Also, if one were charged with leadership of this country, you'd think you might want to see some visuals from time to time.

[opihimoimoi]

12. He certainly will go down in the books as MOST IGNORANT PREZ of ALL TIME

Going back to LUCY and the Turkana Boy, 4.2 million years ago

There isn't much you can discuss with Bush. He doesn't read, don listen, hates warnings, abhors the News, etc. Curiosity is not one of his traits. History, economics, philosophies, math, science, engineering, art, planning, building, etc etc are not his forte...

Joking is.....heh heh heh ....Swaggering is heh heh heh....

Pretending is....

give the guy his pom poms already...he ain't no QB.....

[DeepModem Mom]

17. Your last sentence deserves wide distribution, o --

great post!

[Spazito]

8. This is a very good article, imo, much better than the WP summary

Of the two, I was able to get a much better picture, over all, of what went on behind the scenes at all levels and is a much more accurate and less subjective than the WP article entitled: "The Steady Buildup to a City's Chaos
Confusion Reigned At Every Level Of Government


The WP link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/10/AR2005091001529.html

[wildeyed]

13. This is the damning paragraph, imo.

When Hurricane Katrina struck, it appears there was no one to tell President Bush the plain truth: that the state and local governments had been overwhelmed, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was not up to the job and that the military, the only institution with the resources to cope, couldn't act without a declaration from the president overriding all other authority.

He wasn't interested enough in the disaster to even watch the news, and he has no one on staff who will stand up to him so he really didn't know what was happening.

[belle]

35. I like this one, too:

The war in Iraq was a failure of intelligence. The government's response to Katrina—like the failure to anticipate that terrorists would fly into buildings on 9/11—was a failure of imagination.

[leftchick]

14. yes, just WTF does he do???

<snip>

But it is not clear what President Bush does read or watch, aside from the occasional biography and an hour or two of ESPN here and there. Bush can be petulant about dissent; he equates disagreement with disloyalty. After five years in office, he is surrounded largely by people who agree with him. Bush can ask tough questions, but it's mostly a one-way street. Most presidents keep a devil's advocate around. Lyndon Johnson had George Ball on Vietnam; President Ronald Reagan and Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, grudgingly listened to the arguments of Budget Director Richard Darman, who told them what they didn't wish to hear: that they would have to raise taxes. When Hurricane Katrina struck, it appears there was no one to tell President Bush the plain truth: that the state and local governments had been overwhelmed, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was not up to the job and that the military, the only institution with the resources to cope, couldn't act without a declaration from the president overriding all other authority.

motherfucker. THOUSANDS died because of this evil little shit who can not be bothered with the minutia of real life. :banghead:

[pretzel4gore]

16. typical pigmedia bushit!

in reality, the perverts laffed at each other during conference call with the 'bimbo' (potus? getouttahere!) and the bimbo whined he better go and look at the ...hahaha 'messy big easy'... 'no, watery big easy..' and all the pigs were rotfltao....
btw msnbc/newsweek can't even tell time honestly....lying pigs

[SpiralHawk]

18. The TV reception at the Imperial Pig Farm Upon Crawford is fuzzy

so Bush couldn't see the flood very clearly till he got back to DC.

So you see, Bush has a perfectly good EXCUSE for being AWOL.

Just like always.

After all, anyone who has scrupulously investigated the Katrina fiasco knows Bill Clinton is responsible for the whole mess.

[mbee]

19. This man should be impeached immediately! The election fraud,

the illegal war and squandering of all the country's money are very good reasons. The most important reason is that this man is a moron of the highest level. His parents have to know what an idiot he is. Would the average parent want a reckless child like this to just ruin people's over and over again? It is comparable to sending your drunken child out on the highway!

[opihimoimoi]

25. Drunken child?? this one has loaded guns too....damn, double jep

[Mari333]

23. "he equates disagreement with disloyalty" well that says it all

his man of the people propoganda has shown he has no clothes on, not even a fake cowboy hat. and so many people bought the lies. Now, hes being shown for who he and his handlers are. There isnt a word low enough to describe them.

[kenny blankenship]

26. A question so simple it answers itself

Q:"How could...the president of the United States ...have even less "situational awareness," ...than the average American about the worst natural disaster in a century?"

A: The President is in this case less than average.

FACE THE REALITY AND DEAL WITH IT, YOU MEDIA WHORES.

[demo dutch]

27. Wow!.. a DVD was made to inform him? Amazing!

[MadisonProgressive]

37. I wonder how many died while they put that together for *

[PuraVidaDreamin]

28. Clinton got Blown. Bush Blew It!

my next sign.

[SayitAintSo]

41. OOOH ..... I really like that one ....LOL

[pretzel4gore]

49. clinton's a private citizen...

has been for years...and his tryst with lewinsky was in private...only reason everybody knows of it was because the same assholes who brought you reagan and the bushes (and you don't know what's next) used mediawhores to endlessly broadcast to ends of earth that clinton had a woman in his office, your little catch phrase insults bill clinton and all dems while saying nothing about the punk in the white house..the nazipoos are proud of bush 'blowing' the public service aspect of gov out of the water ...bush danced naked on a bar in houston during his debauched time, he got underaged teen an abortion, he lied and committed numerous crimes before he even became famous....it's too bad your sign statement has to mock mr clinton :(
if your sign said :
bush blew it! (USA!) that would fix it imo

[AlCzervik]

29. This part here----

Late last week, Bush was, by some accounts, down and angry. But another Bush aide described the atmosphere inside the White House as "strangely surreal and almost detached." At one meeting described by this insider, officials were oddly self-congratulatory, perhaps in an effort to buck each other up. Life inside a bunker can be strange, especially in defeat.

thats exactly how i picture them, back slapping each other.

[electron_blue]

30. Yes - less awareness than the avg American

Exactly! When is that issue going on sale? I want a copy.

[leftchick]

31. What did he Do after talking to Blanco on Mon.? Went to BED!

Bush, the governor later recalled, was reassuring. But the conversation was all a little vague. Blanco did not specifically ask for a massive intervention by the active-duty military. "She wouldn't know the 82nd Airborne from the Harlem Boys' Choir," said an official in the governor's office, who did not wish to be identified talking about his boss's conversations with the president. There are a number of steps Bush could have taken, short of a full-scale federal takeover, like ordering the military to take over the pitiful and (by now) largely broken emergency communications system throughout the region. But the president, who was in San Diego preparing to give a speech the next day on the war in Iraq, went to bed.

[Spiffarino]

42. That did it for me. Now there isn't any doubt.

He just doesn't care. I can't think of any words in English or any other language to describe what kind of person George Walker Bush is. There is not an iota of humanity in his dark soul.

[complain jane]

32. I'm surprised nobody's post has applauded the "speaking plainly"

that this article's done about Bush.

I can't believe what a light they're showing him in.

This is pretty f'in awesome.

[seafan]

34. A couple of corrections, Newsweek.

The war in Iraq was a failure of intelligence.

No, Bush's Splendid Little War was committed by criminally twisting the intelligence.

It was in that pesky second part of the 9-11 report, about how the administation used the intelligence, that was supposed to be released just after the 2004 election, but now all references to it have been flushed down the memory hole.


It's also possible that after at least four years of more or less constant crisis, Bush and his team are numb.

No, more like criminal numbskulls.

[MadisonProgressive]

38. Who created all the crisis?

It's also possible that after at least four years of more or less constant crisis, Bush and his team are numb.

[Spiffarino]

43. Not numb. Dumb.

The phrase coined by John J. DiIulio, "Mayberry Machiavellis" is the most perfect description ever of the Bush administration. They believe that politics is a great intellectual pursuit; they ignore policy and most anything else that smacks of actual governance.

In a situation like this one, they are completely overwhelmed. The same was true on 9/11/01, but because of their willingness to immediately start bombing and suspending civil rights, it looked as if they were actually DOING something and the public gave them a pass. I hope more people will now begin to look back at what Bush and his henchmen really did on and after 9/11 and see what miserable cowards he and "Crooked Dick" Cheney were on that awful day.

[roguevalley]

45. same thing with hitler. no one wanted to tell him the bad news.