Amid the Ruins, a President Tries to Reconstruct His Image, Too

[applegrove]

Amid the Ruins, a President Tries to Reconstruct His Image, Too


By RICHARD W. STEVENSON
Published: September 16, 2005

"WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 - George W. Bush, whose standing for the last four years has rested primarily on issues of war and peace, introduced himself to the nation on Thursday night in an unfamiliar and somewhat uncomfortable new role: domestic president.

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The violence of Hurricane Katrina and his faltering response to it have left to Mr. Bush the task not just of physically rebuilding a swath of the United States, but also of addressing issues like poverty and racial inequality that were exposed in such raw form by the storm.

The challenge would be immense for any president, but is especially so for Mr. Bush. He is scrambling to assure a shaken, angry nation not only that is he up to the task but also that he understands how much it disturbed Americans to see their fellow citizens suffering and their government responding so ineffectually.

So for nearly 30 minutes, he stood in a largely lifeless New Orleans and, to recast his presidency in response to one of the nation's most devastating disasters, sought to show that he understands the suffering. He spoke of housing and health care and job training. He reached with rhetorical confidence for the uplifting theme that out of tragedy can emerge a better society, and he groped for what he lost in the wind and water more than two weeks ago: his well-cultivated image as a strong leader.

...SNIP"

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/16/politics/16assess.html

[IndyJones]

1. The opening sentence says it all, doesn't it?

It's going to take a lot more than one speech.

[applegrove]

2. For those who were not directly affected by Katrina - but were frightened

of the callusness - yes. We still have questions & will need answers.

The evacuees need to get to a safe place and feel secure about the future. And be together. Then I'm sure they will join in the national debate.

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. It doesn't to take a great leader to spend their way out of a disaster

AFTER they let the thing happen.

[Minstrel Boy]

4. "rested primarily on issues of war and peace"

And peace?

If only.

"I'm a war president."

[sando]

5. Here is where the shrub blew it

Yet he spoke of "deep, persistent poverty" as something the nation had seen on television rather than as a condition that many citizens had been living in for generations. He defined the problem as regional rather than national in scope, and offered only regional rather than national solutions.

He only spoke of poverty in the Gulf Coast region not the rest of the nation. Which means he still has no interest whatsoever in doing anything of substance against poverty in America. And that makes his grand design for the Gulf just dust blowing in the wind.

[cybildisobedience]

6. an no mention of the wage protections HE dismantled?

Just days after this disaster, one of the first things he does is remove a long-standing protection for workers to receive a decent wage. How can these people hope to rebuild their lives making peanuts for the hard and dangerous work, while allowing his cronies to rake in billions of profit through FEMA contracts?

Why are the media seemingly incapable of noting Bush's actions against his rhetoric? He continues to get away with this crap because of the "and then he said...." reporting, while they ignore what is really happening.
And heaven forbid, one should possess the critical thinking skills to question or ponder these issues. They'd be drummed out of the business.

[Captain Hilts]

8. That's actually standard practice for a limited time.

LBJ and Clinton did it for limited time periods. I'll bet Bush's lasts for years.

[iwentback2ohio]

7. Chimpspeak

Chimp says: We have also witnessed the kind of desperation no citizen of this great and generous nation should ever have to know — fellow Americans calling out for food and water, vulnerable people left at the mercy of criminals who had no mercy, and the bodies of the dead lying uncovered and untended in the street.

We say: No shit.


Chimp says: In the task of recovery and rebuilding, some of the hardest work is still ahead and it will require the creative skill and generosity of a united country.

We say: In other words, we (the feds) will collect the tax, and you (the people) do the work.



Chimp says: Evacuees who have not yet registered should contact FEMA or the Red Cross. We need to know who you are, because many of you will also be eligible for broader assistance in the future.

We say: Who are the many of them who will be eligible for broader assistance? Those who need not quite as much assistance. In the words of MaMa Bush – “these people were underprivileged to begin with …” , i.e. any pittance of help will work just fine for them.



Chimp says: Federal funds will cover the great majority of the costs of repairing public infrastructure in the disaster zone, from roads and bridges to schools and water systems.

We say: What percentage constitutes a “great” majority? 90%? 80%? Maybe 51%?


Chimp says: Our goal is to get the work done quickly. And taxpayers expect this work to be done honestly and wisely, so we will have a team of inspectors general reviewing all expenditures.

We say: Who exactly are these “inspectors general”? Isn’t that a rather generic label?


Chimp says: Clearly, communities will need to move decisively to change zoning laws and building codes, in order to avoid a repeat of what we have seen.

We say: Typically, changing zoning laws is the work of a zoning commission, generally populated by developers and people who sleep with them.

Chimp says: As all of us saw on television, there is also some deep, persistent poverty in this region as well. And that poverty has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America. We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action. So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday, and let us rise above the legacy of inequality.

We say: Nice platitudes, no plan.


Chimp says: To help lower-income citizens in the hurricane region build new and better lives, I also propose that Congress pass an Urban Homesteading Act. Under this approach, we will identify property in the region owned by the federal government, and provide building sites to low-income citizens free of charge, through a lottery. In return, they would pledge to build on the lot, with either a mortgage or help from a charitable organization like Habitat for Humanity. Homeownership is one of the great strengths of any community, and it must be a central part of our vision for the revival of this region.

We say: They couldn’t get out because they couldn’t afford a car, or if they had one, didn’t have the funds to stay at a hotel once they got out, but by golly, the feds will let them get a mortgage!

Chimp says: City and parish officials in New Orleans and state officials in Louisiana will have a large part in the engineering decisions to come, and the Army Corps of Engineers will work at their side to make the flood protection system stronger than it has ever been.

We say: Yes, the Army Corps of Engineers, whose funding you just cut again to pay for this “stronger than ever protection system”.


Chimp says: In a time of terror threats and weapons of mass destruction, the danger to our citizens reaches much wider than a fault line or a flood plain. I consider detailed emergency planning to be a national security priority. Therefore, I have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to undertake an immediate review, in cooperation with local counterparts, of emergency plans in every major city in America.

We say: Let’s see. We’re going to have the Department that fucked this whole thing up in the first place do a review to make sure all’s well. Brilliant.

Chimp says: It was not a normal hurricane and the normal disaster relief system was not equal to it.

We say: No, it wasn’t a normal hurricane, and the Feds had plenty of warning. “Normal” disaster relief system? We’ve spent the last four years “making America safer at home” by developing this level of “normal” disaster relief?


Chimp says: Four years after the frightening experience of September 11th, Americans have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency. When the federal government fails to meet such an obligation, I, as President, am responsible for the problem, and for the solution. So I have ordered every Cabinet secretary to participate in a comprehensive review of the government response to the hurricane.

We say: Oh, I feel so much better. The same unqualified lackeys that ran the response are going to review it. Once again, brilliant!


Chimp says: The United States Congress also has an important oversight function to perform. Congress is preparing an investigation, and I will work with members of both parties to make sure this effort is thorough.

We say: And we can’t have an independent commission, because, why?



Chimp says: Thank you, and may God bless America.

We say: God save us from men like you!