Guardian: Bush team tries to pin blame on local officials

[G_j]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5277736-103681,00.html


Bush team tries to pin blame on local officials

Julian Borger in Washington
Monday September 5, 2005

Guardian

Bush administration officials yesterday blamed state and local officials for the delays in bringing relief to New Orleans, as the president struggled to fend off the most serious political crisis of his presidency.

His top officials continued to be pilloried on television talk shows by liberals and conservatives alike, but the White House began to show signs of an evolving strategy to prevent the relief fiasco from eclipsing the president's second term.

The outrage over the government's relief effort has hit Mr Bush at a time when he is already weakened by the gruelling war in Iraq. The threat is not only to his place in history; it could also cripple his second-term agenda, undermining his plans to privatise the social security system and to end inheritance tax.

<snip>

In his weekend radio address, Mr Bush implied many of the problems had been caused by lower levels of government. The scale of the crisis "has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities. The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orleans. And that is unacceptable."

..more..

[Massacure]

1. Bush declared Louisiana a federal disaster area.

The federal government responsibility as soon as he did that.

[SoCalDem]

3. and he DID it BEFORE the storm even HIT..

There was no reason for the state and local officials to DOUBT that the feds would swoop in and help IMMEDIATELY AFTER the storm.. they probably didn't think it would take FIVE days

[tuvor]

2. bush, you cowardly sonofabitch, the DHS is under YOUR control...

From the official DHS website

Preparing America

In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort. The new Department will also prioritize the important issue of citizen preparedness. Educating America's families on how best to prepare their homes for a disaster and tips for citizens on how to respond in a crisis will be given special attention at DHS.

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp