NYT's Krugman: "Point Those Fingers"

[babylonsister]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/09/opinion/09krugman.html


Point Those Fingers
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: September 9, 2005



To understand the history of the Bush administration's response to disaster, just follow the catchphrases.

First, look at 2001 Congressional testimony by Joseph Allbaugh, President Bush's first pick to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA, he said, would emphasize "Responsibility and Accountability" (capital letters and boldface in the original statement). He repeated the phrase several times.

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Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

More Columns by Paul Krugman What Mr. Allbaugh seems to have meant was that state and local government officials shouldn't count on FEMA to bail them out if they didn't prepare adequately for disasters. They should accept responsibility for protecting their constituents, and be held accountable if they don't.

But those were rules for the little people. Now that the Bush administration has botched its own response to disaster, we're not supposed to play the "blame game." Scott McClellan used that phrase 15 times over the course of just two White House press briefings.

It might make sense to hold off on the criticism if this were the first big disaster on Mr. Bush's watch, or if the chain of mistakes in handling Hurricane Katrina were out of character. But even with the most generous possible assessment, this is the administration's second big policy disaster, after Iraq. And the chain of mistakes was perfectly in character - there are striking parallels between the errors the administration made in Iraq and the errors it made last week.

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[skooooo]

1. "there are striking parallels between the errors the administration...

...made in Iraq and the errors it made last week."

I've been thinking this exact same thing for several days now.


FUBAR

[greekspeak]

3. I think they cared more for Iraq than they did for New Orleans

That is the major difference. New Orleans has petroleum works in and near it. However, it does not sit upon black gold...Texas Tea...like Iraq does. So I would have to say they care more for Iraq.

[greekspeak]

2. Why is America not collectively pointing and laughing at McClellan now?

He sounds like a frigging parrot or a parody on Saturday Night Live. Not playing the blame game...Not playing the blame game...awwwk Scotty want a cracker.

Everyone in America should be pointing and laughing at this fool. The administration is guilty as hell, and this is the best they can come up with. But the nation is full of those who drank the kool-aid, and somehow this seems like an appropriate response to them. I would go around dumping cold water on people to wake them up, but I fear too many of them would melt, along with their "beautiful wickedness."

[babylonsister]

5. DUers are laughing, but the majority of people

aren't that invested in what's going on in this country. I don't know a whole lot of people that tune into CSPAN or would stream the press conferences... But McClellan should be the object of our scorn; he richly deserves it, as does the rest of the cabal. I'm just happy to see journalists doing their jobs and calling this admin out for their utter incompetence!

[mwb970]

7. He refuses to answer any questions. Amazing.

He alternates between "I can't answer that" and "I just answered that". He alternates between deploring the "blame game" and blaming the Democrats. What function does he actually serve?

[many a good man]

4. bush* response to both disasters: "paralysis and denial"

"The same deer-in-the-headlights immobility..."
...
"Why did the administration make the same mistakes twice? Because it paid no political price the first time.

Can the administration escape accountability again? Some of the tactics it has used to obscure its failure in Iraq won't be available this time."

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. Three sentences that resonate:

"At one point Ari Fleischer's brother was in charge of private-sector development." <in Iraq>

The same problems that created Iraq (or 9/11) were still present in NOLA because the Bush Administration "paid no political price the first time."

"The media will be tempted to revert to he said she said stories rather than damning factual accounts."