Bush bungled Katrina crisis, say Britons (Sunday Times 11 Sept 2005)

[Benbow]

An overwhelming majority of Britons believe that President George W Bush has mismanaged the response to Hurricane Katrina, a Sunday Times poll has found.

Fully 86% of people said his handling of the crisis was “bad” or “very bad”, while 70% said he was a generally incompetent president.

By almost three to one, 63% to 23%, people think the response to the hurricane would have been speedier and more effective if most victims had been white and middle class. By 67% to 19% they think race and class divisions in America are as bad as ever.

The poll of a representative sample of 1,856 adults, carried out on September 8-9 by YouGov, the online pollsters, is the first major test of UK public opinion on the crisis.

<snip>

The poll dismisses the proposition that people in affected areas had only themselves to blame for their problems because of their failure to heed the warnings to evacuate, and because of the looting and lawlessness that followed the hurricane. By two to one, 53% to 29%, this is rejected.

The poll uncovers deep hostility to Bush; 57% agree and 23% disagree that he is “one of the worst presidents America has ever had”. By 66% to 18% they think he is generally “not trustworthy”, and by 68% to 21% that he is “not really concerned about the fate of ordinary people”.

The disaster has also hit America’s reputation more generally. By 63% to 20%, people said the Katrina aftermath and the Iraq violence showed America is “losing the ability to organise and run things”.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1775072,00.html

[mr blur]

1. This would seem to be the feeling of many in the US too.

I had the feeling last week that the Chimp cannot survive this, but on he goes with the same old bullshit, lies and references to 9/11. I wonder, if something as appalling as this had happened over here, how many people would have resigned by now? Or would have been forced to resign.

[Benbow]

2. The US is so militarised now that comparisons with the UK are difficult -

I doubt that Blair could get away with deploying a huge private army (as Bush is deploying Blackwater usa), accountable only to him. I am sure that he'd love to but our standing army could probably outflank his arguments.