The CEO Administration

To put a bookend on the week, I’ve been reflecting on the Katrina disaster and what it represents. It’s such a hot topic for Democrats and others to pounce on not because they’re interested in playing a so-called “blame game.” They’re doing it because this disaster is a metaphorical microcosm of literally every problem with the Bush administration from day one. I’m certain this has been done on numerous websites and in numerous ways, but here’s my list of everything that’s wrong with these chuckleheads.

Incompetence

Cronyism – Bush hired some old chum of his who had absolutely no experience in disaster management to head up FEMA.

Unhealthy relationship with reality – As in Iraq, BushCo go on TV and talk about how great it’s going, while a split screen on CNN shows people rioting and bodies floating in the street. FEMA chief Michael "Brownie" Brown had to be told by a news anchor that evacuees were staying in the Superdome two days after they’d been showing it on every cable news channel.

Hoping for the best instead of preparing for the worst – As in Iraq, they all assumed the best case scenario about the hurricane and were flat out shocked when it didn't go as they predicted. Bush even had the gall to say, “no one expected the levees to break” despite scientists saying for years that the levees would break in anything higher than a category three storm. Papers did nine-part exposes on the levees. The truth is that everyone expected the levees to break.

Diverting resources from the people most in need to the people least in need – Bush cut taxes on the rich, while the Army Corps of Engineers was begging for more financing to reinforce the levees. Bush reduced the financing for work on the levees every year he passed a budget. Oh yeah, and he chopped FEMA down in size as well.

Ignoring the increasing disparity between the rich and the poor - Remember the hopelessly corrupt bankruptcy bill passed by congress a few months back? Remember how the Republicans were blaming most bankruptcies on ignorant slobs who run up their credit cards, buy every luxury known to man and then declare bankruptcy screwing over those helpless multinational creditors, laughing all the way to the bank? Do you want to take a guess at the sort of person who is actually prevented from declaring bankruptcy by that bill? I’ll give you a hint – many will be sleeping in the Astrodome for the next few months, and most likely in the street after that.

Corruption – Already Halliburton has gotten some sort of big money contract.

Their top priority is PR instead of doing actual work – They won’t even let journalists into the disaster area any more. Wouldn’t want the people to see the reality of bodies on the ground.

The second priority is oil – Gotta get that oil flowin’ again…

Blaming others instead of the buck stopping at the top – It was the Louisiana governor who didn’t declare a state of emergency fast enough (she did). She didn’t ask for troops fast enough (she did).

Accusing everyone else of pointing fingers instead of listening to legitimate criticism - As Jon Stewart said the other night, anyone accusing others of playing the “blame game” is probably to blame.

Intellectual and the regular kind of laziness – Not only did no one look into what sort of disaster this might end up being, the president stayed on vacation for like three days after it happened for crying out loud! Let’s not forget how he was on vacation when the famous 9/11 PDB was ignored too. Those are just the odds when you spend half the year clearing brush.

No one is ever accountable – The president is going to investigate what went wrong. This is the solution, to investigate their own mistakes. Mr. President? You have a question, me? Why, yes I do. Why did you hire my blatantly unqualified old drinking buddy to head FEMA? Who, Brownie? He’s a good man. Good enough for me. Wanna grab an O’Doul’s? Yee-haw!

Diverting our human and financial resources to our military misadventures instead of doing necessary work at home – Money and troops in Iraq instead of at home where they were needed.

The only thing Bush/Rove consider worth doing is something you can see, clearly point to, and take credit for – Why fix levees? That’s snoresville. There probably won’t be a hurricane. Now, getting rid of the estate tax, that’s something people can rally around. Take away grandma’s social security? That’ll get some points. Keep a dead woman attached to some machine? Get my private jet!!

The working class are figuratively left behind by the policies of the Bush administration and literally left behind to drown and starve in a natural disaster.

It’s horrible to have to sit here and think about everything Bush has done wrong to intensify the suffering. But it’s necessary. It’s the sort of thing that has to be said publicly to either shame him from ever letting it happen again, or god-willing to wake the American people up to the incompetent fools they’ve installed in the White House, so that the people may see to it that they don’t let it happen again.

Print it out and save it for Thanksgiving when Uncle Joe comes over and tells you how God-sent this president has been.