"The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush"Katrina: Why did Bush and his team perform so badly?
See also Hurricane George and the Katrina Timeline
There is a lot of documentation on the web about how FEMA, Homeland Security and the White House have been either mis-managing, or sabotaging the Katrina rescue efforts. A bi-partisan joint Congressional investigation has been launched to explore this debacle.
The first question one must ask is why would Bush and his team do this? Warning, the following is pure wild-ass speculation. We are just brainstorming here.
- The most obvious explanation, and the one most in Bush's favor, is that Bush is merely incompetent and appoints incompetent people like Mike Brown to his team. Bush's lack of wisdom is no longer a matter of debate. At best, he is of average intelligence. Note that someone of median intelligence would seem smart to half the voters.
- Another possibility is that Bush is really the "Anti-President". To bring peace and security to America he starts a war with Iraq. To "unite America" he pits left against right and launches an extremist agenda. This "cannot do" attitude carries through to his cabinet level appointments. He appointed Bolton, a man hostile to the UN Charter, as UN Ambassador. Bush also appointed Ken Tomlinson, a former propagandist with Voice of America, to corporatize NPR. And he appointed, Granta Nakayama, a chemical company lawyer, to blunt the EPA. So it would make sense that he would appoint someone like Mike Brown to head FEMA and work so hard to prevent people from being rescued.
- One explanation, floated by Mick Arran, is that Bush wants to get the locals out so he can rebuild New Orleans under federal control and direct the rebuilding contracts to his cronies like he did with Iraq. [This is already coming true. Even I am shocked at how blatant this is. Shaw Group and Halliburton have already received over $129M for reconstruction. [CNN]]
- I have heard wild speculation that Bush's behavior may have been because the Louisiana governor is a Democrat and the governors of Mississippi and Alabama are Republican. Maybe he wanted to punish folks for voting Democratic, or tried to make Democratic leaders look bad. Also the Democratic voters in Louisiana are strongly concentrated in New Orleans. With New Orleans empty, LA congressional districts are a solid blue. [CNN]
- We all know Bush is a strong believer in fundamental Christianity and the Apocalyptic scenarios. Maybe he wanted to punish the "Big Easy" for its reputation as a decadent sin-city. Some right-wing Christians believe New Orleans deserved Katrina and that "this act of God destroyed a wicked city". What does Bush believe?
I agree that #2,4,5 seem far-fetched. Most likely Bush is merely incompetent. But somehow that doesn't make me feel good about our chances in the next disaster or terrorist attack.
