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January 30, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - President George
We don't like to pick on our President too much, however he does fumble so much that we can't help ourselves. Personally I think he does have a disarming sense of humor. I loved his comment during last week's press conference about wearing helmets while the camera was hanging down. That was pretty funny. What was not funny was his statement accusing the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans of not having any sort of reconstruction plan. This occurred shortly after his administration rejected a plan proposed by La. Representative Baker and supported by (NYT)
But the Bush administration refuses to support the plan of Representative Richard Baker, Republican of Louisiana, which would give everyone the capacity to rebuild and which had the backing of the mayor, the governor and the state's Congressional delegation. (To add insult to injury, two days after the White House shot down Mr. Baker's proposal, President Bush suggested at a news conference that Louisiana's problem was the lack of a plan.)
Instead of an alternate solution, the president's Katrina czar, Donald Powell, has offered sleight of hand, touting $6.2 billion in development money for Louisiana passed last year by Congress as if it were somehow a substitute. And in an attempt to narrow the scope of the problem, Mr. Powell says the government first needs to care for the roughly 20,000 homeowners without flood insurance who lived outside the federally designated flood plain. The real tally of destroyed or damaged homes in the region is well over 200,000. And the real need is housing for residents, whether they were renters or owners, insured or uninsured, living above the flood plain or trusting the federal government's levees to protect them from storms.
In addition, NPR reported last week that many residents have no idea where to go for help. Federal, State and local agencies are not coordinating actions or funding. People are confused. Hurricane Katrina created the worst natural disaster in our nation's history. If there were ever a time for the Federal government to step up to the plate and take control of the game, this is it. There are no excuses. For the President to say that he has never seen a plan two days after rejecting such a plan earns our dear leader this week's Fabulous Fumble Award.
Posted by Chip Spear at January 30, 2006 10:33 AM
Comments
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