Decision ‘08

That Whole Katrina Video Thing

So, the latest snore-a-thon that has the entire liberal blogosphere salivating like the proverbial Pavlovian pooch (ooohhhh, that was a nice one!) is the whole videotape thing. Apparently, the charge is that George W. Bush was doing his job and making sure all the bases were covered and relying on the professionalism of his subordinates like any CEO would do, and - well, and what? I’m not sure what the allegation even is - but you can be damn sure that tape proves something! (Oh, all right - I guess I’ll play along - I guess the idea is the fact that Bush said he didn’t think anyone anticipated the breech of the levees is supposed to be the point).

Well, here’s the AP story that started it all; it says:

Bush declared four days after the storm, “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees” that gushed deadly flood waters into New Orleans. But the transcripts and video show there was plenty of talk about that possibility — and Bush was worried too.

White House deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Brown discussed fears of a levee breach the day the storm hit.

“I talked to the president twice today, once in Crawford and then again on Air Force One,” Brown said. “He’s obviously watching the television a lot, and he had some questions about the Dome, he’s asking questions about reports of breaches.”

The White House responded today, and far from denying that the levees were discussed, practically revels in it:

* August 29th Videoconference Shows White House Concern About The Levees. “Later in the call, White House aide Joe Hagin asks specifically about the condition of the levees.” (Bill Walsh, “The Day Storm Hit, Bush Was Worried About Levees,” The New Orleans Times-Picayune, 3/1/06)

In August 29th Videoconference, The White House Was Told The Levees Were Not Breached But Knew Of Flooding And Focused On Saving Lives.

* In August 29th Videoconference, Gov. Kathleen Blanco Told The White House “We Have Not Breached The Levee At This Point In Time.” GOV. BLANCO: “We keep getting reports in some places that maybe water is coming over the levees. … I think we have not breached the levee. We have not breached the levee at this point in time. That could change, but in some places we have floodwaters coming in New Orleans East and the line at St. Bernard Parish where we have waters that are 8- to 10-feet deep, and we have people swimming in there, that’s got a considerable amount of water.” (Bill Walsh, “The Day Storm Hit, Bush Was Worried About Levees,” The New Orleans Times-Picayune, 3/1/06)

That sums it up for me; while some argue about what Bush said 4 days after Katrina hit, the White House shows a President who was engaged, who asked the right questions, and was concerned but reassured about the possibility of levee breeching.

Is President Bush blameless for the Katrina response? Of course not…but as I said at the time, and as most reasonable people will agree, Katrina was a disaster dozens of years in the making, and the blame has plenty of places to spread. This is no smoking gun - it’s a glimpse into the inner workings of emergency response at the government level. Let’s not pull a Kanye West here and lose our heads…

2 Responses to “That Whole Katrina Video Thing”

1 Sean P Says:
March 2nd, 2006 at 8:47 pm
Yeah, this is a non-issue. We’ve known for some time that Bush had been briefed on the potential for damage to New Orleans, and we know this because BUSH WAS THE ONE WHO TOLD NAGIN TO GET OFF HIS ASS AND ORDER A MANDATORY EVACUATION IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Sorry about the raging leftist lapse into all capital letters. At least my punctuation is correct.
2 mtl Says:
March 2nd, 2006 at 9:51 pm
This is like watching a soccer game of five year olds chasing the ball around the field-no organization, no plan, just keep kicking and they might just beat Manchester United.

I’d provide a list of failed attempts but stopped counting some time ago.

The failure of the levees falls into totwo sub-categories:

The water spills over the levee, or the levee breaks.

If NOLA predicted the breaking of the levee, I missed it. Even Max Mayfield has stated that his quote that is being put out there is about the fact that the levees might be overrun, not break.

Have a few jelly donuts, and get back to kicking the ball.