The Washington Post has a story detailing the White House's attempt to shift blame to state and local officials. Here's what WaPo has to say about the President's comments in his weekly radio address:
Bush, who has been criticized, even by supporters, for the delayed response to the disaster, used his weekly radio address to put responsibility for the failure on lower levels of government. The magnitude of the crisis "has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities," he said. "The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orleans. And that is unacceptable."
Huh. That's interesting. It's certainly true that the crisis has "strained state and local capabilities." Of course, that's why we have FEMA, or what used to be FEMA, but is now some loose change jangling around in the Department of Homeland Security's pocket. Let's go to the DHS website to see what they have to say about the role of the feds during large-scale disasters:
In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort. The new Department will also prioritize the important issue of citizen preparedness.
Primary responsibility. For mounting a swift and effective recovery effort.
So now they're trying to shift the blame. But it looks to me like the media might have awakened from its five-year hibernation. So I don't know if that dog's gonna hunt, Mr. President.
Then again, I can't count the number of turds this administration has managed to float.
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