Ex-Bush aides say he never recovered from Katrina

Condi Rice used to be a critical thinking woman of substance, but has been a lame Bush puppet for years.  Don't count on her for anything.

Did you see the way Colin Powell put the tail between his legs and walked out of the administration?  To think a decorated general would do that!  And in his place, Condi Rice, the lame puppet? 

There's more going on than we know.  The books that will be written after this presidency will make for great reading...

I am very impressed with the career of the Dr. Condoleeza Rice.

When she runs for President, my vote will be given without hesitation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice

Hetep and Respect determined, The Wicked Witch of the West is part of Bush and the forty thieves. She is just as guilty of treason as the rest of them. In addition, many African Americans also understand that she has committed Cultural Treason by attacking Haiti and removing the democratically elected President.  

She should be tried right next to Bush and put in jail for the rest of her natural life.

Aunk, with all respect.

I have known, believed and used this quote in response to many of the comments of blind unwaving devotion form the right towards their god Bush here for years.

a Patriot supports his country all the time, and his government when it deserves it. Samuel Clemens 

And I swear on the Consecution, I hold dear, that if Obama does not hold true to his promises I will quote below, I will be the first to go to Washington.

Bunch reported that Obama said:

"What I would want to do is to have my Justice Department and my Attorney General immediately review the information that's already there and to find out are there inquiries that need to be pursued... 

If crimes have been committed, they should be investigated....

You're also right that I would not want my first term consumed by what was perceived on the part of Republicans as a partisan witch hunt because I think we've got too many problems we've got to solve.

So this is an area where I would want to exercise judgment -- I would want to find out directly from my Attorney General -- having pursued, having looked at what's out there right now -- are there possibilities of genuine crimes as opposed to really bad policies. And I think it's important-- one of the things we've got to figure out in our political culture generally is distinguishing between really dumb policies and policies that rise to the level of criminal activity. You know, I often get questions about impeachment at town hall meetings and I've said that is not something I think would be fruitful to pursue because I think that impeachment is something that should be reserved for exceptional circumstances. Now, if I found out that there were high officials who knowingly, consciously broke existing laws, engaged in cover-ups of those crimes with knowledge forefront, then I think a basic principle of our Constitution is nobody above the law -- and I think that's roughly how I would look at it."

So, I have a wait and see attitude. But all that I see is how Bush seems worried if not scared, and it is more and more obvious with each passing day. It is not a legacy he is trying to establish, but alibis.

I think Bush's first major failure was getting up in the morning of his inauguration.

Followed by his advocacy of a secret energy policy (those closed door sessions with Cheney).

And then his reaction to 9/11 - both on the day it happened and everyday after that, culminating with sending precious U.S. blood to Iraq.

Add in a host of other items.  The list is endless.  Where do we begin?  But Katrina is not his first.

But I'm with you, vmoptions........it will be a long and hard road to recover from his failures!

"The List"

Aine

Love the List:

11. Hurricane Katrina and the drowning of New Orleans

Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, the destruction of New Orleans, FEMA and "Heck of a job, Brownie," lack of preparation, lack of emergency aid, slowness of reconstruction, Bush ignores for days then gives address from Jackson Square in New Orleans promising aid which never comes or much of which goes to politically connected outstate no bid contractors, disparity between response to Louisiana and Republican Trent Lott’s Mississippi; Bush refuses to waive 10% state match for federal funds (waived in many previous disasters) increasing the bureaucratic paperwork, reducing aid to affected areas, and further slowing and complicating rebuilding.

Argh what a slob

we had in a president

Interesting list.

From 1/20/09 there will be a new list also. Noblesse oblige, of course.

Hey guy. Its okay if you can't stand Obama. Its people like you who got him elected. Moron.

bigblackguy

I really truly hope that everyone has compassion for OBAMA... we are going to need all the support we can to alleviate the devastation from the last eight years.

That was the democrats fault for trying to get lieberman in.

We wouldn't expect anything less than bush from the far right, but the far left enabled it.

thomrob

That was the democrats fault for trying to get lieberman in.

We wouldn't expect anything less than bush from the far right, but the far left enabled it

Sad, but true.

As they say in a church I used to go to, "Thank you, Jesus!"

Greg, dude, you're shouting against the tornado winds. You can scream as loud as you want in support of Bush, and don't get me wrong, that's your right, but I honestly think it ain't gonna do you no good (except to make you feel better). Bush. Was. Terrible. Period. After seeing the VAST majority of posters here, it's quite apparent to me who most are putting the blame on. George W. Bush. What is your possible motivation to defend the man? Are you being paid by the GOP to support him, or something? Were you one of the few who benefitted financially from his tax-cutting-for-the-rich policies? Just what are you getting out of this?

I Know, he was so bad, my company made more in 8 years than ever before.   The only ones screaming are the ones that couldn't handle their own state.    The only ones screaming are the ones that hated Pres. Bush from the start.    Of course, it was Pres. Bushes responsibility to claim a state of emergency for Louisiana, right.    This article is about Katrina.    My statements are about the article and the Katrina Failures.    The state failed their own people.    The U.S. Government gets involved after the fact and after the state requests the governments help by declaring and emergency.    The state also has the responsibility to start emergency help well before the government gets involved.

Greg, I've seen my fair share of disasters on TV, from tornados to earthquakes, and I've NEVER seen such incompetance from a Presidency in TERMS OF LEADING than from Bush II. While it's probably true that the local governments in Baton Rouge and New Orleans could've done more in Katrina, I think they did their best. Heck, Gov. Blanco saw the handwriting on the wall and didn't bother to run again. New Orleans' mayor Nagin ran after pleading his case, and won. Bush GAVE THE IMPRESSION that he wasn't doing his job, and THAT'S what at issue here. Flying over the city in Air Force One? Are you kidding me? The man should've been down there in the city! Telling his ex-horse trainer of a FEMA Director (not a good IMPRESSION to people upon further review, btw) that he's doing "A heckava job", while dead bodies are floating in the water around the city? Once again, Greg, it's the IMPRESSION of doing a competant job that Bush needed to do. He should've been down there immediately, literally swamping the area that rivalled Katrina itself. Clinton was there immediately in many of the disasters that happened under his Presidency, and Mr. Keith Lee Witt became almost legendary for getting the job done as FEMA Director under him--which made Clinton look good, and the citizens in the affected areas remembered that in voting for him later. While Bush may have thought letting the locals handle the situation first was the right thing to do, he should've given the IMPRESSION that he knew what he was doing. One of the hallmarks of good to great leadership is giving the IMPRESSION that you're doing something right. The point here is that Bush GAVE THE IMPRESSION that he wasn't doing something right. If you're ignoring that, then I feel sorry for you, sir, whether you want my pity or not. And that goes for the other 2 or 3 people on this board under this thread who feel the same way you do about Bush doing nothing wrong. Reality appears to be something you all seem to be sorely lacking in. THAT is why I asked you if you benefitted somehow from the President. Good day to you, sir.

What disasters under Clinton are you talking about?   Incase you missed it, and what you all complain about, its not the governments job to get involved in state issues, unless the state asks for it.  Remember?    As to Clinton, are you talking about the tower bombings.    I noticed there were alot of convictions on that.   The cole Bombing, I noticed all the persons involved were put in jail.    Osama Bin Laden, being handed to him.   I noticed Osama in jail now.    States, as everyone claims, should deal with their own issues.    Government does not and should not get involved with state issues unless asked.    Or should government run all aspects of the country.   Of course, if you think that way, you are for government control.    More often than not, when you have nothing to respond to, your agency can claim total competency.

And, lets not forget Florida.    These two states seem to have their head together when it comes to emergencies,

I wouldn't exactly put it that way, Greg...  Florida is as much of a f-up when it comes to emergencies...  I distinctly remember sitting for over 8 hours in a parking lot (I-10) trying to evacuate for a hurricane and we had moved less than 10 miles from where we started...  The problem with Florida's evacuation routes is that I-95 on the east and I-75(?) on the west are both north/south evacuation routes...  You either hit I-10 (an east/west evacuation route) or Georgia (whose evacuation routes are also east/west) and you are now at a stand-still...  Not to mention, they only recently began instituting reverse-flow evacuation (being able to drive the opposite way on the other side of the freeway)...

I understand what you're saying and Florida, for all of its hurricane preparedness "experience," has some things figured out -- but not nearly as much as you would think...  To a certain extent, all hurricane-prone states are in a catch-22:  if they declare emergency too early, it loses effectiveness for the next time -- and if they declare too late, you get New Orleans devastation...  It certainly isn't easy -- but that's what the EXPERTS (NOT an ex-horse trainer) get paid to know and understand and figure out...  That's their ONLY job...  So there is absolutely no excuse for the fed's after Katrina...  Yes, they were caught flat-footed and grossly, incompetently unprepared...  Even AFTER Katrina hit, though, there was plenty of room for improvement...  But you just can't teach leadership in 3 days and you certainly can't fix stupid...

I, for one, live in Florida, during all the hurricanes (and I still do) , and never once lost power and never once had to evacuate but FEMA came to my house, even though I claimed no damage, still gave me a flier on where to go and what to do, if I wanted to claim damage.    Of course I did the right thing and claimed no damage, even though I replaced my roof after the hurricanes.   I believe in taking responsibility for myself instead of taking advantage of tax payer money, which is where FEMA money comes from.  I was a blue top baby for awhile.  Floridas Problem is highway evacuation routes, and people wanting light rail instead of highways.     Florida has exactly 3 major highways.    I-4, I-95 and I-75.    Back to New Orleans and Louisiana, it was the fault of the leaders of this state first, then U.S. Government second.    When you claiming a state of emergency before it happens, it puts the U.S. Government on alert, before the disaster occurs.    If it doesn't happen, at least they were alerted.    If the Government, after a real disaster happens and they were notified that you, as a state, was relying on them, doesn't respond, then you have a gripe.     Louisiana had no clue, so to Blame Pres. Bush for everything, makes no sense.

And the Dems in Congress gave a Hail Mary to the incompetent Governor Blanco. Good that she decided not to run. She was not up for the job.

Also the Rep. Lewis used the Armed Forces for his personal use. All was on TV recorded.

Agreed.    Must have known it was a screw up or would have run again.   To bad for the people of Louisiana, they voted those people in, including the worst of them, Nagin.    Remember the comment "making this city chocolate again"?  What a leader.    Of course, he was the first one out with his family.

Blanco and Naigin were incompetent absolutely but that does not excuse Bush who as usual left matters to his subordinates who were also incompetent. At some point he could have awakened from his stupor and taken action but he did not until the tragedy had played out far too long on T.V. and the country started calling for heads to roll.

   Its still not the governments responsibility to get into state issues unless requested.    Its that complaint  by us, as to states being able to do without government intervention, unless you hate Pres. Bush.   Mississippi did well as did Florida.    Did Louisiana declare emergencies before or after the hurricane?    If after, how long do you think it takes the government to asses the problem, figure out what is needed and then to get emergency items together, based on the assessment.   Minutes? Hours? Days?    Your talking about government now and not military discipline.  What happened to the states police, fire etc...   Oohh, that's right, they were out of the area with their families also.    The heads that should have rolled were the states government.

People need to understand one thing that made Katrina so amazingly destructive: New orleans is a major city, and is between the Mississippi River, and the Bayou and Gulf of Mexico. The potential for catastrophe is far greater than hitting the Florida Panhandle or rural areas. It would be like a Cat 5 hitting Miami smack in the face. Don't matter who the Governer is. All that water and lots of poor people with no way out of town leads to high death tolls.

    I understand the problem, of a major city, being constructed below sea level.  The issue is, did state government do what was required, or hit the road, to protect themselves?   As all complain about, government intervention in state affairs are frowned upon, unless its Pres. Bush.    Then its Pres. Bushes fault, for not intervening in state affairs.    And, Again, what happened to the government money (our tax money) sent to Louisiana, for the levee protection program, that still isn't complete?   State representatives are the issue and how well they handle an emergency.    The failure in Louisiana shows that the elected officials in that state, could not handle an emergency and need to be voted out.    Mississippi had devastation, but they sure weren't in the news much.    Louisiana had a way to get the poor out, but the officials, including the fire department, police and the mayor, were already safe in another state.

State of Emergency is signed after hurricanes. In Katrina we all were watching what was coming and GWB signed it 4 days before starting hitting.

determined---what we learned with katrina is that the federal government will get the entire blame (so long as sitting president is GOP and local government on the ground is DEM) when disaster hits. And then those dems on the ground who did naught to avert that disaster to strike like Mayor Nagin get re-elected. I've a cousin who lives in New Orleans---and I feel much better knowing there's a new governor in town.

Did anyone else happen to notice that Mr. McCain won by large margins in all three of the "Katrina states?"  Think on that just a bit.

Federal government is not here to operate state level emergencies. It can grant emergency aid and send down FEMA but that's about it. Being proactive and preparing for disaster is the state's job. Did you blame Clinton because people wouldn't leave their homes in the midwest during the floods? Did you blame Clinton for the mid-Atlantic blizzard of 1996?

Bush did his part and he rightfully expected the Louisiana government to have common sense and concern for their residents. Since they obviously had neither, Bush probably felt bad because by doing his job and not doing everyone else's, people had to suffer. Since when is it the president's job to take over everyone else's job? Isn't that called dictator?

The state of emergency was signed by Pres. Bush, 2 days prior but did not include parts of Luoisianna's parishes because Gov. Blanco had not included these parrishes in her initial request for emergency help.   After the hearing Gov. Blanco did release a letter showing more areas than were originally shown.   On the 26th, Mississippi activated its National Gaurd in preperation of the storms landfall and the state had activated its emergency center requiring emergency evacuations.    On the 28th, Pres. Bush spoke with Gov. Blanco to encourage mandatory evacuation, mainly because the Governor had not done it yet.   Nagin did issue a mandatory evac. order on the 28th, and had the superdome used as a last resort, stocked with food and water, for the poor, who could not evacuate the city.  Alittle late, since the Hurricane hit on the 29th.  Problem was, there was no follow up by the state, once this superdome was filled, and the storm past.    Florida Gov. Jeb Bush Declared a State of Emergency on the 24th and required either voluntary evacuations or mandatory evacuations in Marion County.

Gracie,

The best evacuation plan is to have a relative in another State.

How come I haven't heard the same story from my brother-in-law and friends that live in Miami?

Young Hot and Not to Smart

Federal government is not here to operate state level emergencies. It can grant emergency aid and send down FEMA but that's about it. Being proactive and preparing for disaster is the state's job. Did you blame Clinton because people wouldn't leave their homes in the midwest during the floods? Did you blame Clinton for the mid-Atlantic blizzard of 1996?

Bush did his part and he rightfully expected the Louisiana government to have common sense and concern for their residents. Since they obviously had neither, Bush probably felt bad because by doing his job and not doing everyone else's, people had to suffer. Since when is it the president's job to take over everyone else's job? Isn't that called dictator?

Did this baseless information come to you in a dream. You have no clue as to what FEMA is supposed to do. As to Bush "probably felt bad because he was doing his job" is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard. Is your name Laura Bush or are you just stupid ?

M.white bear:   You must believe in government control.   There are states rights and responsibilities that the government is supposed to stay away from.    If the state fails, then government should step in, so as to Louisiana, you must be claiming the state failed, with liberal representatives, and the conservative President should have stepped in sooner.

greg-709692

M.white bear:   You must believe in government control.   There are states rights and responsibilities that the government is supposed to stay away from.    If the state fails, then government should step in, so as to Louisiana, you must be claiming the state failed, with liberal representatives, and the conservative President should have stepped in sooner.

No, I believe in the federal government doing its job. When something this huge overwhelms local governments, the feds are supposed to come in, with the BIG equipment, money, troops, etc.

Why do you Southerners keep mentioning 'states rights'. Don't you guys know you lost that argument in 1865, duh.

I do understand your pain since you lost again last month, get over it, America won, you guys LOST.

This blog is really about that failure in the White House, not the hurricane, etc.

M. White bear, you da one! And Greg, one more thing: How in the heck do you explain Bush telling "Brownie, you're doing one heck of a job.", when "Brownie" wasn't? If the disaster gets too big for the locals, it's time for Uncle Sam to step in, as I'm sure your boy more than pushed with the $700 billion dollar bailout. Did you agree with that, too? Did you agree with out of control spending from a supposedly CONSERVATIVE President that's increased our deficit to new heights? How do you explain THAT?

 How come I haven't heard the same story from my brother-in-law and friends that live in Miami?

Determined -- I don't know the answer to that...  All I can suppose is maybe because they are at the southern end of the state and only have one way to go -- north...  I used to live in Jacksonville, where the evacuation route is either I-95 to the north or I-10 to the west...  And we had to make our decisions rather early, because once they issued the Hurricane Warning, all bridges were closed -- and since there's 7 major bridges in Jacksonville, you were hard pressed to try and get out of town without going over one of them...  A major hurricane hasn't made landfall in Jacksonville since the 60's, if I'm correct -- so people there are pretty complacent...  The one we bugged out for (I forget which one and which year) wasn't even the biggest of the year -- but it was after the fiasco of sitting on the freeway parking lot that the local powers that be decided they finally needed to institute reverse-flow traffic when evacuations were either ordered or voluntary so that people wouldn't be sitting in their cars on the freeway when it hit...

determined---what we learned with katrina is that the federal government will get the entire blame (so long as sitting president is GOP and local government on the ground is DEM

Ah, Republican victimhood.  A good reason why the GOP won't be seeing the presidency for a long while.

When I first read her quote I was in shock. It just goes to show that the Bush family does not live in the same America as the rest of us. This is why Dubya can say that we're not in a recession (because his family doesn't have to deal with it) when the rest of us know that we are.

 What I'm hearing, which is sort of scarey, is they all want to stay in Texas 

I just really noticed this little part,,,,,scarey for who Bab's???????  Afraid the black folk won't go home??

Hetep and Respect, Aunk
If only America had an 'Ignore" button, they'd have put the Republican party on it by now.

H&R Zoilus, good Idea. Republican anti-humanist Ignore button pushed, set to reset in 100 years.

Actually  it was a bit over 4 days.

And the illustrious mayor of New Orleans refused to evacuate citizens on school buses which were available for use.  People were lost and the buses destroyed.  Sure, Bush messed up.  But you also had a Democratic governor of the state and a Democratic mayor who screwed up too.  Point the blame to all who deserve it, not just your own choosing.  Why couldn't the governor and mayor make some of their own decisions before the hurricane struck.  It wasn't a national disaster until after the fact.  Sometimes preventive measures can save lives.  Nothing could be done about the property damage at the time, but you could have made people leave.  I notice everytime there is some sort of weather catastrophe that there are always people who remain behind.  Get them OUT.  Make them LEAVE. 

Nagin and the other state officals are all to blame. I'm simply pointing out that anyone watching the events on TV knew right away that this was not your garden variety hurricane. Somehow no one in the entire Bush White House got that message. Hence, we never heard a peek out of him for 4 days. By that time his reputation was ruined.

I could be wrong about this because no comprehensive study has been done to date but consider the possibility for a moment:

1) School Buses and City/County/Parish Transportation Bus Systems.

2) Buses require drivers. People are still going about their daily lives until shortly before Hurricane Katrina makes landfall.

3) At the moment that full evacuation mode is implemented, where are all of the school bus drivers, city/county and parish bus drivers? Can you ask the storm to hold back for a few hours while we install martial law and force the drivers to leave their own families and get them to drive these poor people to safety somewhere as yet unknown?

This is a reasonably good illustration of why the Republican model is passe. Find a poor person to blame for the failure of our leaders and continue to attack anyone who brings the mirror to the President, so that he can find the greatest failure of leadership. The POTUS is NOT responsible for the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina nor is he responsible for not having suitable evacuation plans in order.

However, only the exceptionally deluded can conclude that "they should have left before the storm arrived". If you are poor, with no car and no money, how do you leave and where will you go? Who would protect the few meager items that you do possess? It is the ultimate indictment of "compassionate conservatism". It has the same validity as the trickle-down economic theory. Or the tax cut for corporations so that they will hire more people. Show me the data where any of those things have ever occurred.

Not fair? On Day One of Katrina it was clear from watching TV that this was a major disaster.  Someone in the Bush administration should have gotten ahold of him in Crawford and convinced him to move on Day One.  I am simply saying that his entire administration failed him and he made it even worse by arriving on Day Three and putting his arm around FEMA Director Mike Brown (who had ZERO experience in disaster relief) and saying, "you're doing a heck of a job Brownie", while dead bodies were floating in the streets...

Uh, he was a complete failure as a POTUS.

Oh come on. Why in the heck a State have US Senators/Governor, Mayor and Representative.

Those politicians didn't need to be told, of course for elections they run a perfect traffic line for buses.

The Dems talk about the world poverty, well, I haven't read, watch a thing about starting the charity in New Orleans and Mississippi.

Hey Surf7

We as a nation have ONE HELL of a CLEAN-UP wouldn't you agree?

So to place it on one man would be lame!

I don't place the blame on Bush... I blame his band of merry idiots also... So let's try to think outside the box here... This country is in shambles so start pitching in or quit complaining... I volunteered in our community while Bush was in office ~~ Do you think you can do the same to help this great nation or perhaps you already do?

No Surf7

That's the point your service is needed throughout your lifetime, there is no time limit or amount of hours... You just do it because it makes you a better person, for helping someone out when they needed it.

The freedom that I share? Yes we all have had sacrifices in our families, but no one family is more American or not Patriotic enough because we want Peace.

To say you have done your part... It saddened me to think you are all washed up done, hands in the air Fin.

Wow, I plan on volunteering until I am scattered at sea...Just think of all the wasted opportunities you have let pass by... you could have met some really wonderful people.

But most of all I THANK YOU FOR HELPING OUR NATION and our whole world with FREEDOM>

If you want to make war, get a warrior, if you want peace Get a peace maker.

The problem with your idea of reporting on each office holders results, would be that the voters of each state don't agree with the opinions of other states. We would be back to a federated government where each state controlled what laws they would enforce and how they would have their National Representatives vote. The problem is....the people we elect, but the larger problem is the Party control of State Politics. Strong party affiliations have more influence on how votes are cast, not who may be the best candidate, always has been this way probably will never change. You have an idea with good intentions but the strength of each party will never allow a perfect government. The majority of people who run for office are very ambitious and very opinionated about their abilities. They believe they are the only ones with the answers.

Our elections are not for ideals they are who has more backing money and it does not matter the source.

Gene, the problem with your criticism of WSG's post shows an epistemic ignorance in civics. If you were an immigrant, you wouldn't pass the exam to become a Citizens..

 We would be back to a federated government where each state controlled what laws they would enforce and how they would have their National Representatives vote. 

That is exactly what happens.

We are a Democratic-republic, Democatic at the state and local level, and part of a federation of States, a republic of sovereign states each with their own State Constitutions. Federal Laws, State Laws. There are no LEADERS in the US Constitution, only representatives of the people.

If you look back to how our government was administered prior to 1787 it was not the government we live by today. It was a federation of states with a very weak central government. The states would ignore the laws of border states and administer taxes on goods from them. The leadership (representatives) they sent to the Continental Congress would only cast votes that were in favor of their state. I believe the civics and government classes I've taken would allow me to pass an immigration test. Excuse me, show me where I talk about leaders. I mentioned National Representatives(Senators and Representatives). Now look at whatever state you reside in and tell me if the people plot their course of government or do the major parties run whoever they want for office and make the policy they want, not the people.

I really didn't think I was being critical of watersportgirl, only presenting a view that due to party influence and affiliation it would be very unlikely that we would have an accounting of each politician. It would become, just as we have now, partisan. I think it would be great if an accurate accounting of what our elected reps do to make our lives better. But it would also require each citizen of each state to vote to oust the bad members. Won't ever happen.

Spot on.

LOL.....the recovery he's probably talking about is his popularity.  <<<roll eyes>>>

Oh, please.

Are the next hurricanes to be more benigns because Obama is the President?

Blind partisanship does not help with the situation.

I read the previous evacuation plan of LA/NA and they only needed to add: Bring your Blackberry phone.

Are the next hurricanes to be more benigns because Obama is the President?

No, but I doubt he would ignore that ever happened like your boy did. God forbid he, as President, shorten his vacation to help the people who he governs. Do you keep your expectations so low in order to keep from being disappointed?

Blind partisanship does not help with the situation.

Which is why you and your party are absolutely ineffective in fixing anything at all.

Are you suggesting President Bush should have got into a boat himself and starting picking people out of the city? That was pretty much underwater and on fire at one point? How do you know Bush wasn't communicating with people on the matter, or that no one was delegated to oversee the issue? You don't know because reporters don't know.

Yes, this is the implication and I gave an example of GWB wearing a Superman/Spiderman suit stopping Katrina.

Maybe he should've put down the guitar and headed up the federal side of the rescue and relief efforts. Meanwhile, the man who actually won the popular vote for POTUS in 2000, Al Gore helped airlift some 270 Katrina evacuees on two private charters from New Orleans.

The PE O's campaign so tight lip and with almost military precision discipline could not control Blago in Chicago.

Aine

Did Al Gore greased his elbows for the black and poor in New Orleans before and during his 8 years in office?

Expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit (providing $21 billion in relief for 15 million low-income families), passed/signed the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, improved economic conditions and policies such that low income people could afford the basic necessities (food, clothing, shelter) and spurred an increase in family incomes for all Americans, unemployment (including that of African-Americans which fell from 14.2 percent in 1992 to 7.3 percent in 2000, the lowest rate on record) dropped to the lowest level in more than 30 years, the poverty rate also declined from 15.1 percent in 1993 to 11.8 percent in 1999 (the largest six-year drop in poverty in nearly 30 years), made college more affordable by expanding the financial-aid program known as Pell grants and lowering interest rates on student loans, creation of more than 22.5 million jobs (the most jobs ever created under a single administration, and 92% of those were in the private sector),...

these are just a few of the things accomplished by Clinton/Gore during their 8 years in office.

It was very telling of Bush's (lack of) character that he continued to vacation, smile and party as Katrina unfolded.

I seriously doubt that Obama will go out and party during any tragedies, though if he does, I will hope that all of you excusing that behavior don't say a word.