Bush Speech: Late to the Party and Way Over Budget

Posted on September 16, 2005

Bush did not have his bullhorn moment last night in New Orleans. First off, in all my years of watching presidents give speeches I don't recall any one of them telling me to call a toll-free number, like a late-night TV commercial urging me to buy ginsu knives. And within 24 hours of Hurricane Katrina, numerous websites had already been set up to help survivors find family members. Senator John Kerry had comments immediately after the speech, saying "Leadership isn't a speech or a toll-free number."

"No American doubts that New Orleans will rise again," Kerry said. "They doubt the competence and commitment of this administration." House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, in a joint statement, said, "We are concerned by Bush administration initiatives this week waiving wage protections, environmental safeguards and protections for veterans, minorities, women and the disabled."
In his speech, Bush glossed over the reason for the slow response (the gutting of FEMA's budget, making FEMA part of Homeland Security instead of the independent disaster SWAT team it used to be, and putting cronies into positions of importance) and instead talked about how he's going to bankrupt the rest of the country in order to fund "the biggest reconstruction project the world has ever seen." He wants to give away federal land, set up private accounts, etc. And how exactly are we going to pay for all this? The deficit is out of control. Iraq is a total disaster. Iran has just announced that it's going to give "peaceful nuclear technology" to all Muslim states. John Bolton hasn't been able to get anyone at the UN to help us sanction Iran because of his terrible personality.

The only thing that made any sense is an economic zone for the area: that could actually stimulate the economy. But if it's not run by someone who knows how to run a tight ship (oh, say like Colin Powell or Wesley Clark), that too will be a black hole of debt. And who will we borrow from to finance all this stuff? Why, China, of course. Glad you asked.


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