Country singers Faith Hill and Tim McGraw hold their awards for best country collaboration backstage at the 48th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles February 8, 2006.

ABC News: Faith Hill, Tim McGraw Blast ‘Humiliating’ Katrina Cleanup

Country Stars Lash Out in Anger Over Conditions in Storm-Ravaged States

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw REALLY need to SHUT UP AND SING.

Technorati Tags: FaithHill, TimMcgraw, HurricaneKatrina, Shutupandsing, LauraIngraham

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff (C) speaks to reporters, as U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen (R) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Michael Brown look on, at FEMA’s Hurricane Katrina media center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana September 9, 2005. Brown, the embattled director of FEMA, is resigning, a senior homeland security official said September 12, 2005.

The ASSociated Press has Embattled FEMA Director Mike Brown Resigns.

Federal Emergency Management Agency director Mike Brown said Monday he has resigned “in the best interest of the agency and best interest of the president,” three days after losing his onsite command of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

“The focus has got to be on FEMA, what the people are trying to do down there,” Brown told The Associated Press.

Lesson to the President and future Presidents – FEMA Director should be a professional in the area of disaster management not a political appointment.

Technorati Tags: Hurricane Katrina, FEMA, Michael Brown, President Bush

The ASSociated Press is reporting that Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown is being removed from his role managing Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Brown is being sent back to Washington from Baton Rouge, where he was the primary official overseeing the federal government’s response to the disaster, according to two federal officials who declined to be identified before the announcement.

Brown will be replaced by Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad w. Allen, who was overseeing New Orleans relief and rescue efforts.

Brown has been under fire because of the administration’s slow response to the magnitude of the hurricane. On Thursday, questions were raised about whether he padded his resume to highlight his previous emergency management background.

Fox News is also reporting that Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen is being named to replace Brown.

Flap reported previously Hurricane Katrina: The Political Aftermath calling for Brown’s removal.

About damn time.

Technorati Tags: Michael Brown, FEMA, Thad Allen, Hurricane Katrina

US Senator Hillary Clinton, seen here in June 2005, fueled the political debate over Hurricane Katrina, insisting on an independent inquiry into the federal response and sharply rejecting President George W. Bush’s bid to lead the probe himself.

Michelle Malkin has NOT ANOTHER DAMNED COMMISSION.

Dead bodies are still floating all over New Orleans. Hundreds, if not thousands, of children are still searching for their parents. Wiped-out communities are still awaiting water and power.

So, what is armchair first responder Sen. Hillary Clinton’s first response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster?

A commission.

“It has become increasingly evident that our nation was not prepared,” Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y.) lectured in a Labor Day letter to President Bush. Yes, thank you, Sen. Sherlock. Those gleaming degrees from Wellesley and Yale Law are really paying off.

Sen. Clinton’s “Katrina Commission” would be modeled after the “independent” 9/11 Commission. I can see it now: Democrat Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, whose main imperative is covering up her own culpability, will be the next Jamie Gorelick; Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard, the local corrupt-o-crat who got his 15 minutes of fame on “Meet the Press” last week, will be the next Richard Ben-Veniste.

And this time for “diversity,” maybe they’ll call on Randall “Black people are eating corpses…oh, never mind” Robinson and rapper Kanye “It’s all about me” West to share their deep expertise.

Despite the abject failures of local and state officials to prepare for the worst, abide by their own evacuation plans, maintain an effective police force, and crack down on looters, Sen. Clinton’s commission would only examine the “adequacy of federal response efforts.”

Translation: Bash Bush.

Look, there’s no question the feds fell down on the job. The president himself said he was “not satisfied” with the response. If the White House’s purportedly brilliant strategists had any sense, they would advise Bush to fire Federal Emergency Management Agency head Michael Brown in a heartbeat. Brown is the most cretinous of political cronies, a college roommate of a former FEMA official who had no prior experience in disaster management before he was hired in 2001unless you count managing his own checkered job history.

All that aside, a Katrina Commission modeled after the 9/11 Commission is a recipe for more disaster and dissembling.

Agreed.

Hillary is late on the Katrina Bash bandwagon and such indecision in smelling political opportunity never stalled husband Bill.

But, I suppose she HAD to say something.

NOTE WELL:

Her future Presidential opponent, Rudy Giuliani, does not agree.

Technorati Tags: Hillary Clinton, President Bush, Hurricane Katrina, Rudy Giuliani

Matt Drudge has CNNUSATODAYGALLUP POLL: ONLY 13% BLAME BUSH?

Wed Sep 07 2005 10:42:26 ET

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll of 609 adults taken September 5-6 shows:

Blame Game — 13% said George W. Bush is “most responsible for the problems in New Orleans after the hurricane”; 18% said “federal agencies”; 25% said “state and local officials”; 38% said “no one is to blame”; 6% had no opinion. — 29% said that “top officials in the federal agencies responsible for handling emergencies should be fired”; 63% said they should not; 8% had no opinion.

MORE

Government Performance — 10% said George W. Bush has done a “great” job in “responding to the hurricane and subsequent flooding”; 25% said “good”; 21% said “neither good nor bad”; 18% said “bad”; 24% said “terrible”; 2% had no opinion. — 8% said federal government agencies responsible for handling emergencies have done a “great” job in “responding to the hurricane and subsequent flooding”; 27% said “good”; 20% said “neither good nor bad”; 20% said “bad”; 22% said “terrible”; 3% had no opinion. — 7% said state and local officials in Louisiana have done a “great” job in “responding to the hurricane and subsequent flooding”; 30% said “good”; 23% said “neither good nor bad”; 20% said “bad”; 15% said “terrible”; 5% had no opinion.

But, this is not the spin the AFP which has Americans disapprove of Bush’s handling of hurricane crisis: poll.

Forty-two percent of Americans said US President George W. Bush has handled Hurricane Katrina badly while 35 percent thought he has performed well, according to a Gallup poll just published.

Ok, let’s look directly at the Gallup Poll:

No Apparent Outrage With Government’s Response to Hurricane

Despite widespread criticism of the response by Bush and, separately, the federal government, to the problems caused by the hurricane, the public seems on balance only mildly critical. Forty-two percent say Bush did a “bad” (18%) or “terrible” (24%) job, but 35% rate his response as either “great” (10%) or “good” (25%).

Do you think — [RANDOM ORDER] — has/have done a — great, good, neither good nor bad, bad, or terrible job — in responding to the hurricane and subsequent flooding?

	Great	Good	Neither good nor bad	Bad	Ter- rible	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
George W. Bush	10	25	21	18	24	2
Federal government agencies responsible for handling emergencies	8	27	20	20	22	3
State and local officials in Louisiana	7	30	23	20	15	5

Federal agencies received a similar rating, with 42% of Americans giving a low rating and 35% a high one. The public was about evenly divided on state and local officials in Louisiana — 37% giving a high rating and 35% a low one.

The ratings for Bush are highly related to party affiliation.

• By a margin of 69% to 10%, Republicans give Bush a positive rather than negative rating for his response.
• Democrats give almost a mirror opposite — 66% negative to 10% positive.
• Independents side with the Democrats, giving a more modest margin — 47% negative to 29% positive.

When asked to identify who was most responsible for the problems in New Orleans after the hurricane, 38% of Americans said no one was really to blame, while 13% cited Bush, 18% the federal agencies, and 25% state and local officials.

Who do you think is MOST responsible for the problems in New Orleans after the hurricane — [ROTATED: George W. Bush, federal agencies, (or) state and local officials], or is no one really to blame?

	George W. Bush	Federal agencies	State/ local officials	No one to blame	No opinion
2005 Sep 5-6	13%	18	25	38	6

Few Americans feel that any top official in the agencies responsible for handling emergencies should be dismissed from office — just 29% say someone should be fired, while 63% disagree.

Do you think that any of the top officials in the federal agencies responsible for handling emergencies should be fired, or don’t you think so?

	Yes, should be fired	No, don’t think so	No opinion
2005 Sep 5-6	29%	63	8

Police are trying to get the remaining residents in New Orleans to evacuate, because of health and safety problems. Americans agree with this effort by better than a 2-to-1 margin, 66% to 30%.

Which comes closer to your view — [ROTATED: all residents of New Orleans should evacuate the city (or) the residents of New Orleans who are still in the city should be allowed to stay]?

	All residents should evacuate city	Residents still in the city should be allowed to stay	No opinion
2005 Sep 5-6	66%	30	4

The public tends to be upbeat about the efforts being made to deal with the disaster. Sixty-two percent feel the progress being made in the region is satisfactory, while 35% say it is not.

Based on what you have seen or read in the past day or two, do you think the progress made in dealing with the situation is satisfactory, or not?

	Yes, is	No, is not	No opinion
2005 Sep 5-6	62%	35	3

As for the effect of the hurricane on gas prices, Americans express a cynical view — by 79% to 18%, they believe that gas companies are taking advantage of the situation to charge unfair prices.

Which comes closer to your view — [ROTATED: the gas companies are charging a fair price given the conditions caused by the hurricane, (or) the gas companies are taking advantage of the situation and charging unfair prices]?

	Charging fair price given conditions	Taking advantage, charging unfair prices	No opinion
2005 Sep 5-6	18%	79	3

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 609 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Sept. 5-6, 2005. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

For results based on the sample of 268 adults who say the city of New Orleans will completely recover from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±6 percentage points.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

The MSM wants to blame Bush.

Hillary wants to join the bandwagon BASH, but Rudy Giuliani thinks differently.

The American people know the difference.

US President George W. Bush (C) speaks at the New Orleans International Airport. Bush was joined by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (L), Lousiana Governor Kathleen Blanco (R) and Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown (2nd-L)

The State and Federal Response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster has been SLOW and INADEQUATE.

The photo above shows the four people (STOOGES) ultimately responsible. Three are elected officials and voters will hold them accountable and the last, Michael Brown, the FEMA chief is appointed by the President.

Michael Brown should be fired and replaced immediately. His management of disaster relief has failed miserably.

Michelle Malkin has MEMO TO BUSH: FIRE MICHAEL BROWN.

During his visit to Mobile, Ala., on Friday, President Bush singled out Michael D. Brown, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for praise:

“Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.“

Really? “Brownie’s” job is to direct the federal response to natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. Let’s review his public statements during the past week:

– He admitted that he didn’t act more aggressively because as late as last Sunday he expected Katrina to be a “standard hurricane” even though the National Weather Service in New Orleans was already predicting “human suffering incredible by modern standards.”

– He proved himself utterly clueless about the disaster unfolding in New Orleans. He claimed that the federal relief effort was “going relatively well” and that the security situation in New Orleans was “pretty darn good.”

– He blamed the flood victims in New Orleans for failing to evacuate on time, even though local authorities failed to make municipal vehicles available to residents who could not drive or did not own their own cars.

“It took four days to begin a large-scale evacuation of people stranded in the Superdome stadium and to bring in significant amounts of food and water to an American city easily accessible by motorway,” the Observer notes. “Relief agencies took half that time to reach Indonesia after the Boxing Day tsunami. “

Although the delay was not entirely the fault of the Bush Administration, Brown’s complacency clearly didn’t help. And his bumbling statements after the hurricane struck have not inspired confidence.

This is not the time to give a weak performer the benefit of the doubt. The FEMA director’s role in the ongoing recovery effort is too important to be entrusted to a clueless political hack with such poor judgment.

Rather than praise Michael Brown, Bush should fire him.

An aerial view of flooded school buses in a lot, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005, in New Orleans, LA. The flood is a result of Hurricane Katrina that passed through the area last Monday.

Geroge Bush bears full responsibility for the failure of his response team. He was SLOW to arrive on the site; slow to assess the enormity of the disaster and SLOW to provide necessary resources for the hurricane’s aftermath. A top to bottom review of his administration and staff is in order – or he is more a LAME DUCK than he already is.

Brendan Loy has a superb post about Brown’s failure to anticipate the enormity of Katrina (hat tip: Glenn Reynolds):

No one — NO ONE — who knows anything about New Orleans’s geography and topography and levee system would ever have thought for a single moment on Saturday and Sunday that Katrina, if it followed the predicted path, was going to be a “typical hurricane situation.” Jesus Christ!! For how many years now has this article been out there?!? And this one? And many more like them? Did Michael Brown never read them? Was he not familiar with the science? Was FEMA’s director unaware of what has been acknowledged for many years as the #1 most serious natural disaster threat in all of America?!?

A few days ago, Newt Gingrich had it right.

So….. who benefits politically from this Bush Administration failure: Rudy Giuliani.

Update #1

An Angry ‘Times-Picayune’ Calls for Firing of FEMA Chief and Others in Open Letter to President On Sunday

The text of the editorial:

We heard you loud and clear Friday when you visited our devastated city and the Gulf Coast and said, “What is not working, we’re going to make it right.”

Please forgive us if we wait to see proof of your promise before believing you. But we have good reason for our skepticism.

Bienville built New Orleans where he built it for one main reason: It’s accessible. The city between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain was easy to reach in 1718.

How much easier it is to access in 2005 now that there are interstates and bridges, airports and helipads, cruise ships, barges, buses and diesel-powered trucks.

Despite the city’s multiple points of entry, our nation’s bureaucrats spent days after last week’s hurricane wringing their hands, lamenting the fact that they could neither rescue the city’s stranded victims nor bring them food, water and medical supplies.

Meanwhile there were journalists, including some who work for The Times-Picayune, going in and out of the city via the Crescent City Connection. On Thursday morning, that crew saw a caravan of 13 Wal-Mart tractor trailers headed into town to bring food, water and supplies to a dying city.

Television reporters were doing live reports from downtown New Orleans streets. Harry Connick Jr. brought in some aid Thursday, and his efforts were the focus of a “Today” show story Friday morning.

Yet, the people trained to protect our nation, the people whose job it is to quickly bring in aid were absent. Those who should have been deploying troops were singing a sad song about how our city was impossible to reach.

We’re angry, Mr. President, and we’ll be angry long after our beloved city and surrounding parishes have been pumped dry. Our people deserved rescuing. Many who could have been were not. That’s to the government’s shame.

Mayor Ray Nagin did the right thing Sunday when he allowed those with no other alternative to seek shelter from the storm inside the Louisiana Superdome. We still don’t know what the death toll is, but one thing is certain: Had the Superdome not been opened, the city’s death toll would have been higher. The toll may even have been exponentially higher.

It was clear to us by late morning Monday that many people inside the Superdome would not be returning home. It should have been clear to our government, Mr. President. So why weren’t they evacuated out of the city immediately? We learned seven years ago, when Hurricane Georges threatened, that the Dome isn’t suitable as a long-term shelter. So what did state and national officials think would happen to tens of thousands of people trapped inside with no air conditioning, overflowing toilets and dwindling amounts of food, water and other essentials?

State Rep. Karen Carter was right Friday when she said the city didn’t have but two urgent needs: “Buses! And gas!” Every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be fired, Director Michael Brown especially.

In a nationally televised interview Thursday night, he said his agency hadn’t known until that day that thousands of storm victims were stranded at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. He gave another nationally televised interview the next morning and said, “We’ve provided food to the people at the Convention Center so that they’ve gotten at least one, if not two meals, every single day.”

Lies don’t get more bald-faced than that, Mr. President.

Yet, when you met with Mr. Brown Friday morning, you told him, “You’re doing a heck of a job.”

That’s unbelievable.

There were thousands of people at the Convention Center because the riverfront is high ground. The fact that so many people had reached there on foot is proof that rescue vehicles could have gotten there, too.

We, who are from New Orleans, are no less American than those who live on the Great Plains or along the Atlantic Seaboard. We’re no less important than those from the Pacific Northwest or Appalachia. Our people deserved to be rescued.

No expense should have been spared. No excuses should have been voiced. Especially not one as preposterous as the claim that New Orleans couldn’t be reached.

Mr. President, we sincerely hope you fulfill your promise to make our beloved communities work right once again.

When you do, we will be the first to applaud.

Stay Tuned…..

Update #2

ABC News Poll: Bush Not Taking Brunt of Katrina Criticism

Americans are broadly critical of government preparedness in the Hurricane Katrina disaster — but far fewer take George W. Bush personally to task for the problems, and public anger about the response is less widespread than some critics would suggest.

In an event that clearly has gripped the nation — 91 percent of Americans are paying close attention — hopefulness far outweighs discontent about the slow-starting rescue. And as in so many politically charged issues in this country, partisanship holds great sway in views of the president’s performance.

The most critical views cross jurisdictions: Two-thirds in this ABC News/Washington Post poll say the federal government should have been better prepared to deal with a storm this size, and three-quarters say state and local governments in the affected areas likewise were insufficiently prepared.

Other evaluations are divided. Forty-six percent of Americans approve of Bush’s handling of the crisis, while 47 percent disapprove. That compares poorly with Bush’s 91 percent approval rating for his performance in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but it’s far from the broad discontent expressed by critics of the initial days of the hurricane response. (It also almost exactly matches Bush’s overall job approval rating, 45 percent, in an ABC/Post poll a week ago.)

Similarly, 48 percent give a positive rating to the federal government’s response overall, compared with 51 percent who rate it negatively — another split view, not a broadly critical one.

Technorati Tags: Hurricane Katrina, Michael Brown, George Bush, Rudy Giuliani, Ray Nagin, Kathleen Blanco, flood aid