Accountability Moment?
What's this I see? From the AP:
Like others, I've criticized Bush often for his abject refusal to acknowledge mistakes and take responsibility for his actions. So today was significant, and it must be noted. The president deserves some credit. More than anything else, however, Bush's comments are an indication of how much pressure---fear, even?---the administration is feeling on this one. Katrina was essentially Bush's "blue dress" (and infinitely more serious, of course). Despite the best efforts of the White House and the blame-the-locals spinnosphere, there is simply no denying the manifest culpability, and the polls reflect this.
Of course, beneath the blunt and shallow headlines to reports like the one above, there's a world of difference between "taking responsibility" and actually accepting blame. And since the path to the latter runs straight through the results of independent investigation, we'll see the extent to which the president's words today actually mean anything. Something that has always infuriated me is the cheap, empty "acceptance" of responsibility and blame without any attendant consequences. But if accepting blame and its consequences was the goal of a twelve step program, Bush would have pleased his therapist today by progressing to about step four.
It's important to note that the president's comments were in response to a question posed by a reporter. He'll make a prime time speech to the nation on Thursday night, so we'll soon see whether today's flirtation with accountability has the potential to blossom into a head over heels love affair.
Bush takes blame for flaws in Katrina responseWhoa, nellie! There now, Mr. President...that didn't hurt much, did it?
President Bush said Tuesday that "I take responsibility" for failures in dealing with Hurricane Katrina and that the disaster raised broader questions about the government's ability to respond to natural disasters as well as terror attacks.
"Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government," Bush said at joint White House news conference with the president of Iraq.
"To the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility," Bush said.
Like others, I've criticized Bush often for his abject refusal to acknowledge mistakes and take responsibility for his actions. So today was significant, and it must be noted. The president deserves some credit. More than anything else, however, Bush's comments are an indication of how much pressure---fear, even?---the administration is feeling on this one. Katrina was essentially Bush's "blue dress" (and infinitely more serious, of course). Despite the best efforts of the White House and the blame-the-locals spinnosphere, there is simply no denying the manifest culpability, and the polls reflect this.
Of course, beneath the blunt and shallow headlines to reports like the one above, there's a world of difference between "taking responsibility" and actually accepting blame. And since the path to the latter runs straight through the results of independent investigation, we'll see the extent to which the president's words today actually mean anything. Something that has always infuriated me is the cheap, empty "acceptance" of responsibility and blame without any attendant consequences. But if accepting blame and its consequences was the goal of a twelve step program, Bush would have pleased his therapist today by progressing to about step four.
It's important to note that the president's comments were in response to a question posed by a reporter. He'll make a prime time speech to the nation on Thursday night, so we'll soon see whether today's flirtation with accountability has the potential to blossom into a head over heels love affair.
posted by The Cunning Realist at Tuesday, September 13, 2005
34 Comments:
Love affair? We won't hold our breath, but good point.
Well it is a start but don't hold your breath.
Saw an article some place that FEMA started to charter buses Aug. 31, but we now know they did not carry through.
Boy what a mess.
A private charity brought supplies to the area for the displaced persons they were carry for, FEMA highjacked the supplies.
Nice work FEMA, why get you own when you can steal somebody elses.
I think that episode can stand for the whole Bush administration, for the last 5 years.
Since they have gotten away with that sort of behavior all this time I dought very much that they will change.
Credit where it's due. You're right, I give Bush credit for finally accepting responsibility for *something* on his watch, but it's still a long, long way from leadership.
Nice perspective on Bush's actual words.
Bush takes responsibility "To the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right."
In other words, he's only taking symbolic responsibility, on behalf of the "federal government" - as if it's something separate from him, and he's a hapless fellow who had nothing to do with its failures.
Here's what he's not saying: "I take responsibility for staffing FEMA with political hacks and cronies; for not paying attention to what everyone has said for years about the effects of a major hurricane on the Gulf Coast; and for not taking the Governor's calls because I was too bush glandhanding my way around the country."
It reminds me of an old joke about Watergate.
A comedian (can't remember who; might've been Rich Little) did a bit where, as Nixon, he said "I will take responsibility for Watergate- but not the blame. Because people who take the blame lose their jobs."
This had to be so much tougher on his "gag reflex" than the pretzel!
Yeah, you catch that this acceptance is designed to be taken as symbolic rather than real. Kind of like, "Hey- nothing I've done personally led to any problems, but I'll take responsibility in a generalized way- the way a ship captain is responsible for what his crew does-just don't expect anyone to replace me the way the ship's captain would get replaced if his crew screws up- cause, you know, I can't be responsible for everything that happens under my watch. Like the captain of a ship is. So basically, what I'm saying is . . . I guess I'm going to take responsibility here, and then I'm going to go ride my bike like I always do."
Smart political move, I guess. But what changes?
Looks like brownie is turning out to be the sacrificial lamb, not that he did not deserve it.
But it looks like he should also be joined by his superior who did not know what his duties were as head of homeland securities.
(Boy what an assinine label for a department. Sounds right out of non too intelligent sci-fi novel. Speaking of that I guess on reflection what else can one expect from this administration).
I wonder what it will take to nail his skin to the flooded barn door.
Read this article
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/12637172.htm
Hope our moderator will have to say something about this new story, in case that he even bothers to read our comments.
Did you actually see him make the statement? Holy smokes -- he looked like someone stuck a cattleprod up his butt to make him say it!
C&L has the video.
bush looked to be in real pain having to utter even this abstract of reality. it was indeed a case of "if anything went wrong i'll look into it and i guess i'm responsible cause i am at the top but they never told me...." he was even squirming like a 3 yr old caught after trying to flush the cat down the toilet.
i got an ominous feeling as he refused to look into the camera and for the first intimated that we may not be safer as he has for so long rammed down our throats, that the homeland security act is just gonna get heavier handed.
ya see, somehow this is likely to translate into even less gov responsibility and more dismantling of our civil liberties...
mudvilles point is also well taken, and there are more.
this admin has warped the very fabric of who we, as a nation, are both among ourselves and the world.
and why is that?
every body best look in the mirror.
then look at your neighbors...
happy now?
feral
It seems that bush is only the president to the reublican governers not democratic.
It seems he had time to call the Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour several times, but NO time to take the call from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco.
Is that not wonderful!!!
This is from the following article:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-09-12-two-governors_x.htm
What a careing administration we have. We should be thankful that they don't shoot them.
here's something else for anyone who wants to give the admin it's strokes for "taking responsibility"
"The National Guard team of searchers was about to call in a "DB," or dead body, at 1927 Lopez St. in the Broadmoor district when Lt. Frederick Fell decided to investigate.In the past few days, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has ordered searchers not to break into homes. They are supposed to look in through a window and knock on the door. If no one cries out for help, they are supposed to move on. If they see a body, they are supposed to log the address and move on. The morticians will remove the deceased later.But Fell broke the rules and ordered his men to bash open the door, launching a series of events that would save a man's life and revitalize California Task Force 5 from Orange County. In the past two days, the 80-member task force had identified seven dead bodies in the same neighborhood, and they had rescued no one.But Tuesday, 16 days after Hurricane Katrina smacked this aging community in the face, an unconscious and emaciated man identified as Edgar Hollingsworth, 74, was rescued. The man is expected to survive."
HERE'S TO THE MAN WHO RECOGNIZES UNLAWFUL ORDERS WHEN HE HEARS EM!
here's the link to the whole article.
http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/09/14/sections/news/news/article_674836.php
feral
Considering this Administration's penchant to look at every issue through a political lens, and a political lens, only, smart money is on his statement and upcoming speech accepting responsibility as representing a shift in strategy merely to shore up waning support from the populace. It's akin to a movie tough-guy acting vulnerable so that he gets more favorable reviews from critics skeptical of his acting abilities. However, in this case, there's no glossing over general incompetence. This guy's a lousy actor and a lousy President.
It was a big move for him just to flirt with accountability.
Feral, thanks for posting that. I've met some of the Talk Force 5 guys. Like most S&R guys, they're independent thinkers. Not surprised that they tossed the playbook aside like that.
I'm afraid it's too little to late for Chimpy.
Talk is cheap.
Interesting, too, how he - indirectly - questioned the governments ability to protect the US in case of a future terror attack directly after 'taking responsibility'. Better not feel too safe...
"BUSH: Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government. And to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility. I want to know what went right and what went wrong. I want to know how to better cooperate with state and local government, to be able to answer that very question that you asked: Are we capable of dealing with a severe attack or another severe storm? And that's a very important question. And it's in our national interest that we find out exactly what went on and -- so that we can better respond."
MMFA also noted the WP omitting these statements from their reporting:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200509140007
You guys are laughable, really.
I guess you are gearing up to defeat Bush in 2008. Especially since the Federal Election Comission has ruled that Gore really won in 2000. Since Gore was President from 2000-2004, that makes Bush eligible to run for a second term in 2008!
I'm surprised that all of you unbiased truth detectives have not yet discovered the real reason for the N.O. tragedy. The hurricane was hatched by Karl Rove. Louisiana was viewed as a swing state, so he destroyed N.O. and moved all of those fine democrat looters-I mean voters to Texas where their votes will be lost among the strongest red-state ever. A masterstroke of electoral Gerrymandering and you all missed the scoop.
If there is another Republican President and congressional majority after the Democrat's Hillary Disaster in 2008, the Supreme Court will be chock full of conservative justices for the rest of our liftimes.
All of you liberals will have to say goodbye to women's rights, gay rights, civil rights, social security and anything except the missionary position!
The word "CHOICE" will once again be associated with preferences for things such as your favorite flavor of ice cream instead of the willful ending of a human life.
PenDragon
PenDragon, do you have any actual arguments (you know--the kind supported by evidence, logic, or anything other than bile)? Please post your silly fantasies elsewhere.
All of you liberals will have to say goodbye to women's rights, gay rights, civil rights, social security and anything except the missionary position!
Well, at last we can agree on something. Where we differ, I suppose, is that apparently republicans see this as a good thing.
The most stunning news of the day, via the NY Times, is that Karl Rove will direct the reconstruction of the Gulf coast. A political strategist with absolutely no experience in this regard.
That's abit like James Carville directing the rebuilding of Baghdad.
This appointment speaks volumes about Bush's priorities in the rebuilding effort. Politics first, politics always. The man just does not get it.
I'm hoping that Rove is indicted come October.
I very much doubt it. I am sure Rove can shoot somebody on Main street at high noon with a 100 witnesses and it will be the ruled that it was the victims fault for being there and therefore Rove will not be charged.
Pissed
Jason and Jake,
Read my earlier posts, I tried logic, evidence and photographs, it doesn't work on libersls. So, I thought I would have some fun.
There was no sense in pointing out that Mississippi, the state that really took the hit from Katrina, handled the devastation with the same FEMA so much better than Louisiana. You guys didn't want to know. Just like you didn't want to know which levees broke : Newly constructed or refurbished levees don't fit in nicely with the "war in Iraq caused insufficient funding" argument you were pushing, likewise the "too many troops pacifying Iraq to passify looters in N.O." argument. There was no sense in pointing out that the Army Corps of Engineers have stated that there was no plan on the drawing board that would have prevented what happened when a category 4 hurricane hit. The school buses in water photo was a problem for the "Bush Administration just left African-Americans there to die" canard, but all of you finessed it nicely.
You relied on farsical (and racist) stories of African-Americans turning to cannibalism (After only 3 days away from Burger King, no less!)to back up your hatred.
Your minds are (were) made up, I didn't want to confuse you with the facts.
I guess you never got over the fact that Clinton got impeached-and disbarred- for committing perjury and have been looking for revenge ever since.
By the way, I noticed how fact-laden your posts are.
PenDragon
Fact: People are dead due to Bush cronyism.
Fact: Bin Laden is free and operating.
Fact: Iran is willing to sell nuclear know-how and supplies to the highest bidder.
Fact: Iraqi women, once the freest in the Middle East, are relegated to second-class status.
Fact: Iraq is turning from a secular (and relatively powerless) dictatorship into an Islamic Republic, with a precarious ethnic balance likely to lead to civil war.
Fact: A $200 billion dollar surplus is now a $200 billion deficit, and that's without Katrina's additional $200 billion factored in.
And I'm (sad to say) one of your fellow Republicans, jerkoff.
Anonymous,
I love your intelligent name-calling twit, I mean wit.
Unfortunately, your "facts" are not true. For example, "People are dead because..." Give one solid example of a person who died because of the reason you stated. You can't.
"Bin Laden is free and operating." If you call what he is reduced to as being free and operating, there is not much point in discussion, is there?
"Iran is willing..." I guess this is Bush's fault somehow. Please explain? Remember, it was Bush that called them out as part of the Axis of Evil.
"Iraqi woman..." This is really the funniest. I guess if you consider rape rooms and systematic torture freedom, you are from a different planet: NY Timesville.
Don't just repeat platitudes and expect intelligent people to buy into it the same way liberal college students just sit there and nod whenever thier radical professors spout off.
"Iraq was a powerless dictatorship...I guess that is a matter of opinion, not a fact. Secular, yes, but only if worship of the worst tyrant since Hitler is not considered a religion.
"The 200 billion surplus" Was it real? How much was inflated like the records of ENRON and Global Crossing during the Clinton Years. If it was real, where did it go to?
Don't give me any of that BS about tax breaks for the rich. Those tax reductions have resulted in record amounts of tax money coming into the Federal government. As they say, you can look it up, but you won't
Now, lets talk about what Bush did do:
1. 50 million people freed from tyranny.
2. The first US government support of stem cell research.
Guess what, the NY Times never bothered to tell you that, did they?
3. Lower unemployment than anywhere in western Europe.
4. Got Lybia to abandon its weapons of mass destruction programs, without firing a shot.
5. Got a verifiable (Not like Clinton's) agreement from North Korea where it agreed to give up its nuclear program that is backed up by Russia & China.
6. Ran totally on his record, with no apologies, and was reelected.
Now, tell me somehing truly lasting, besides gays in the military, that will be Clinton's legacy. No mention of cigars and interns, please.
PenDragon
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