But they didn't do all that they should have done until after the damage was done.Now, she did go on to point out that I was exageratting in saying that he did NOTHING, and I AM, but not by a whole lot.
You're being generous. They didn't do ANYTHING AT ALL until a few days AFTER the damage was done. And even THEN they didn't do all they should have, let alone could have.
Katrina served as the trigger for the public's loss of faith in Bush. It was the point at which it was no longer sacrilidge to openly quetsion the Iraq War, and it was at that point that the image of Bush as our fearless, stoic, post-9/11 leader begans to crumble. And as it also kicked of the ridiculously high gas prices that started the ball rolling on the recession (which came early in Michigan, where I live) it also led to the dismantling of the myth that these clown could run the economy any better as well.
This will undoubtedly NOT be Obama's finest hour, especially coming a week or so after expandging offshore drilling! But the response thus far and the continued support that will undoubtedly come, has put and will continue to put Bush's Katrina responce to shame. This WILL have a net positive effect on Obama's approval rating in a regionof the country that is otherwose, arguably the most hostile. Could he win LA, MS or AL against a drill-baby-drill Republican in 2012? It's possible. We'll see...
But in the meantime, I dare the Republicans to try and block ANY of the aid and services he sends to the region.
This is not Obama's "Katirna." It's closer (not quite there, but closer) to Obama's "9/11."
I bring this up, becuase there will likely be a lot of discussion in the near future regarding chanegs in energy and environmental policy. That's the silver lining in all of this: that there may finally be some serious political will on the part of the public to, at a minimum, impose some serious and stringent (and long overdue) regulations on the oil industry. Now... I'm not celebrating this disater: Make no mistake, it IS a disaster. And it's sad that it typically takes a disaster to change public opinion. It's equally sad that our commitment to that change tends to fade over time. But if this causes Obama to back track some of that expanded drilling? AND get serious about alternative energy? Maybe for the next few months this short-term disaster will repriortize our thinking so that our short-sighted greed won't continue to trump our long-term interests so easily.
If your community is anything like mine, it often takes a fatal accident or two before they'll put up a traffic light at an intersection that, according to traffic counts, doesn't NEED a traffic light. How does it magically, suddenly need a traffic light after those fatalities, but not before? Well, it doesn't. But at times, that is what's necessary to get things rolling. I was watching on TV last night about a plane crash that was mostly caused by the fact that the pilots hadn't put the elevators on the wings in the correct position, and that was because while waiting in line to take off, they had a stewardess in there talking to them.
ReplyDeleteThere already existed a rule that said that no one should be in the cockpit during those timeframes, but you can bet your bippy that they really enforced that rule AFTER that accident.
So, like you, I don't have any pleasure from knowing that this accident happened, but I too hope that it will cause changes to happen. I bet that the Feds won't buy the industry's argument any more that the $500,000 remote acoustic shut-off valves are too expensive to be worth it, for one thing.
I was happy to see the White House Blog release a detailed outline of the disaster and the administration's actions...
ReplyDeleteDoes plenty to dispel some of those nasty conservative rumors circulating out there...
DD,
ReplyDeleteYou're community sounds a lot like "America."
KK,
Sure - assuming anyone is READING it. ;)
Thank you both for your comments.
JL,
ReplyDeleteYou are far from the only member of the religious left even amongst readers of this Blog. (Steeve, above, for example.) And it might surprise him to find out that I have absolutely NOTHING negative to say about what you just posted. I do not SHARE youre belief but I DO respect it. I particularly respect that you take it seriously enough to not appreciate its use as a cheap, political sledgehammer.
The cause of religion in general needs FAR more people like you representing it and far LESS of the people you mentioned.
Thanks for your comment.