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| Bush Says Relief Results 'Not Acceptable' |
| 2005-09-02 |
| President Bush, facing blistering criticism for his administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, said Friday "the results are not acceptable" and pledged to bolster relief efforts with a personal trip to the Gulf Coast. "We'll get on top of this situation," Bush said, "and we're going to help the people that need help." He spoke on the White House grounds just boarding his presidential helicopter, Marine One, with Homeland Security Department secretary Michael Chertoff to tour the region. The department, which oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has been accused of responding sluggishly to the deadly hurricane. "There's a lot of aid surging toward those who've been affected. Millions of gallons of water. Millions of tons of food. We're making progress about pulling people out of the Superdome," the president said. For the first time, however, he stopped defending his administration's response and criticized it. "A lot of people are working hard to help those who've been affected. The results are not acceptable," he said. "I'm heading down there right now." |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #4 I don't get a "Rudy Giuliani" vibe from the mayor of NOLA. Nor the governor of Louisiana. What's going on in Mississippi? |
| Posted by: eLarson 2005-09-02 16:36 |
| #3 Sam, I think that you, and all the whinging folks out there are more than a little unfair. From what I've seen the two public officials most to blame are the mayor of NO and the govenor of LA. It was THEIR responsibility to have a disaster relief plan that included getting food and water to the shelter points like the convention center and Superdome. Why didn't they use all those school busses for the evacuation of the folks without transport on Saturday? Once the sh** hits the fan, it takes time to coordinate and move supplies when there is no infrastructure. Do you think that we should have a million meals and gallons of water stockpiled at every potential shelter site in the country? How much would that cost and where would you put it? NO is a freakin' lake! with lot and lots of little islands with lots of people stranded on them. How many thousands of helicopter flights will it take to move 100,000 people? This has only been going on for 4 days (less if you count from when the levee let go). Let's wait for "Monday morning" before you start the Monday morning quaterbacking. Washington is neither omniscient nor omnipotent so cut them a little slack. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2005-09-02 14:05 |
| #2 I bet if the residents in NO were muslims in another country, our response would have been a hell of a lot swifter. Likely not. The only reason the USN's response to the tsunami was so quick was there were assets already there. The UNSN Comfort took weeks to make its way across. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2005-09-02 11:02 |
| #1 I am VERY upset at the lack of leadership and results on all levels - starting from the President down. The Mayor of NO finally called it like it is - gov officials showing up for press shots and PR and then leaving. I am blown away at the slow response in getting just water to the people down there. It is a national embarassment and crisis. I bet if the residents in NO were muslims in another country, our response would have been a hell of a lot swifter. |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2005-09-02 10:52 |