Bush (No Joke) Honestly Reflects on Fed Response to Katrina

[JABBS]

President Bush said at a press conference this afternoon that "I take responsibility" for failures in dealing with Hurricane Katrina and said 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."

If your jaw just dropped or you fell off your chair, be advised: you read correctly. If you are a conservative who has spent the last two weeks vigilantly trying to convince others that only Democrats -- New Orleans Mayor Nagin and Louisiana Governor Blanco -- were to blame, be advised: what Bush said today doesn't match your spin.

In all honesty, my respect level for Bush just rose a notch. The entire purpose of this blog is to react to the constant drumbeat of empty spin and propaganda from the Bush Administration and its far-flung cadre of political and pundit supporters.

Today's admission by Bush may have been scripted by Karl Rove, and it may have been made simply to stop the freefall Bush's popularity has taken since Katrina hit. But even it serves a political purpose, <strong>Bush's statement today is far better than patronizing the press and the American people, by suggesting that questioning -- let alone criticizing -- the administration is playing some unfair "blame game."


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The president was asked whether people should be worried about the government's ability to handle another terrorist attack given failures in responding to Katrina.

"Are we capable of dealing with a severe attack? That's a very important question and it's in the national interest that we find out what went on so we can better respond," Bush replied.

He said he wanted to know both what went wrong and what went right.

As for blunders in the federal response, "I'm not going to defend the process going in," Bush said. "I am going to defend the people saving lives."

He praised relief workers at all levels. "I want people in America to understand how hard people worked to save lives down there," he said.

On this, JABBS and the president agree.

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Americans are a forgiving people. Some conservatives portray Bush Administration critics -- this blog included -- as "Bush haters," or worse, "America haters." The suggestion that criticizing the president is un-American is ridiculous; dissent is an important component of free speech, and without dissent, we cannot claim to live in a free country.

Democrats and liberals aren't rooting for Bush to fail -- certainly not when people's lives are at stake, either along the Gulf Coast or in Iraq or Afghanistan.

No one expects Bush to offer mea culpas on every administration failure or disappointment. But a bit of honesty can go a long way in opening a dialogue with administration critics, in Congress and in the dreaded (among conservatives) media.

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This article first appeared at Journalists Against Bush's B.S.

[JABBS]

1. Will liberals appreciate what Bush said?

From reading the left end of the blogosphere, and the comments on JABBS to this post, seems most people don't believe Bush was being sincere.

I can see why that would be. But isn't this better than endless spin and denial?

[texpatriot2004]

2. It does give a new opportunity. We can kick it up a notch. n/t