First on the Right Road
Thank you, Mr. President, for your honest, forthright acceptance of at least some of the responsibility for the man-made disaster that followed Hurricane Katrina.
"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," Mr Bush said at a news conference. "I want to know what went right and what went wrong" (BBC NEWS).Now the finger-pointers have the mea culpa they've been whining for, let's move on to solving the immediate problem and save the post-game analysis for its appropriate time. There will be enough blame to pass around -- from local politicians who spend for the moment and plan not for the future, to you and your advisors who picked a man that knew more about horses than had horse-sense to head FEMA, to residents who showed just about as much sense -- and enough time to make sure everyone gets their fair share.
Your frank comments, sir, are appreciated and I commend you for being first on the right road of leadership.
Photo Credit: Eric Draper (White House) 01 Feb 2005.
Also see: "President Says He's Responsible in Storm Lapses" NY Times Online, another in-depth article.
Editors Note: I sent a slightly modified copy of this (a touch better grammar and a bit more personal) to the president via e-mail 09 Sept 2005. I don't expect a response but one day I'll get around to posting the story behind Mr. Clinton responding to an e-mail of mine.
