OK, Maybe I have a Few Things to Say After All

So I’m listening, trying to figure out what the specific criticisms are in the handling of Katrina’s aftermath. I mean, I know that people are living in squalor and that they don’t have food or water or medical care. I’ve read all the horrific accounts of bodies and anguish and violence. I can read, I can weep, but I cannot begin to imagine.

Anyway, if I were goddess, this wouldn’t have happened, and if it had happened in spite of my goddessness, these folks would have been taken care of instantly afterward. These are the things we all wish we could make happen—either undo it or fix it all up instantly.

What I want to know is what CAN be done that’s not being done? What do I hear? That money that was supposed to go into shoring up New Orleans’ levies was diverted to the war. That the government is glossing over the dire circumstances. That there is an overall lack of leadership.

People—this is the leadership that 51% of this country voted for. There are no surprises here. Bush is exactly the man who ran for president. Last November, he said, “Keep me in office and I’ll give you more of the same.” More lies, more dodging responsibility, more fiscal irresponsibility. And this country put him back into power.

True to his word, Bush continued to wage a war without raising taxes. Where did people think the money was going to come from? Where else could it have come from other than important projects here and abroad? Is anyone really shocked that vital domestic needs were neglected in order to “stay the course” and “not change horses in midstream”? Isn’t that what the folks who called 49% of the population “UnAmerican” and "poor losers" cited as their reason for supporting Bush?

Oh wait—he was also voted in for the “strength of his character.” He lied about Iraq. He refused to accept responsibility for the quagmire he’s created over there. He’s mortgaging our children’s futures. How can anyone really be surprised that he and his spin-doctors are glossing over the huge issues facing victims and rescuers in Louisiana?

The storm was unpredictable (at least, by any more than a few days). Bush’s response was not. Fat lot of good that does us now.