I voted for George Bush... not the first time, but the second. I really didn't see much to John Kerry and didn't think I knew enough information as everyone else thought they knew to look back at Iraq and say it was a bad decision. Actually, I still don't think it was a bad decision--its just obvious that there was no execution.
And now, again, our management team is proving they can't execute.
I don't think George Bush is evil. I don't think he's a religious fanatic... but right now, at this very moment, he has failed millions of Americans in the South.
Jason wrote a great post about what it would be like if Rudy was President now and I feel exactly the same way. After September 11th, Rudy Giuliani's actions made him the Mayor of America. He stood in the trenches, walked the streets, pitched in and got the job done. He went to most of the firefighter and funerals... often times several a day.
We don't have that kind of leader right now... its obvious to me.
In fact, its not just Bush. Its the whole damn government. Check out Sen. Mary Landrieu getting raked over the coals by Anderson Cooper. She was thanking the President who "will be here tomorrow 'we think'". And she's a DEMOCRAT!! What the hell was she thanking him for?
Frankly, I think all these people would have been safer if we bused them to Bagdhad. At least there are some National Guardspeople over there from what I hear.
There are two tragedies here. One is Katrina. The other is our government leaders. We knew this was coming... a flood in New Orleans was one of FEMA's top three concerns just a couple of years ago. And yet, its taken days for supplies to arrive, and armed looters run the streets. And yet, no one wants to take responsibility.
Is it because they're poor and black? I don't know. I'd hate to think that. I think its more the case that our government became obsessed with terrorism and forgot about anything else. 19 assholes hijack some planes in a really hack operation when you think about it... boxcutters... jeez... and kill off three thousand people. If that justifies every man, woman, and child fearing for their lives for "what Osama will do next" and $190+ billion to fight terrorism then what should a destroyed city (yes, New Orleans has been destroyed, let's not kid ourselves), potentally 10,000 dead, and millions homeless justify?
How about getting the bodies off the streets? How about fixing a levee or two? A few buckets of food airdropped from a plane wouldn't hurt either. Days after the tsunami, I remember seeing footage of airdropped food... how come I haven't seen it here?
What the fuck are we doing?
I think everyone in New Orleans should get a tax refund. Every dollar they've given the government for the last ten years should go back to them, because clearly we haven't spent dime one for their benefit.
I backed you George... gave you the benefit of the doubt for going into Iraq... didn't quite like what you were doing with the place... but this... this is awful. Its unforgivable.
For more good links on this top, check out everything tagged both Bush and Katrina on del.icio.us.