In his final press conference as president, George W. Bush stood before anxious reporters in the White House press room last week and deeply reflected upon his decisions of the past eight years.
He admitted that “Mission Accomplished” banner on an aircraft carrier was a mistake. He admitted some of his rhetoric was unfortunately constructed. He regretted the faulty weapons of mass destruction intelligence that led to the war in Iraq.
I appreciate the president’s honesty; it can take a lot for a political leader to admit his or her shortcomings. Bush’s sincere rumination has been rather refreshing.
But how, after three years, the president can still stand behind the bulk of the decisions the federal government made following Hurricane Katrina is downright appalling. New Orleans will never be the city it once was.
“More people need to have their own home there,” Bush said at the press conference, according to the Associated Press. “But the systems are in place to continue the reconstruction in New Orleans. You know, people said, ‘Well, the federal response was slow.’ Don’t tell me the federal response was slow when there was 30,000 people pulled off roofs right after the storm passed.”
Excuse me, Mr. President, but I dare you to say that to the people of New Orleans who lost loved ones and are desperately trying to rebuild their lives. The response was too slow — it’s as simple as that.
Blame does not lie solely on Bush and the federal government; state and local response units also failed miserably. The result: More than 1,500 people died and thousands upon thousands of lives were torn apart. The response was not a political disaster but rather, as one New Orleans resident put it, a “national disgrace.”
Despite having three years to reflect upon the situation and despite his apparent willingness to admit other mistakes, Bush still stands by his decision not to immediately tour the region on the grounds that it would have taken some law enforcement officials away from rescue operations.
Imagine if Bush had not visited Ground Zero immediately after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The image of Bush in his khaki jacket, holding a megaphone, standing next to a New York firefighter brought the nation together, in a sense. He pledged this nation would not stand idly by and would respond to the attacks. While his decisions that ensued are most certainly debatable, the moment was one of great symbolism.
The bottom line is Bush has crafted countless excuses for the response to Hurricane Katrina and, until most recently, Bush has not been able to publicly hold himself accountable for his mistakes on a variety of issues. The federal government — including “Brownie” and his FEMA gang — and local governments played the blame game and to some extent continue to do so to this day.
The nation should appreciate Bush’s candid reflection in recent weeks. But in return, Bush needs to acknowledge the shortcomings of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina.
