(Adapted from a
post at Needlenose.)
Out of all the Katrina retrospectives this morning, the Washington Post's day-by-day reconstruction is inadvertently amusing because it gives Bushite officials extensive opportunities to lie explain how Shrubya really was concerned about and engaged by the developing catastrophe -- it's just that all this decisive involvement somehow was imperceptible to the world at large.
As you might imagine, the multiple leaps of imagination required by this revisionist narrative leave a few logical holes in their wake. (Details in post linked above, or extended entry.)
For example, let's join the story on
Saturday, August 27:
Nearly a month into his five-week vacation near Crawford, Tex., the president first mentioned the storm in a meeting with aides that afternoon. It's possible, he told senior adviser Dan Bartlett, that he would have to scrap a planned event the following Thursday to talk about identity theft, and would add a trip to the Gulf Coast instead. When Blanco asked Bush to declare a federal emergency in Louisiana that day, Bush readily agreed.
How's that for bold, steel-jawed leadership? A nightmare-scenario storm is preparing to strike New Orleans, and the president thinks,
"Hmm, I should schedule a visit for five days from now."
Sunday, August 28:
Bush joined the daily FEMA videoconference from his Texas ranch, as a series of briefers sketched out scenarios of destruction. "We were expecting something awful," recalled Maj. Gen. Don T. Riley of the Army Corps.
Obviously, no need to change the plan -- that Thursday visit will handle things just fine.
Monday, August 29:
ABC News reported that some New Orleans levees had been breached, and a few other outlets broadcast similarly sketchy reports that day. But most of the early coverage suggested that New Orleans had dodged a bullet as Katrina's strongest gusts had passed east of the city.
. . . At the White House, one official recalled, "there was a general sigh of relief." On a trip to Arizona, the president shared a birthday cake with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was turning 69. During a speech about the Medicare drug plan, Bush noted that he had just spoken to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff -- about immigration.
See? Mission accomplished! Except that ...
Around 6 p.m., as Governor Blanco was about to hold a news conference in Baton Rouge to discuss the damage, Blanco's communications director whispered that the president was on the line. The governor returned to a windowless office in her situation room and pleaded with the president for assistance.
"We need your help," she said. "We need everything you've got."
Well, at least he cared enough to call. However,
Newsweek reports that the Shrubster went to bed after the call without taking any action.
Tuesday, August 30:
By 5 a.m., Bush had already been briefed about New Orleans's rising waters, and decided that he would cut short his vacation the next day.
Whoa, the sheer ferocity of his determination! An American city is underwater, and the commander-in-chief leaps into action:
"Hmmm, I think I'll fly back to Washington tomorrow."
Wednesday, August 31:
Bush, winging his way back from vacation, paused to swoop low over the prostrate city on Air Force One. Back in Washington, he convened a stunned Cabinet.
Bush came in with a "sense of urgency in his tone" after his aerial tour, recalled Mike Leavitt, the secretary of health and human services. "It was, 'Has anybody thought of that, who's doing this? I want you to do this and this and this.'
Yep, he kicked so much ass that Leavitt can't even remember the specifics of what Dubya ordered folks to do. But it's great that he had a
"sense of urgency" kick in three full days after having the likely catastrophic results explained to him, isn't it?
Thursday, Sept. 1:
In private, Bush had reached a "tipping point" Thursday, a senior aide said, when he watched images from the convention center. But the debate inside his administration still raged over whether to federalize the Guard and take overall control of New Orleans.
Uhh, he
"reached a tipping point" the day
after he read the riot act to his Cabinet? I guess the anonymous "senior aide" didn't get a chance to check his spin against Leavitt's. Speaking of which, what happened to that visit to the Gulf that Bush had supposedly scheduled back on Saturday? Amid everything that was going on, did he
put it off for a day?!?
Friday, Sept. 2:
At 7 a.m., Bush called his generals to the White House, along with Rumsfeld and Chertoff. They discussed final terms of Bush's plan -- by nightfall, he would demand that Blanco hand over control of National Guard troops. And they hashed out the idea of sending in the active-duty military, though troops from the 82nd Airborne and 1st Cavalry would not get their orders until the next day.
Then Bush left for the stricken region.
Before boarding his helicopter, the president had a terse comment about his government's performance. "The results are not acceptable." But shortly after they touched down in Alabama, the president's tone changed. He turned to Brown, the focus of much of the criticism from state and local officials, and declared: "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."
Ahhh, I love a happy ending. And don't you love that
"Bush's plan" consisted sole of threatening the governor so that he could pose as the guy who was taking charge?
Here's a fun follow-up project for commenters: Finding out how the other retrospectives contradict the dubious claims made by the Bushite spinners in this article.