A tale of 2 President's: FEMA
While I don't know much about FEMA I do know that those chosen to run the organization are a good indication of the direction of a agency.
I want to run a comparison of the people chosen by each president: Bill Clinton and George Bush. The people chosen for this position have a direct effect on the reaction to Katrina and any other disasters.
more below the fold.
Bill Clinton
James Lee Witt (FEMA Director 1993-2001) was appointed by President Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in April 1993. He was the first agency head who came to the position with experience in emergency management, having previously served as the Director of the Arkansas Office of Emergency Services for four years.
The agency has received increasing public accolades and specific honors in recent years, including, in 1996, the Innovations in American Government award from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, at Harvard University.
In February 1996, President Clinton elevated Mr. Witt to cabinet status - a first for a FEMA Director.
http://www.fema.gov/about/bios/witt.shtm
He stuck with his man for 8 years all 8 years because he picked the right guy for such an important position and made sure the position was a Cabinet one.
George Bush
Joe M. Allbaugh 2001-2003
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Allbaugh served as Chief of Staff to then-Governor George W. Bush. In addition to his operational duties in the Governor's office, Allbaugh served as the governor's point person for nine presidential disaster declarations and more than 20 state-level emergencies. Earlier in his career, he served as Oklahoma Deputy Secretary of Transportation.
Mr. Allbaugh served as the National Campaign Manager for Bush-Cheney 2000 with responsibility and oversight for all activities related to the Bush election campaign. He had previously served as Campaign Manager for President Bush's first run for Texas governor.
A native of Oklahoma, Mr. Allbaugh holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Oklahoma State University. He and his wife, Diane, have three children.
http://www.fema.gov/about/allbaugh/index.shtm
Basically a political appointee in charge of disaster management. Once the Campaign is over what does he do with his Campaign Manager......puts him in a cushie job protecting the USA.
Next:
Michael Brown......2003-now
Previously, Mr. Brown served as FEMA's Deputy Director and the agency's General Counsel. Shortly after the September 11th terrorist attacks, Mr. Brown served on the President's Consequence Management Principal's Committee, which acted as the White House's policy coordination group for the federal domestic response to the attacks. Later, the President asked him to head the Consequence Management Working Group to identify and resolve key issues regarding the federal response plan. In August 2002, President Bush appointed him to the Transition Planning Office for the new Department of Homeland Security, serving as the transition leader for the EP&R Division.
http://www.fema.gov/about/bios/brown.shtm
So basically he's a political lawyer for FEMA.....at least he worked at FEMA before, but a lawyer?
Overall, all I can say I'm not surprised, Bush has dismantled this organization from the top down to meet his political needs to have loyalty rather then reason surrounding him.
By the way the chief of staff was a member of Bushes Re-election campaign. The deputy chief of staff is another political appointee.
From there we actually start to see some people that didn't use politics to get the top job....rather in the lesser positions we have firefighters, experts life long FEMA employee's but not at the top. Why BECAUSE POLITICS COMES FIRST FOR BUSH.
Disgusted in Canada
And my prayers.