The Bush Administration clearly has reached an important decision this weekend about the tragedy in New Orleans. Mind you, it was not how to handle disasters in the future or, better yet, prevent them by trying to undo decades of really stupid environmental policies. It was, rather, how to (try to) wave off press questions about how badly BushCo FUBAR'd this one.
One BushCo official after another, when on-camera today during the long series of Sunday interviews, has been adopting the same basic line of -- if you can call it this -- defense. It may show us how these guys handled FUBAR episodes when they were younger and had to answer to someone other than the American public.
In the past...
Dad: Michael Chertoff! [Or: Michael Brown! Or: (Fill in the name you prefer.)] Get your ass in here now!
Young future BushCo appointee: Yes, Dad?
Dad: Look at this god-awful mess in the garage! Didn't I tell you that this would happen if you didn't clean it up? Didn't I practically get down on my hands and knees and beg you to do your job? What do you have to say for yourself?!?
YFBA: (Soothing tone.) Dad... (Long, dramatic pause.) There will be time later to assign blame. Right now, I think our first priority should be to take charge of the problem. I'm focused on taking positive action to resolve this calamity.
Dad: Resolve it?!? You helped cause it by not acting when you should have! You deliberately didn't bring the broom into the garage instead of having it on-hand so it'd be ready for use! You wouldn't even answer your damn cell phone when I kept trying to call you!
YFBA: Again, Dad... (Long, dramatic pause.) We can talk about this in the future. In the meantime, I believe we should -- Oh, look, here comes my buddy that you like so well, along with his girlfriend. Why don't you go shake their hands and chat with them while I, uh, work on doing something with this?
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Oversimplifying? Yep. Snark in a period when snark should be foregone temporarily? Probably. But imagine if this had happened during a Democratic administration and Loofah-Boy or Sean Hannity or someone else of that species got repeated bullshit spin like this from the Homeland Security Secretary, FEMA Director, HHS Secretary, etc. -- they'd hear his voice, not to mention the explosion of his blood vessels, on other continents.
So there's no reason why we, or any other Americans whose brains haven't been sucked away by Fox News, should do anything but react to this spin in the way it deserves -- with ridicule and anger.
Of course, reality is a bitch: it's a long time 'til November, 2006, much less November, 2008. But perhaps "Remember New Orleans" will still have some resonance with voters at that time. If it doesn't -- if this doesn't show them once and for all what the Republicans are -- then we have no hope.