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Blame Is Not A Game

By TChris, Section Huricanes Katrina and Rita
Posted on Fri Sep 09, 2005 at 03:08:54 PM EST
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by TChris

Paul Krugman:

It might make sense to hold off on the criticism if this were the first big disaster on Mr. Bush's watch, or if the chain of mistakes in handling Hurricane Katrina were out of character. But even with the most generous possible assessment, this is the administration's second big policy disaster, after Iraq. And the chain of mistakes was perfectly in character - there are striking parallels between the errors the administration made in Iraq and the errors it made last week.

All that's missing from the Katrina story is an expensive reconstruction effort, with lucrative deals for politically connected companies, that fails to deliver essential services. But give it time - they're working on that, too.

Why did the administration make the same mistakes twice? Because it paid no political price the first time.

Will there finally be a price paid?

The media will be tempted to revert to he-said-she-said stories rather than damning factual accounts. The effort to shift blame to state and local officials is under way. Smear campaigns against critics will start soon, if they haven't already. And raw political power will be used to block any independent investigation.

Will this be enough to let the administration get away with another failure? Let's hope not: if the administration isn't held accountable for what just happened, it will keep repeating its mistakes. Michael Brown and Michael Chertoff will receive presidential medals, and the next disaster will be even worse.

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    Blame Is Not A Game | 9 comments (9 topical)
    Re: Blame Is Not A Game (none / 0) (#1)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:33 PM EST
    Will this be enough to let the administration get away with another failure? Let's hope not: if the administration isn't held accountable for what just happened, it will keep repeating its mistakes.
    “See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.” —George W. Bush, May 24, 2005

    Re: Blame Is Not A Game (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:33 PM EST
    The Krugman excerpt reminds me of something I'll paraphrase here. The first rule of a disfunctional family is always "don't tell." Don't tell about Dad's drinking. Don't tell about brother molesting sister. Don't tell about Mom's meth habit. Don't tell about brother's shoplifting, etc., etc. The rule insures the family stays disfunctional. The first rule of the Bush administration is don't tell. Don't tell about the President appointing political cronies to positions that deal with life and death. Don't tell about the body count from the latest natural disaster. Don't tell about the money for disaster preparedness that was somehow rerouted to Iraq. The rule insures that the administration stays dysfunctional. And one more thing. Doing the same thing over and over again, while expecting different results, is one of the definitions of insanity.

    Re: Blame Is Not A Game (none / 0) (#3)
    by Al on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:34 PM EST
    All that's missing from the Katrina story is an expensive reconstruction effort, with lucrative deals for politically connected companies, that fails to deliver essential services. But give it time - they're working on that, too.
    Apropos this topic, see this insightful article by Naomi Klein.

    Re: Blame Is Not A Game (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:34 PM EST
    In addition to the financially motivated and politically influenced President Bush, lets not for get to distribute the blame as evenly as it deserves. When you take the politics out of it, which is really hard to do on this site, you must also address the spineless tower of jelly, Ray Nagin and the inept Kathleen Blanco. George, Kathleen and Ray failed the people of New Orleans. Government at every level for a variety of reasons added to the aftermath of this disaster. The right will point solely at Kathleen and Ray while glorifying and removing responsibility from George. The left will blame George and his white friends while making Ray out to be the new "Mayor of America." Neither of these views is true or productive. All three of these people and many top officials in their respective administrations will for years to come be blamed and far too much money will be spent "investigating" where that blame should ultimately lie. The place it should lay however is not in the lap of one politician or one political party but in the laps of many, politicians and citizens alike, without regard to party affiliation. That's just me, moderately speaking.

    Re: Blame Is Not A Game (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:34 PM EST
    Bush's problem is that he needs a better marketing campaign along the lines of 9/11 for his Katrina damage control. But sadly for President Bush, in New Orleans, the color of suffering - and heroism - is black. For the full story, see: "Where's the Lisa Beamer of New Orleans?"

    Re: Blame Is Not A Game (none / 0) (#6)
    by Lww on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:34 PM EST
    RIGHT ON BILLY BOY! I agree completely! Who will chair the BIG INVESTIGATION? Lawyers charging $599 an hour. What will come of it all? Absolutely nothing.

    Re: Blame Is Not A Game (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:34 PM EST
    Terrance-an excellent point. The Bush admin. is run way to much like a dysfunctional family. Of course, there are some obvious reasons for that. I've long stated Bush seems to be the classic "Dry Drunk", with all the attending issues.

    Re: Blame Is Not A Game (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:36 PM EST
    Posted by Billy Boy: "In addition to the financially motivated and politically influenced President Bush," Financially motivated? That's HILARIOUS. And he's politically influenced? You don't say. He's also a mass-murderer. Is that important? Blanco and Nagin? Aren't you playing the Blame Game? Like when Bush said it was OK to attack a disarmed country that had NOTHING to do with 9i1? Of course you are. Trollery has no finer purpose, other than selling illegal, unnecessary, horifically expensive invasions that won't cost a cent. Krugman fails to note that Bush ordered the EPA to LIE to everyone in the NY Metro area about the danger of INHALING. Tens of thousands of cases of cancer -- thanks, George.

    Re: Blame Is Not A Game (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:36 PM EST
    Adept: "the classic "Dry Drunk", with all the attending issues." Who we know is on anti-depression medicine, in addition to the Ambien, and the amphetamines he takes before he goes bike riding, and the cocaine he was snorting when he came out for the photo-op with Putin and Koizumi in Peru with his underwear sticking out of his open zipper. The classic dry drunk...mass-murderer. With a beautiful mind, and a smirk for every occasion, including turning a major disaster into a full-blown catastrophe. It's hard work!

    Blame Is Not A Game | 9 comments (9 topical)