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Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown

By Jeralyn, Section Huricanes Katrina and Rita
Posted on Fri Mar 03, 2006 at 06:23:17 PM EST
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I watched Hardball's interview with Michael Brown tonight. I was impressed. I'm going to join Jane and Moderate Voice and Taylor Marsh and say apologies are due him and I regret my criticism of him during Katrina.

On Hardball, Brown was confident and direct in answering the questions. His biggest beef is with HSA Chief Michael Chertoff. When asked to rank his own performance, Brown gave himself a 5. He also gave Bush a 5 (too high in my opinion, but it's probably out of loyalty.) He gave Chertoff a 2.

Michael Brown was a scapegoat for the Administration.

Sorry, Mr. Brown, I was was wrong about you.

Update: Michael Brown responds to Jane here in FDL's comments.

Update: Patriot Daily called it back in September.

Update: Atrios disagrees:

Not one of them came forward when it mattered. Brownie could've gotten on TV and said "I'm trying to help the people of New Orleans and all President Bush wants to do is schedule a photo op." He didn't. Not one of these people have had the courage to do the right thing when it mattered.

My view: Better late than never.

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    Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown | 18 comments (18 topical)
    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#1)
    by Darryl Pearce on Fri Mar 03, 2006 at 06:36:39 PM EST
    ...being magnanimous is tough when the head of the current administration (whoever that might be) and his overzealous sycophants (I know, I know: I use that phrase too often) will never, ever admit that they were wrong... about so many things.

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 03, 2006 at 06:36:54 PM EST
    whats new? brown is bush and bush is brown if you know what i mean?

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#3)
    by Zeno on Fri Mar 03, 2006 at 06:49:20 PM EST
    Being a scapegoat for the administration doesn't mean that Michael Brown was not also a royal screw-up. Having plenty of time for a leisurely meal seemed rather more important to him than kicking butt to get FEMA into action.

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 03, 2006 at 08:34:45 PM EST
    brown was indeed a scapegoat and I knew that as soon as he was forced out of his job the neo-cons had effectively let themselves off the hook, ending a lot of the media speculation and heat on them for someone to be held responsible. a small sacrificial mouse got offered up while the big rats got away and still sleep well. but let's face it brown was responsible, at least in part. and a bigger part is still to be dished out to chertoff and rove and cheney and bush for, once again, being asleep at the wheel. I admire brown for what he has said and believe that he has shown more integrity of character than all the other high level white house riff raff put together. one only has to compare his behavior and demeanor with the way cheney dealt with accidentally shooting his friend, or with the fact that none of the current know-nothings in the white house has really acknowledged their individual or collective responsibility for the absolute disaster of the Iraq war, a totally unnecessary imperial adventure.

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#6)
    by Pete Guither on Fri Mar 03, 2006 at 08:55:34 PM EST
    I agree with mjm72. Sure, it's possible that Brown even tried to do a good job. But if James Lee Witt had been head of FEMA, he would have known what numbers to call to light a fire under the right peoples' asses. But Brown was a crony appointment and was not prepared. Where he gets respect is his willingness to take on power now, and not just roll over and receive.

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 03, 2006 at 09:49:48 PM EST
    I hear ya, Jeralyn, and the conference call tape certainly makes him look like the smartest guy in the room next to his idiot boss, but I'm still a bit skeptical. Yes, he got a raw deal initially and yes they hung him out to dry, but he's definitely on his self-serving rehab tour now so you've got to take what he says with a few grains of salt. He's clearly gunnin' for chertoff, not that I blame him one bit, and he's clearly got some understanding with bush because he's really pulling his punches with him. I know he gave himself a five. I'd say a three or a four is more like it. His hands may really have been tied but he wasn't qualified for the job. Not for that storm. Chertoff was best summed up Jon Stewart, "Mr. Homeland Defense sitting in Atlanta I had no idea New Orleans was Underwater Guy". And then there was shrub. They're both in the minus column.

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#8)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Mar 04, 2006 at 06:21:03 AM EST
    I wonder where he goes to get his reputation back?

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#9)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Mar 04, 2006 at 06:28:54 AM EST
    Hmmmm, mornings are hard sometimes when it comes to operating machinery... What the above was supposed to have on it was: It is nice to see TL and the other blogs admitting a mistake. As for those who continue to berate him.. I wonder where he goes to get his reputation back?

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#11)
    by kdog on Sat Mar 04, 2006 at 10:36:53 AM EST
    Bush couldn't even think up questions to ask, much less suggest some solutions. The man is terminally detached from reality. It does seem Brownie was judged harshly, but I'm not ready to apologize either. If he wasn't a crony, maybe he would have pushed harder for what was needed. I think he was afraid to question or press his benefactor, Gdub.

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 04, 2006 at 10:42:45 AM EST
    I wonder where the people who lost everything go to get their lives back.

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#13)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Mar 04, 2006 at 02:31:07 PM EST
    charliedontsurf1 - Hurricanes don't apologize, nor do they attack people based on partisan politcs. People do. So where does Brown go? And I again ask you, as one of the more vocal critics, what are the things you would have done differently? Let's see some suggestions.

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#14)
    by Lww on Sat Mar 04, 2006 at 02:54:38 PM EST
    Charlie woulda mobilized a tap-dancing brigade in New Oarlins. Wasn't John Dean in the same position 30 yrs ago? One day he's evil, next he's a hero.

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#15)
    by Aaron on Sat Mar 04, 2006 at 02:56:11 PM EST
    I'm still wondering if Brown would be so forthcoming but for the fact that he suffered such a hard landing. With a softer landing, he would probably have been placed in a nice sinecure where he would have been amply rewarded for taking it on the chin for the Administration. I would feel better about Brown if I believed he would nonetheless have come forward, had that been the outcome.

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#17)
    by Lww on Sat Mar 04, 2006 at 04:57:57 PM EST
    rojo, I wasn't gonna attack you until you said you're as liberal as they come. You sound like you're stretched. TL apoligizes on the air for pummelling this guy? Smell a rat.....

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#18)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 04, 2006 at 06:59:20 PM EST
    Posted by LWW March 4, 2006 03:54 PM
    Charlie woulda mobilized a tap-dancing brigade in New Oarlins.
    Nah, Second Line. They could do Jazz Funerals, Lift Spirits and teach nitwit nation how to spell all at the same time.
    Wasn't John Dean in the same position 30 yrs ago? One day he's evil, next he's a hero.
    Some people see the light and mend their ways, others just hold their hand over the flame, call themselves the g-man, remain loyal to the fuhrer and blame the whole thing on the media. You make the call.

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#19)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 04, 2006 at 09:10:30 PM EST
    hey, don't forget we apologized, too!

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#20)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 04, 2006 at 10:03:27 PM EST
    rojo, I wasn't gonna attack you until you said you're as liberal as they come.
    Oh, well, carry on then, that's alright. ;-) I'm not stretched, I was one of the very very few lucky ones down here. My life was only about 35% turned upside down, which is about as good as it comes. I'm just tired of people blaming us or at least treating us like we're at fault for the destruction, and of people on both sides of the aisle using Katrina to further their political interests. For most people in the rest of the country, it's not real and tragic and ongoing, but for those of us living down here, we're faced with the results of Katrina every minute of every day. That being said, while I'm not willing to let Brown off the hook, I do appreciate that he's taking SOME responsibility (though not much, if you look carefully at his words). More of our local and national leaders need to accept their responsibility in this.

    Re: Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown (none / 0) (#21)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Mar 05, 2006 at 07:58:38 AM EST
    rojopelo521 - Who's blaming the people of NO for Katrina? Now the Left/Demos are trying to blame Bush for everything that happened, but I haven't seen anyone blaming the Demos as a group. I mean a few of us may have noted that your Gov wasn't exactly on top of it and that your Mayor screwed the pooch big time for not starting evacution procedures until it was too late because he didn't want the tourist trade hurt in case the storm missed. As for stopping mobile hospitals at the LA border and not letting the Red Cross unto the Superdome immediately after the storm passed, well, that was just a little confusion, no big deal, eh? But nobody I know is blaming the people of NO. Now if we wanted to have an interesting conversation we would say something like... We have people living on the beaches, or near them, some very beautiful places, from Long Island all the way down and around and over to Texas. They live there because these places offer special things that you can't find in Upper Muddy, Idado or Chanute, Il. The problem is as more and more people go to these nice places, the hurricanes just keep coming and more and more people are losing homes, infrastructure, etc. And the good citizens of Chanute and Upper Mudy are being expectd to pay for the losses of those living in their version of paradise. Most of us don't complain about it, not even when FEMA has set an all time record getting there and people still complain. So maybe it is time to have a national discussion about this. You know, you play, you pay.

    Blogs Offer Apologies to FEMA's Michael Brown | 18 comments (18 topical)