why does everyone blame Bush for what happened with Katrina? What about Ray Nagin?

Question

He didn'r evacuate his city even though he knew Katrina was coming.

Answer 1

First at Nagin's feet for not utilizing the school buses much sooner. He KNEW they were there but didn't use them (it's even been postulated that he did this on purpose, knowing the blame would be put on Bush.) While his actions can't be classed as criminal they are certainly malfeasant.

Too many people (often of very different political stripe) are too quick to blame Bush. But the President is part of the Federal government...Not state. The President cannot act until there is a request from the Governer of a state. The Governer of Louisiana was very, very slow in asking for help from the Federal Government. FEMA had vehicles ready to go, but could not move until the request came from the State Government. Once that FINALLY happened the Federal government acted almost instantly.

Both the Governer and the Mayor were slack in their duties to their own contituency.

Answer 2

no one is to blame "for" Katrina. it was an Act of God. no one can be to blame for that. as far as prevention and reaction to the devastation. i think that Bush can proportionately be to blame for the poor response time to the hurricane. the people were greatly warned to evacuate. and most of those with MONEY and TRANSPORATION did evacuate. the people who were died were among the lowest income earning citizens in this country. they hadn't the means to pack up an entire family and head out. many families that i know of actually got the entire family together (brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and grandparents) all in one boarded house...figuring more minds and bodies together could help.

the point is, that no one is to blame for the event. the main reason why it was so devasting was because of the lost of human life. a wealthier population would have evacuated and it really would have been "unfortunate"...but not a disaster. hurricanes strike every year. and every year certain areas get hit. but people who own these off-shore places, usually board them up for the summer, then come back later to assess the damages. and truth be told, it wasn't the Hurricane that killed everybody, it was the FLOOD! and the flood wasn't a direct effect of the hurricane, but a direct effect of the levee breaking.

so we all can go on and on blaming Nagin and Bush and Santa Claus. but in my opinion, it was just a really really bad natural disaster. no one can be blamed. but the response time by the President gets more press b/c that was something that could be controlled. Nagin did warn the city, and so did the news, weather channel and anybody else with a radar! but no one expected anything that disasterous.

Answer 3

all these people screaming "we WANT help" because they failed to evacuate when they were told too because they didn't think the storm would be so bad (how'd that work out for you?) or they stayed to loot and got their asses kicked by the storm.

If that had been me, and my family was there, poor or not I would have been gone way before the storm.

Not to mention the Levee Board which held funding for levee improvement spent 18 Million on Mardi Gras the year before and 2 Million a fountain. Thats money that could have went to the Levees but instead went to a "party."

Bush was to blame for not prepositioning what was needed to turn the hurt areas into orderly military controlled warzones after the storm hit to help keep the looting down.

The governor on down to the mayor and the aldermen of the different wards were responsible for the failed evacuation and the deaths that followed.

Answer 4

Its a simple answer really. Ray Nagin is black, and therefore, infallible and unable to make mistakes.

Also, if theres a forest fire threatening my house, an earthquake, a volcano, a flood or any other natural disaster, my first call is NOT going to be 1,000 miles away to Washington begging for their help. Its going to be to my local authorities. It is the job of STATE and LOCAL/CITY officials (aka First Responders) who are responsible for that. They are the ones who have the personnel and equipment, are on scene, and know the city and the area, not the suits in Washington.
Did the people trapped in the WTC on 9/11 call Washington and bitching at FEMA for not helping them? Nope, it was first responders. Locals doing their job. What happened to the local police and fire rescue people in NO? How come Florida has their $hit together when it comes to Hurricanes? They don't hat in hand to the Feds everytime a storm hits them, and they've had some bad ones. Andrew in '92 flattened 4 towns...wiped them off the map, and damaged Miami, which is a city about 5 times larger then NO. Its because the local and state folks there have a plan, and they follow it. And when they're told to evacuate, they go. My sympathy for those people ran out a long time ago.

Answer 5

I seem to remember the people of New Orleans being warned for almost a week about the storm. Bush and the federal govern-
ment tried to force Nagin to evacuate the city forcefully. He and the rest of the demoRATS decided instead to do nothing except
to save their own butts. ( Did you hear of any elected officials drowned or lost ??????? ) Then to show how smart the people of New Orleans are, they re-elect the incompetent fool. And what the American people watched on television wasn't people dieing, because there was no coverage when the wave hit. What they watched was looting, shooting at rescue helicopters, and the dregs of a welfare society whining like babies.

Answer 6

Ditto to Insomiac

Also, FEMA didn't use their resources... A few firefighting friends of mine were sent down there for what they thought were rescue and recovery missions, and FEMA had them and hundreds of other volunteers passing out flyers about FEMA that contained NO useful information...

In addition, many people didn't have the means to evacuate, and they also refused to miss work because they needed the money. It's the Federal Government that failed them long before Katrina hit!

Answer 7

The fact is, it is much easier for evacuations to be directed from a national level. Why? Because the mayor of a town doesn't have a lot of resources at his disposal. He lacks the authority to commandeer stadiums in other locales to use to house all of the evacuees. And the fact is, even if he ordered bus drivers to show up to bus the poor out of town, half wouldn't show up? Why? Because they are helping their own families get the hell out of Dodge. A hurricane is, by it's nature, a multistate disaster, and thus should be handled by the federal government.

Answer 8

Whatever happened to the idea in our Constitution, that the welfare / well-being of the population come first?? Bush IS the President, and is responsible. He was briefed a few weeks in advance, by the NOAA, that 3-4 severe hurricanes could be expected in the timeframe of Aug -- Sept. At least one would hit landfall. He did nothing.
The Army Corps of Engineers had been screaming for some time, for additional funding to strengthen the levees, knowing that they could withstand a Catagory 3 hurricane, but not above.
Even after the levees were breached, the President did nothing. He is responsible, by his inaction, for thousands of deaths.
When Lyndon Johnson was President, a hurricane of similar magnitude, Hurricane Betty (approx 1965) was headed for the area. Pres. Johnson evacuated the population.
The way people were treated at the Dome in New Orleans, was a national disgrace.
The Netherlands also lies below sea level. They have a system of gates and levees, which protects their population from flooding. If we as a nation, can spend billions per day in Iraq, can't we spend some money on basic infrastructure???
The Mayor of New Orleans, and the governer of Louisana, did everything they could do, given their relative powers and capabilities, to deal with the situation.

Answer 9

Nagin = The Man in the High Castle, not doing much for anyone.

Bush = the leader who isn't doing anything for anyone, unless you're already rich!

Louisiana Governor, etc., people just as bad as Nagin.

Answer 10

Because The prez gets blamed for everything.
There has to be a whipping boy you know.
If it rains on the parade Blame Bush.
If it storms Blame Bush.
If a plane crashes Blame Bush.
You should know that by now.