Why was only Presidnet Bush blamed for the response to Hurricane Katrina?

Question

Was there not a Mayor in charge of New Orleans? For some reason a man named "Ray Nagen" comes to mind.

Also, isn't there a governor in Louisiana? I'm thinking there was a lady named "Kathleen Blanco", but I could be confused.

Were they not in on the blame because they're Democrats?

Excuse me...I meant to spell the mayor's name "Ray NagIn". My mistake.

I'm sorry, but living in Washington State and seeing how the Governor (who is a Democrat) here is reacting to flooding, ice, poweroutages and such, the Governor of Louisiana could have done something.

I realize that the City of New Orleans has limited resources, but the State has many, many more and could have done something.

Don't be ridiculous.

Answer 1

Wow. Great question. I am surprised no one has asked this before. I think it's because people look for and use anything to blame on the President. Doesn't matter if he wasn't actually at fault or if it was actually due to oversight on someone else's part. Did I not read somewhere where there where over 200 buses that could have been used to get people out but Ray Nagin didn't use them? How is that the fault of the President?

Answer 2

Ray Nagin and Kathleen Blanco are squarely to blame for every death caused by the flooding of New Orleans. They ignored the hurricane until 12 hours before the storm hit, Mississippi in contrast ordered mandatory evacuations and mobilized the National Guard 48 hours before the storm.

Blanco did not mobilize the Guard until after the flood water started pouring into NO because she felt the state had a unit in Iraq, that was enough and wanted Bush to bring in Guard troops from other states.

FEMA and Bush were on a conference call with Blanco and Nagin and they both insisted the levees would hold even though at that very moment they were crumbling. The largest single expense the levee commissions had in 2005 prior to the collapsing of the levees was hosting fund raising dinners for Nagin and the state Democratic party. These commissions that collect tax dollars earmarked for levee construction and maintenance ignored the plight of the levees because they knew that eventually the Army Corps of Engineers would step in and repair them with federal money. And why do "independent commissions use tax dollars for a particular candidate or party?

So it was not a fault of FEMA or the federal government... Nagin and Blanco, due to their inaction, ineptitude and corruption are personally responsible for every death due to the flood waters.

Answer 3

There were plenty of people blamed. Mayor Nagin, The Governor of Louisiana, Michael Brown from FEMA was the big fall guy. I think more people blamed him than Bush. Make sure you have your facts straight before you spew any more of your anti-democrat rhetoric. It makes you look silly when you throw statements out there that are not factual. You must be the speaker, as you seem like the one with no clue.

Answer 4

Maybe because Hurricane Katrina occurred in the United States, the mining accident occurred in Chile. Now check your Atlas or your geography book and you will see that Chile is not a part of the United States. Further, no one is "blaming" anyone for the successful rescue effort in the mine...If Bush had been that successful everyone would have been praising him. Double dumb, huh!

Answer 5

Right you are. It is more of the same old propaganda spun by the media. They like to forget things like the mayor and Governor that failed to put in the proper paper work to get the ball rolling even after they were told what needed to be done. They also like to forget that the levee system in La. has been in a bad state for years (I lived there in 84-87 and they were talking then about how weak the levies were then). People were told to leave but they chose to stay, was Bush supposed to come and escort them out. The people who had no means of leaving could have been loaded on all the idle school buses and taken but the mayor failed to think of that. I don't think that anyone has had to deal with a devastating storm like that in US history so all the preparation that is done is all based on speculation. If Bush uses what happened there to create a better plan for next time then he has done his job.

Answer 6

The mayor of New Orleans and the Governor OF Louisanna did not put Michael Brown in charge of Homeland Security!! Michael Brown, was not only a failure at the task, he was also not qualified for the job.
That's like the lady who President Bush wanted to appoint to Supreme Court Justice she never even held a judge position.

Answer 7

I agree with you that Nagin was totally unprepared and didn't have a plan. It's a wonder he got reelected in the last election.
But it is up to the Governor to get the state declared a disaster by the President, and that didn't happen until it was too late. In my opinion, they're ALL at fault.

Answer 8

do me a favor read this answer very slowly. cause if i was face to that is how i would say it. The mayor is not in charge of doling out Federal aid neither is the governor the only thing they can do i declare a state of emergency. that makes the people in that area able to get Federal aid. know stay with me. it is called Federal aid not state aid OK. so that means that the government on the Federal Level is in charge of it. So yes bush is in a major why to blame as he fail to make sure that the aid went out as quickly as it should have

Answer 9

The mayor and governor (deservedly) received lots of blame as did the Army Corps of Engineers; however the press focussed more on the President because a) he's a national figure and b) he's Republican.

Answer 10

Oh no I think it had something to do with the inept man Bush appointed to run FEMA.
Also a disaster of that magnitude, needed immediate reaction, obviously if the mayor and governor is incapable of that help, the President should have stepped in and done what needed to be done.