Quote Originally Posted by mjs1973
I'm glad that he took resposibility for it, but the first thought that came to my mind was "political damage control".

I'm a bit of a political cynic myself and whenever I hear something like this, I always wonder what the motivation is behind it. Is it for the betterment of the people, or is it for the betterment of someones career/image?
My first thought when Bush took responsibility was the thought process (or advice) he must have gone through:

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Bush: But it's not my fault!

Advisor: But Mr. President, other presidents have taken heat for not taking responsibility, whether they were at fault or not! The people are expecting you to to be the "big man" and say that you take responsibility. If you don't, you'll go down in flames. If you do, that's all you'll have to do, and you can go about your normal business afterward and be the hero.

Bush: That's all I have to do to look good? Oh, OK, I'll do it!
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As for the Governor of LA, I was pretty sure during that first week she was going home at night, curling into the fetal position, and crying, "I don't want to be governor anymore! I don't want to be governor anymore!"

While I think she bears some blame, I'll bet her "taking responsibility" is much more real. I think she tried harder after the storm to get help, and her "responsibility" was in being ineffective at asking ... not for lack of trying. AND, who knows what amount of responsibility she bears for pre-storm decisions.

Ya know who you will NOT hear those words from, and who needs to say them most of all? Ray Nagin. Tough job, tough call, he made the wrong one. Before the storm, not after. He's a folk hero after the storm, but it's because of his decisions (and lack of a plan) that the shelter situation was so bad to begin with.

Oh, and you know who else? The Levee Committee. Wasted funds entrusted to them and let their community down. Not sayin' that if every penny they had would have gone to the levees they would not have broken ... Katrina was a monster storm ... but the fact that a good percentage of their money went towards fountains and parades doesn't help.


Why do I hold these opinions? I pretty much watched TV 24/7 during that first week. My opinions are formed by who I saw and what they said on CNN/msnbc/FOX during that first week. The Gov was one of the first portrayed as asking for help. Nagin only became prominent when the Convention Center crisis became evident.

disclaimer: these are simply MY opinions based on my incomplete and media/internet-fed knowledge.