He seemed pretty slow to put things into action. FEMA shouldn't even exist. Just because it was mainly BLACK people don't mean we are not humans too.
210890
No, he didn't.  None of the government agencies handled it well at all.  They just made the whole situation worse than it already was to start with rather than prepare for something like this.  For years they knew a disaster of that magnitude might hit New Orleans but did nothing to prepare for it.  And when it did they were lost.
183834
He did the best he could do with what he had to work with.  It wasn't only Houston trying to get out at that time.  All the surrounding areas were trying to evacuate also.  I feel he did a wonderful job getting a million + people out of the area.  TX DOT could have done better.  They needed to start the contraflow traffic sooner and have fuel stations set up.  People were stuck on the interstates for 12 or more hours. It could take 8+ hours to move 5 miles.
80295
BAD TIDINGS LIBERAL PUKES: Fox just released a VIDEO OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR BLANCO TELLING FEMA/OFFICIALS THAT THE LEVEES HAD *NOT* - REPEAT *NOT* - BEEN BREACHED.\n\nNow you can go ahead and IGNORE this post or just pull it off the board quickly - but DON'T YOU ALL REALLY JUST FEEL STUPID AS HELL???\n\nBTW... I think BUSH is a TOTAL MORON - but he's still SMARTER than YOU BUNCH of "INTELLIGENCIA."\n\n********************\nstellry: By all means let me answer your question. I honestly DO believe that Bush is an IDIOT who has surrounded himself by IDIOTS. HOWEVER, I'm 56 years old, former 101st Airborne, 100% disabled Vietnam vet and a newspaper writer that spends probably three hours minimum easily EVERY day going through different sites and news services trying to compare sources and ferret out the TRUTH behind stories.\n\nNow look at the vast majority of respondents here. They TOTALLY IGNORE FACTS (Like the Blanco tape) and CHANT LIBERAL ZOMBIE-LIKE MANTRAS INSTEAD. The *TRUTH* means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to THEM. There's no sense of balance. There's no QUESTIONING the PARTY LINE. There's only LEMMING-LIKE CONFORMITY and the commonality that virtually NONE of THEM have PAID THEIR DUES in EXPERIENCE, RESEARCH NOR COMMON SENSE. \n\nIn short, they have been spoon fed PROPAGANDA by public schools and colleges to the point where they are as rabidly endoctrinated as the Hitler Youth. They are OBLIVIOUS to REALITY. When confronted with TRUTH and REALITY, they simply IGNORE IT.\n\nNow, are YOU AWARE that FEMA and the FEDS *CANNOT* ENTER A STATE UNTIL THE GOVERNOR *REQUESTS* THEM TO DO SO?\n\nIf so, WHAT does it MEAN when Governor Blanco was NOT REQUESTING FEMA ASSISTANCE and TELLING EVERYONE (ON CAMERA) that THE LEVEES were INTACT after the hurricane came ashore?\n\nI've answered YOUR question - now can you answer mine?\n*************\n\n3-4\nYou appear open minded and I'm appreciative. Honesty is the only way we come together to identify and solve problems.\n\nWhat I have asked of you is WHERE is your INDICTMENT of Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin? However guilty/incompetent/complicit Bush and his adminstration may be - both Blanco and Nagin were *EVEN MORESO*. So how can you bypass the *CAUSE* while only blaming the *EFFECT*?\n\nDon't misunderstand me. I think that FEMA and the Feds are criminally incompetent - but they COULD NOT ACT without BLANCO's REQUEST which she herself delayed because she believed the levees had held. Blanco is EVERY BIT as INCOMPETENT, DISHONEST and WORTHLESS as FEMA - and probably MORESO. So why wouldn't/shouldn't your question be:\n\n"GOVERNOR BLANCO knew what Katrina would be like and yet did nothing to help people and waited too late to request FEMA help. She even lied she didn't know about it." (?)\n\nFair enough?\n\n**************************\nBRAVO!!! THAT is *EXACTLY* what I was HOPING you would say!\n\nWhen TRUTH WINS, we ALL WIN.\n\nThank you for restoring some semblance of my faith in humanity.
563417
Did your Governor declare a state of Emergency?  That still wouldn't  get FEMA there, but there should be some government assistant programs.\n\nII do agree with you that middle class white Americans are the most discriminated class of US citizens.  They pay the most taxes, and receive virtually no assistance.  Many work their butts off to make ends meet, and still do not have health care plans.  Because they choose to work, and not lay around on their A$$es, they can squeak by, but if one tragedy strikes, it's virtually over for them.  Then you got your hyphenated-Americans who can but won't work, who receive welfare, medicaid, have crap loads of babies, live in government housing and sit around drinking and drugging all day, they can't follow instructions to get out of a disaster area when they've had weeks of warning to do so, because they are so fu*ked up on drugs they can't even function,  Then they blame the white middle class for not sending them more "plus size clothes" These people are the Liberals pets.  The ones they use to get their votes.  Funny thing is most of them are too lazy to get out and vote...So the jokes on the liberal.
61071
President Bush has had to tackle major hurricane devastations in the south, the 9-11 attacks, the floods in the Ohio valley,  rising gas prices that are threatening our economy, major economic slowdowns that began years before he took office and the continuing threat of terrorist activity on our soil without appearing alarmist. I think he has had to deal with more critical major events that any other president in recent history and is saddled with a bureaucracy that would take years to revamp to adequately handle these. Also he sees that there are probable crises approaching such as Social Security failure and the lack of adequate healthcare for many people but can do nothing right because the public cannot agree to a good solution for these. I think considering all he has had to deal puts him among the best leaders we have although many people currently only judge him by his unpolished speaking ability. I think he will be overlooked for the work he has done because he is not everyone's idea of a movie star. It is like John Kennedy getting credit for being some kind of civil rights saint while Johnson was the guy who did the work in getting it all passed.
105542
It's been all over the news over the last few days, as Hurricane Katrina was approaching he was told if it hit New Orleans that the levees would not hold up but he was on vacation at his ranch in Crawford and refused to be disturbed therefore he chose to ignore a very critical problem and even after the levees broke and the government refused to respond he did nothing again ignoring the problem I don't think we have ever had another president who took so many vacations and chose to ignore what happens in our country while he's on those vacations. Just look at his smile when we are in trouble, is that reality?
596410
Bush had nothing to do with it. FEMA has its own regulations for declaring emergencies and they determined that the damage was not severe enough to warrant federal aid. The state should be able to handle it.
256141
I can not for the life of me understand why Ray Nagin got re-elected. He failed miserably during a crisis moment in the history of New Orleans.\n\nHe is not a leader, did not take charge of the situation when leadership skills were needed.\n\nHe left all those buses to be flooded when they could have been used to haul people that had no means of leaving the city a chance to get out. He should have had them placed in strategic places to pick up those with no means of getting out and offerring them the chances with the buses.\n\nHe also blamed everyone from the President on down for his errors and mistakes.  \n\nHis job was to alert the governor that his city was in trouble and he needed help. He probably did not know or understand the procedures to get help. Once he alerted the governor the governor should have notified the president that her state was in trouble and wanted it declared a national disaster area.\n\nNone of this was done. There was complete confussion on the part of the mayor and the governor. \n\nNagin went on TV and made statements about the president when he should have been looking at himself for answers. \n\nHe had people on roof tops when they should have been taken out of the city on the buses and by the local authorities of the city headed up by the mayor.  Many Many people died because of his failed leadership. \n\nHe should have been brought up on charges, for failing to do his elected job.\n\nHe never sat up an emergency room to have his top staff members in one area so he could get up todate intelligence about the situation as it was happening.\n\nNew Orleans should be ashamed for re-electing this individual to the office of mayor again. They get what they pay for and that is one that has no leadership skills, is not a calm individual under stress. Make remarks that public officials should not make to the media about other elected officials especially the President.\n\nI hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.\n\n"FIGHT ON"
252391
I think maybe it was some kind of "you don't change horses in the middle of the stream" mentality...kind of like why we kept re-electing FDR during WWII. It's too bad Katrina didn't hit in 2004 so everyone could see what a bunch of incompetent ninnies his administration was made up of BEFORE the election.
248258
beats me... he runs his mouth too much in my opinion.  playing the blame game instead of focusing on what needs to be done to rebuild the city...
197560
He wasn't working for anyone, he was doing work FOR everyone.  I had the great pleasure of working beside him in the early 70's & all of the politicians kept trying to bribe him with large amounts of money, but he just said NO because he knew that by remaining humble and spiritually connected that he could make more of a connection with the people & the people could make more of a connection with him.  I think it was the Union involvment that was eventually his weak point because he thought he was doing a good thing & he had no idea who he was dealing with.  I know for a fact that he would have never wanted any celebrations used in connection to his name & he would of absolutely not approved of a street being named after him in L.A. or any other city.  If you want to better understand what has been labeled as an AGRICULTURAL MOVEMENT, you first must research ALL the areas of AGRICULTURE.  The Throughbred Horseracing Industry is a large part of agriculture & no one ever mentions this in any of their articles.  Why???If the American people knew what really went on in the backlot of the racetrack they would see that slavery has not gone away in our country, the color of the slaves have changed from black to brown.
108961
I heard about that tape on President Bush being briefed on the storm before it happened. I was not shocked by the tape as everybody knew that the storm was coming. He must have known. Since they knew it was coming then the response should have been quicker. I am not sure what to say about this. Everybody is to blame. Nobody was making enough noise about it.
244939
It was really intended to be an eye-opening speech, and meant to bring people together for an obviously well deserved change, for the better. There wasn't any violence injected in his speech, because violence (even suggestions of) in that type of situation would deem counterproductive. His intentions were clear, and he was a great man for doing what he did, and standing up for what was right. If you apply it to any race who endures inequalities (as he addressed), it is a positive thing, and definitely a step in the right direction.
23663
Does ANYBODY notice that no matter WHAT a president does, the general public has a problem with it?  Bush is cleaning up the mess that Clinton started.  War with Iraq was imminent, meaning going to happen anyway.  Clinton, not having ANY military experience (He dodged the draft by going to Europe), wanted to stay away from war.  As far as the Katrina victims, they were told a week in advance to leave, that a Cat 5 hurricane would flood a city BUILT BELOW SEA LEVEL. Those who didn't leave are morons.  They got what they were stubborn enough to deserve.  Then they cry for help and shoot at the help?  I'm sorry, but a tv and nikes are not going to feed your family.  I feel he is doing all that ONE MAN can do.  You think all you complaining about everything is helping or making it easier?  1000 people died in Iraq...  In how long?  How long does it take 1000 people to die in America?  No one complains about that, now do they?
157587
FEMA needs to be returned to being an Agency directly under the President. Away from Dept. Homeland Security. (At least the portion of FEMA that does disaster response and recovery.) Adding another entity between FEMA's ability to respond and the president has only created more red-tape. \n\nDHS is mostly concerned w/ terrorism (which is important) - but their focus has forced FEMA to not be able to focus on their mission of helping disaster victims.
563636
ok bush defenders...he cut the budget that would pay to upkeep and fix the levies.  And since when does the president have no authority in a national disastor? I suppose he shouldnt have done anything during 911 either, oh wait...he didnt do anything except read a book to little kids for a PR stunt. But anyway, of course it wasnt his fault.  I mean the city of new orleans should have been able to pay for the extremly expensive repairs and maintenace needed to protect millions of U.S. citizens without any help from the feds.  I guess we should send nevada and las vegas the bill for the hoover damn now.  get your heads out of your bums,  take responsibility for your misguided republican vote, and accept morality and rational thought into your lives.
292022
My brother lives in Houston, too, and has been complaining about alot of the relocated people from New Orleans not trying to improve their situations on their own by accepting job offers or offers to assist in job placement.  He is not someone who is heartless, either, and he was one of the first people along with his fraternity who gathered food, clothing, and diapers in the immediate aftermath of Katrina.  He tells me of stories of people just panhandling and creating undue ruckus around his community.\nBut, let's be fair.  Some of these people have little or no education and have lived in constant poverty for much of their lives, so there is no quick fix solution for something that has persisted unnoticed by the non-impoverished for so long.  Our country is so interested in fixing every other countries problems, but they neglect to fully realize that our country has needed fixing of the major kind for decades.  Our country is more interested in economic growth than the plight of its own struggling, starving, homeless, jobless, and working poor.  I have a Master's degree, was a teacher, No Child Left Behind came along, and guess what, teachers got displaced, students got lumped together, and even more children are being left behind by a system that sees dollars instead of the human condition.