White House is scrambling to show Bush in command

[Kadie]

Bush to see Rita preparations in Texas Friday
22 Sep 2005 19:44:29 GMT

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush, criticized for a slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina, will visit Texas on Friday to get a first-hand look at emergency preparations for Hurricane Rita.

Bush drew heavy fire for the federal government's failure to adequately prepare for Hurricane Katrina last month, and for delays in getting federal resources to New Orleans even as stranded survivors on rooftops pleaded for help.

This time, the White House is scrambling to show Bush in command.

"He will stop to get a firsthand look at the preparations that are under way for Hurricane Rita and to show our support for the first responders as they get ready for the response to Hurricane Rita," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan on Thursday.

snip...
Asked how Bush's presence would help the state prepare for the storm, McClellan said: "Well, I think we're going to have as minimal a footprint as possible. We're not going to get in the way of the ongoing preparations that are going on."

more...
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N22577596.htm

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. And it'll get him out of DC in time to avoid the protests

[suffragette]

10. GPV, You nailed it.

And where he goes, the Whitehouse press follows.

[GreenPartyVoter]

21. Yep

[Mutley]

2. It's good for the people in TX because they will get the help they need

when they need it. But this will also show the glaring differences between *'s reaction to Katrina and his reaction to Rita. Win-win for everyone except *.

[annabanana]

3. Oh it's just too late...THAT horse left the barn with Katrina..

All this running around now just looks like what it is..
patch-it-up PR stunts, nothing more.

[snacker]

8. Well said... n/t

[malaise]

34. Way too late

All this running around now just shows what he should have done before, during and after Katrina.

[Tace]

4. He Should Just Live In The Airplane And Drop Down A Few Times A Day...

in various parts of the country for photo ops.

[CottonBear]

5. So, Scotty is admitting that * impeded rescue efforts in MS, LA & NOLA.

They're on the ropes.

[Marnieworld]

6. All this shows is how little he cared about Katrina

If he has to wait until thousands of people die in the streets and floods before he realizes that he has to appear to give a shit he clearly doesn't.

[Botany]

7. fine! put him on the TX & LA coast line ....

right on a constructed sand beach that used to be an intertidal wetland

put him about 100 feet in from the high tide line. let him pray
to his God as the storm surge comes a shore ......

"there is no global warming ..... damn those environmentalists
& their wetlands .... hell I can catch bass in my pond @ the ranch."

[DoYouEverWonder]

22. Might be a good time to go fishing?

Supposedly he's got balls and likes to do crazy things. Come on Georgie, let's go see if we can catch some grouper. No, not the square ones turkey.

[BrainRants]

9. "Are you Bianca?"

Yeah...

in charge...

riiiiight!

[Cassandra]

11. He'll do a fly-over...

and they'll actually tilt the wings a bit.
Actually, scrambled eggs would be more in command than scrambled Bush.

[BlueJac]

12. It's took late for Bush....

he can run now, but the gig is up on his leadership! Maybe he should take another Texas size shot and go hide on the ranch. Brownie is just the tip of the iceberg of miss appointed leaders in critical positions.

[Verve]

13. LOL! So Bush's entourage is going to get in the way of anyone actually

doing anything productive. Can he be more of an idiot? Does he not realize that the Secret Service shuts down the area before and after his arrival? Are they going to have to borrow National Guardsmen (working on evacuations) again to help protect him?

He'll be a hindrance just like he was during Katrina. What an idiot!

[Kadie]

15. Yep!

:thumbsup:

He is going to try to look like he is in charge, but he is just going to complicate things. Someone will suffer while they have to wait for *'s photo ops.

[global1]

17. I Agree - He'll Cause More Disruption - But Didn't He Use Causing ...

disruption as an excuse for not timely getting on the ground in NO, MISS and AL after Katrina?

In this case they will err on completely the other side. Should we start calling for an Independent Investigation of Hurricane Rita?

[Splatter Phoenix]

28. Wat a moran.

:rofl:

More and more nails in his coffin.

[acmejack]

14. They'll have to use smoke & mirrors to make him look commanding!

[Theduckno2]

16. Bush's visit to Northern Command gives me the creeps though.

All this talk of more military involvement in domestic disaster management is taking this country in the wrong direction I fear. :(

[Batgirl]

18. Time for everyone's favorite sight gag:

the ever-reliable Chimp-in-a-flight-suit (or some other military costume.)

[bobbieinok]

19. !?!?!?!?"...the ongoing preparations that are going on."

they are all 'English impaired'

[CoffeeCat]

20. You know what is SOOOO beautiful about all of this?

The more * does about Rita--the more inept, irresponsible and lacking in leadership he looks when it comes to Katrina.

If he's in Texas before Rita--that begs the question, "Why was he strumming his guitar before Katrina?"

If he speaks about Rita and addresses the serious threat--that begs the question, "Why was he on vacation when Katrina was a category 5 and headed straight for NOLA?".

If he responds quickly and helps those in Texas--that begs the question, "Where in the hell were you guys four days after Katrina when people were dying in the streets of thirst and languishing on roof tops?"

Texas should get all of this attention that * is giving. He should be in Texas, prior to the storm. He should be monitoring FEMA's actions. He should ensure that the after-storm plan is enacted within minutes and hours--not days.

I seriously think that there is nothing this pResident can do. He's totally done. He looks like a fool who royally screwed up. His actions solidify what his enemies have said about him since he stole the 2000 election--that he's a total nimrod, failure and an undeserving, compassionless empty suit who lacks leadership and integrity.

[Cocoa]

25. I agree, but there is still a scary part as well

Rita may turn out to be a catastrophe requiring competent leadership, and Bush is still Bush. :scared:

[ClintonTyree]

23. This really has to be frying bush's brain..........

and I don't mean Rove. bush isn't too well equipped in that area to begin with (how's that for tact?) but he's had to do an awful lot of thinking lately. He's missing his naps, his daily bike rides, in short, it's almost as if he had a real job.
Our mentally challenged president won't be able to handle this pressure for long. I think he's going to snap pretty soon and they'll have to put crashcart in charge for a while until the blood stops spurting out of bush's ears. The man is not capable of handling this type of pressure. We're venturing into uncharted waters here, bush has never had to use his brain this much before. I'm sure he's delegated as much of this as possible but there's still a lot of pressure on the pea sized brain of the idiot in chief.
I give him 2 more days, tops, then he's going to have to go somewhere very quiet for a few weeks, maybe longer. He never thought "presidentin" would be this hard, I'm sure.

[Verve]

29. Check the home page,

Bush's back on the bottle again!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4839199

[Burried News]

24. Maybe he can hop on the Air Force Reserve plane and fly into

the eyewall and get the wind speed for us. That will make him look good.
The Photo-op Fop gettin er dun.

[LittleClarkie]

26. Backfire!

Now it looks like he only cares because it's Texas. Backlash, I predict.

[CrispyQ]

30. That was my first thought! --eom

[AllegroRondo]

31. Repub Governor = Fast Response; Dem Gov = you're on your own

get those LTTE's started now!

[LittleClarkie]

33. Extra special fast response if it is your a. home state

or b. the home state of your brother.

[SomewhereOutThere424]

27. Guess this means the pentagon channel will be released soon

"The white house is scrambling to second guess the media" is what they should be saying.

[The_Casual_Observer]

32. The chimp in command! Reminds me of those old calendars

with chimps dressed up in costumes, this one would have the chimp in an admiral suit, looking the wrong way through a telescope.

[justgamma]

35. Since when has he cared about the first responders??

"show our support for the first responders as they get ready for the response to Hurricane Rita,"

When did he show any support for the first responders during Karina?
Other than to blame them for his foul ups.

:puke:

[spanone]

36. It's Comical !!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Stinky The Clown]

37. His new nickname for himself: Speed Monkey