Katrina & the Blame Game

I hate to admit, but I'm a Fantasy-Nerd (baseball only), and as nerds know part of nerdy obsession is posting on message boards. The following was a post I made about the Admin. (the U.S, not the fantasy Commish) and its handling of the Katrina situation....I post it here because I realize now that I spent way too much time putting it together. I mean, it's a fantasy baseball message board for Christ's sake.

Bush-defenders: Imagine the same scenario with Bill Clinton as President. Do you really think you'd be saying the same thing?

If Clinton (who is/wasn't a "liberal", but a rather milque-toast "moderate" who had plenty of "conservative" policies...e.g. balancing the budget, undercutting social welfare, etc.) had been in charge of this Federal response EVERYBODY would be calling for his ouster (me included, and I voted for him, twice).

We can't have it both ways. When we want the nice, shiny Saddam-less Iraq complete with the optional democracy and sunroof, we can't spend for it without either skipping on some amenities here at home, or maxing out own credit card.

Our President decided to skip on a few things around the house and to also max out our credit card. "We" voted for him, so he got what he wanted.

As it turned out we could be having this discussion about the EPA, Civil Rights, National Park Service, Education or any of a host of deliberately underfunded domestic programs. It just so happens to be FEMA.

I'd love to go in the "way back" machine and see the vitriol that would be spewing toward our last, supposedly Liberal, President given the same facts. The Impeachment hearings would have already started. It's interesting to remember that arch-Republicans of the past like Dick Nixon actually did champion some arch-Socialist ideas...remember price controls old-timers? The whole political landscape has moved so far to the Right it isn't recognizable even from 30 years ago.

The same thing almost happened in a slightly altered form in the 1950s. McCarthyism wasn't the whacko extremism we think of as today. It was the reality. And then during the relatively endless TV hearings a Special Counsel to the Army, General Joseph Welch, said to Sen. McCarthy:

"You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"

Now we just need a General Welch.