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September 09, 2005
Saving Face at FEMA
Wow! Someone in the Bush administration finally got a clue. FEMA director Michael Brown is no longer in charge of FEMA operations in Louisiana. Better late than never.
Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen will now oversee the Katrina relief effort.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi stated the following:
At last President Bush has recognized what I have been saying for more than a week -- the federal response to this disaster must be managed by a capable leader. Admiral Allen is an emergency response professional, which has been lacking from federal management of this crisis. Admiral Allen has a difficult job ahead, but at least he brings to it years of experience.
The Dodo agrees with Ms. Pelosi. Mr. Brown wasn't the leader that the nation needed. In reference to Brown, Mississippi Senator Trent Lott stated, "He acted like a private when he needed to act like a general."
According to Senator Lott, FEMA was slow in moving emergency housing trailers because Brown wanted all paperwork and legal questions resolved. [Info Source]
Brown is still director of FEMA, but his credibility has been shredded.
Meanwhile, according to a FOX News report, information in Michael Brown's resume has been called into question by government officials in Oklahoma, where Brown worked before becoming FEMA's director.
Now for the Dodo's interpretation of this latest development:
Folks, what we are seeing is an example of saving face, a custom practiced in Japan and in politics. The Dodo believes that President Bush wants to be rid of Brown, but also wishes to give Brown a graceful exit. After all, Brown is a presidential appointee. No American president - regardless of political orientation - wants to admit to making errors in political appointments. For the sake of saving political face, it is better for Brown to resign from FEMA than be fired.
Being that President Bush is ineligible for re-election, the Dodo thinks that President Bush errs with the over-use of face saving. The Dodo believes that, for the sake of the USA's morale, President Bush should completely remove Mr. Brown from the position of FEMA's director.
After all, President Clinton had the decency to fire his Surgeon General after she kept making mistakes. Maybe the current president needs to learn a lesson from his predecessor.
As it turns out, President Bush doesn't listen to dodos. Or maybe he does. Why else would he have appointed an ineffective leader to the position of FEMA's director?
Posted by Dodo David at September 9, 2005 04:30 PM
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Comments
Dodo, the only question that comes to mind is...
Why is an open-minded, reasonably well thought-out dodo like yourself doing here lending otherwise-lacking credibility to this partisan site? (except for that one brief moment where Pam had an inexplicable revelation...)
Posted by: at September 9, 2005 08:45 PM
Indeed, why would 100% of Democratic as well as Republican legislators conform (oops, Freudian slip), I mean confirm Brown's appointment. Any chance that this will finally convince all partisan hacks that that the problem is not defined by party. They are ALL largely self-serving traitors. Anybody want to take a bet that six months from now the lead story will be the corruption and waste surrounding this mammoth appropriation?
Posted by: Chris Kliesmet at September 10, 2005 12:44 AM