A Can't-Do Government

This New York Times article is so good at zeroing in on the current disgraceful display of utter inadequacy by this administration. It' by Paul Krugman.

Before 9/11 the Federal Emergency Management Agency listed the three most likely catastrophic disasters facing America: a terrorist attack on New York, a major earthquake in San Francisco and a hurricane strike on New Orleans. "The New Orleans hurricane scenario," The Houston Chronicle wrote in December 2001, "may be the deadliest of all." It described a potential catastrophe very much like the one now happening.

Imagine that. A terrorist attack on New York. Check. A hurricane strike on New Orleans. Check. One more and we hit rock bottom. The problem is, the 9/11 attacks were unpredictable in a way, and certainly were sudden, but a hurricane forecasted a week in advance... leaves you plenty of time to prepare for its aftermath. The San Francisco earthquake is much more unpredictable than hurricane Katrina.

I don't think this is a simple tale of incompetence. The reason the military wasn't rushed in to help along the Gulf Coast is, I believe, the same reason nothing was done to stop looting after the fall of Baghdad. Flood control was neglected for the same reason our troops in Iraq didn't get adequate armor.

So maybe it's not just incompetence, or inadequacy. Maybe the President just doesn't give a damn about doing his job, about the American people, about the have-nots.

At a fundamental level, I'd argue, our current leaders just aren't serious about some of the essential functions of government. They like waging war, but they don't like providing security, rescuing those in need or spending on preventive measures. And they never, ever ask for shared sacrifice.

Which to me translates into being uncapable of leading, of governing.

Yesterday Mr. Bush made an utterly fantastic claim: that nobody expected the breach of the levees. In fact, there had been repeated warnings about exactly that risk.

This is so lame, it's sickening. Thankfully, we have written reports that dispute his claim and I hope that all this is gonna come out at some point, when those in charge of securing New Orleans' surroundings tell the truth about what really went on, instead of just taking the fall for the boss.