Tim Russert started his interview with Michael Chertoff by reading to him from a very critical op/ed and then his first question was whether Chertoff or any who report to him are contemplating resignation.
I have been critical of the reactions to this crisis, both pre- and post- the flooding. However, I cannot understand the notion that we can say exactly what worked and what did not or who should be held responsible, or not. You cannot evaluate the overall relief effort while that effort is ongoing. I do concur that there were failures here–serious ones, although I don’t think that we can fully understand what those failures are.
However, one thing we cannot do, if what we want is understanding and not just catharsis, is base our criticisms on a series of understandably emotional statements made by public officials. That does not constitute a workable methodology for evaluating the response to this disaster.
One thing that seems to be wholly missing from the evaluation of this event is a full acknowledgment of its sheer magnitude. There is nothing that compares in the history of the United States. Not only is the city radically damaged and likely thousands dead, the city itself is substantially destroyed and is uninhabitable. The only possible analogies can be found in war–and in war more of the citizens would likely be dead. This is the firebombing of Dresden, but where the vast majority of the citizens of the city survive and are left homeless and jobless.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast may be largely flattened, but at least one can walk around in the central area of destruction. Given that Mississippi officials have had a far better experience with FEMA and the federal government in general (at least this is the case according to Governor Barbor), it would seem that the primary variable that distinguishes New Orleans and the Mississippi coast is the nature of the disaster itself. The actual destruction from Katrina itself was far, far worse in Mississippi, but we are talking about a place where one can start clearing debris right now and where rebuilding of infrastructure and edifices can commence relatively soon. In New Orleans we have a city wherein none of that can take place until we “de-water” (the new word that emerges from this tragedy) the city.
Back to MTP: Russert essentially yelled at Chertoff about the convention center and Superdome debacles. Now, I concur, it was a debacle, indeed, one that was foreseeable, and one over which heads should roll (to use Russert’s own words earlier in the program). However (and I say this not to defend Homeland Security by any means, but simply because it behooves us to understand the way this process works), but is is not the national government’s job to set up the shelters within a given city. Of the failures that federal government has engaged in, I don’t see how it be laid at the feet of the Secretary of Homeland Security that there wasn’t food, water and security at the convention center and Superdome.
Again, I point this out not because of any desire to protect HS, but this seems to underscore what I consider an ongoing problem in the way in which we as a country, and the mass media in particular, frequently mis-analyzes policy. In this case, it is a failure to understand the dynamics of federalism in our country. The bottom line is, the federal government, for all its money and power, doesn’t do everything in terms of policy, and in particular, does not control local policy-makers in terms of things like pre-preparation for these types of events. FEMA does not control all of this process, nor does HS. The command and control is supposed to be focused in the hands of state and local authorities (and to give Russert credit, he did ask the Jefferson Parish President about the roles of the mayor and governor).
It is unclear to me at this point what FEMA has and has not done within its own authority and how much the breakdowns are located elsewhere–we are talking about the convergence of numerous bureaucracies confronting a massive problem–and bureaucracies in general are not known for their alacrity. Given that the pre-disaster declaration by the President allowed FEMA to be available to Louisiana, the question becomes (and I do not pretend to know the answer) how those assets were deployed, and who it was that was responsible to coordinate those assets (and in that regard, we do need, as the President of Jefferson Parish demanded, hearings as to what failed and what worked–although I don’t know that we need them this week, as it would distract those involved in the clean-up).
Now, all of this underscores how difficult (impossible?) that it is for even a government as powerful as our own to deal with catastrophic events of this nature. That is a sobering fact, and not one designed to excuse anything. Rather, I fear that this event underscores how powerless we can be in the face of disasters of this magnitude, despite the fact that we would like to think that we really are in control, if we just “do it right.”
Further, I will note that while there are many things that could have been done (such as reinforcing the levees) the question becomes not what could have been done, but is reasonable to assume would have been done and why those two things don’t necessarily converge.
Human beings have a tendency to play the odds, and they did so in the case of the defenses of New Orleans and we lost the wager.
[…] press coverage of the relief effort, spinning off from a viewing of Meet the Shark Press. Read the whole thing, but this para struck me: Now, all of this underscores how difficult (impossible?) that […]
Pingback by » We are not as strong as we think we are » Arguing with signposts… » Blog Archive — Sunday, September 4, 2024 @ 9:21 am
Very well put. I am struck by the incredibly small amount of time it took for this storm to do its damage. That the response took a long time to develop adequately is hardly surprising, given the massive amount of devastation, and the developments after the storm struck.
And now, we are seeing images of people who don’t want to leave and are still stuck in their homes.
I think, ultimately, when all is said and done, we will find that this tragedy was accelerated more by a lack of preparation on the part of locals than a lack of response on the part of the federal government.
Comment by Bryan S. — Sunday, September 4, 2024 @ 9:24 am
Well put as always. I am glad that responsibility (not blame)is finally being put where it belongs with the local and state government and the people of the region.
People have a incredible belief in the powers of the federal government that are completely unwarranted. The govenment is run by people, not some omnipotent being. I think federal efforts since taking over this tragedy have been comendable and have accomplished a tremendous amount given the scope of the situation.
Comment by paige — Sunday, September 4, 2024 @ 12:20 pm
While I am no fan of Bush and his cold-hearted gang of buck passers, I think that the reason the mayor of New Orleans was yelling so loudly was to cover his culpability as well. It was poor planning both on the state and federal level.
Comment by The Misanthrope — Sunday, September 4, 2024 @ 12:41 pm
Brian S
Re “…when all is said and done….”
Bet on it!
Comment by Henriet Cousin' — Sunday, September 4, 2024 @ 2:58 pm
Misanthrope
It is not the planning that went wrong. It was entirely the failures to execute existent plans on the part of the Governor and Mayor amplified by ignorant Main Shark Media (MSM) types, who themselves can’t get to the devastation outside NO!
R/
Henriet
Comment by Henriet Cousin' — Sunday, September 4, 2024 @ 3:07 pm
[…] posts this morning—one by California Yankee on a new poll gauging public opinion so far, the other by Poliblogger, spelling out the case for the “nature” position. In the ABC/Washington […]
Pingback by Fruits and Votes » Blog Archive » The partisan lens: Diminishing in voters’ assessment of Bush on Katrina? — Sunday, September 4, 2024 @ 4:23 pm
Frankly, I’ve taken much of the criticism by Mayor Nagin and other with the proverbial grain of salt. They’re tired, they’re stressed, and they’re at the point of a load of responsibility from lots of people. The guy from the parish in Lousiana on MTP today was a case in point. You could tell that guy was stretched beyond breaking. I’ve never seen so many grown men cry, victims, officials - one of the local weathermen (from Jackson) who had been on the coast during and after the storm, broke down the other night during the newscast. I’m on the periphery of the damage area; the stress here, from evacuees and people with relatives and friends further south, is palpable. I’m no fan of Bush, but I don’t blame him, or other federal, state, or local officials for the preplanning. Camille has been, for 35 years, the benchmark for disasters here. People knew what had survived Camille. Katrina has been so much worse, in so many ways; no realistic plan could have anticipated the scale of this. I have issues with some of Bush’s actions since; I also don’t understand what Gov. Barbour mean when he talked about the Federal support since, because there was a delay of a couple of days before things began to turn around on the coast. There’s plenty of blame to go around, and a fair share of it must land on the individuals who chose to stay. I won’t get in to the New Orleans situation, there’s plenty of examples of people in Mississippi who stayed. A good friend of mine was one, and he almost lost his life. It’s the flip side of living in a free society - the government can’t absolutely force you to leave (or at least it hasn’t so far), but when you choose to remain you absolve the government of a certain amount of responsibility for taking care of you. This is getting long, and probably rambling. I have faith in the officials and personnel on the scene, that they will get things done. There are some incredibly dedicated, caring people on the ground, at all levels of government. If they’re not doing the best they can, they’re doing the best they can figure out right now. And God bless the power company linemen and other workers. I stand in awe of those people.
Comment by Harry — Sunday, September 4, 2024 @ 8:38 pm
Harry,
I should clarify: I wholly understand the emotions of those on the ground (although Nagin’s pronouncements are quite unhelpful), but I am thinking about the pronouncement of politicians likes Robert Wexler and others not directly involved in the process who have been quite emotional and critical.
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Monday, September 5, 2024 @ 7:55 am
[…] o be some serious problems in the execution of disaster policy in Louisiana. I will note, as I did yesterday, that the magnitude of the event is a huge part of the problem.
[…]
Pingback by PoliBlog: Politics is the Master Science » Fact-Checking/Corrections — Monday, September 5, 2024 @ 8:22 am