President Bush to speak to the nation 9am

FoxNews

[Dog]

President to speak at 9am ...

[jennyjenny]

That being said, there is no impression of preparedness. After 4 years of homeland security, there is no confidence.

Correction, there is no impression of preparedness in New Orleans. The other states were obviously better prepared because we're not seeing the same things going on in those areas that are happening in New Orleans. It's working in those areas. It's not working in New Orleans. Why do you suppose there is a difference?

[HitmanLV]

Because if we can't see the problems clearly, we can't formulate good strategies. Dubya's leadership has taken severe hits. Too much of FR can't see this clearly, which compromises their observations.

[roses of sharon]

Then let them, and you too, if it will make you FEEL better, go right ahead.

[RightWhale]

This thing is happening for one reason - Blanco.

Isn't there a Chief of Staff down there who should be doing all the actual work while the Gov gets out there for the photo op? If there isn't, the Gov ought to appoint one, preferably an Andrew Jackson if they have one these days.

[mplsconservative]

Please go back and provide the post where I placed blame on one authority. When you have done that, get back to me.

Your very first post ever made here: "The president should have made a speech Monday night."

Now you have gone onto to say in further posts that the situattion was so obviously dire on Monday night. That is simply not true. The flooding began on Tuesday.

[k2blader]

He looked and sounded disconnected.

[OrangeBlossomSpecial]

When Katrina left the Florida coast it quickly became a Cat *2 then a Cat*3. You can't deny they didn't know it was coming right at them for days. Stare death in the face for 40 hours and all but the incapacitated should move out of the way by their own volition.

So if the people were not properly evacuated with Hurricane Ivan 2004 and prior Hurricane George, why would they think the same incompetant AZZ Mayor & Govenor would save them this time?

[chimera]

It's a performance game. The city, state, and Feds didn't perform. Too many Freepers seem unwilling to cope with that.

FWIW I'm not willing to let anyone off the hook on this, from the Feds on down to the Mayor and the local law enforcement. The last straw for me was seeing that interview with Harry Connick on the 'Today' show with Katie. The guy is a freakin' musician. He was able to get in there. News crews are able to get in there. Why can't anyone with any semblance of local authority, even a single policeman, get in there? They were nowhere to be seen. The Mayor is AWOL somewhere in Baton Rouge. The Governor is crying rivers of tears on news conferences. Yeah, I know, shots were being fired. But, for cripes' sake, law enforcement, military personnel, etc., are trained to deal with that. They should get in there and do it. Heck, just sending trucks in there with pallets of potable water would go a long way towards stabilizing things. Can't even that be done?

The weaknesses have been exposed, that's for sure. Unfortunately, they're exposed for all to see, especially the bad guys. One thing that could be done right now is untangle this legal maze of hoops to jump through when declaring martial law. One of the other threads pointed out the unbelievable tangle of legalisms involved in such a seemingly simple procedure. It seems clear to me, when there is a disaster that renders local authority ineffective in keeping order, declare martial law and get the military in there. That's not to say such a step should be taken lightly, but in a clear-cut case like this, there is no reason for foot dragging when innocent people are dying because of the actions of the lawless.

[HitmanLV]

Sorry to disapoint you, but I didn't spend all last year saying hiow Kerry was going to win. Nor that the american people are dumb.

What is dumb is not being able to see that there is dwindling confidence in the President.

I have been on FR since 1999. I'm no troll, nor a Buchananite, nor a third party type.

[sinkspur]

Any fool can say it could have been done better or quicker.

Including the head of FEMA, Michael Brown?

He said as much this morning on the TODAY show.

Any effort is only as strong as its weakest link, and Brown is the soft spot in this federal response.

It's tough to accept that one just be "patient" when people are dehydrating to death on the streets of New Orleans.

[Marysecretary]

Nobody has been in charge in NO. It's really a crisis without a captain.

[RightWhale]

Why do you choose one city, only one, that is a disaster zone to denounce HS completely?

NO is a big deal. The biggest deal possible in the Mississippi Valley, the most important region in the entire world.

[GodBlessUSA]

People were shooting at volunteers, helicopters, police, trucks bringing in goods and stealing boats at gun point. There's is absolutely no way to communicate to each other. If there is anyone to blame, it's the state and local authorities who blew it. No emergency plan, when you live under sea level with just a wall protecting you from the gulf, in a hurricane prone area? This was a known evil for decades. Yet it goes without a plan or emergency system in place.

Also the criminal element is a major blame preventing the goods and rescues from taking place.

People just jump on the band wagon of media playing on emotions. Just following the emotions. President Bush can't just go into any state and dictate to them what to do. As it was, Bush had to push for the Evacuation to be mandatory. You can bet if this was TX and Bush was Governor, things would have played a lot different. It still would have been hell. This is beyond catastrophe. But in this day and age everyone expects everything, including wars to be done in a day.

Again, President Bush is being underestimated. He will survive this as he survives all of ridiculous attacks put on him.

You being here a very short time before OhioWFan makes no difference at all. That's a silly comment.

[cake_crumb]

"The President enjoys his lowest approval ratings ever. That's not a myth: it's accurate"

Depends on the poll. The Washington Post-ABC News survey gives him 45% approval, Rasmussen gave him 52%, CNN gave himn 44%, Newsweek gave him 34% all over foreign policy, all polls from August 5 to 7. Also depends on whether respondants were EVENLY surveyed by pollsters. As you well know.

[carton253]

I know you do... but, I prefer him not to go into NO where the National Guard and the Police are having a running gun battles with armed thugs.

By your posts, you seem to think that he should go to the Superdome and face down the mob... only then is it leadership.

[Marysecretary]

What popularity? He's been losing it ever since the election. I'm not saying that it's right, but it's true. The MSM have done a damn good job of bashing and he sits there and lets them. He needs some gonads for this period of time in his presidency. He needs prayer, as well.

[jennyjenny]

Now you have gone onto to say in further posts that the situattion was so obviously dire on Monday night. That is simply not true. The flooding began on Tuesday.

Hell, even the media on the ground in New Orleans was saying on Tuesday that New Orleans had been spared.

[HitmanLV]

Of course they are prepared, but they don't have a magic wand to fix everything instantly.

I disagree. The plan was to huddle people into an inadequate Superdome? Without a security presence there? The plan was to let looters loot? The plan was to move them after a couple of days to the Astrodome? The astrodome isn't taking new guests, last I heard.

Where is the preparedness.

The problem is in depicting the other side as asking for a magic wand. Nobody did that. I certainly didn't. The way the local and state gov handled things makes it clear that they didn't have a grasp of what they were doing.

So where's the preparedness? And that's not a question asking you 'where is the magic wand?' I'm not asking for a magic wand. There's no evidence of serious preparedness, sorry.