Not Quite a Random Thought, but Deserves Posting
REPRINT EDIT: I know the man’s out of office, and this isn’t a dig against him, but this conversation took place with respect to Hurricane Katrina and how it was handled. It wasn’t a RTOD, but I felt it was good enough to post among them.
Debates: Politics with Blinders
Debates. Anyone who knows me by now knows that I am all about them. Although I have a hard time admitting that I lose, when I do so soundly I will state that, yes, I have lost my argument and case. Jeremy and I debate on a regular basis. It’s a lot of fun. We have had our share of aggressive debates, but usually they end amicably.
Today, I found myself in a “debate.” The issue came up about politics and voting today, with JM absent. The conversation started with the NH votes, which was simple, progressed into voting registration, and then into votes prior, which, obviously, I have none yet. Over the course of the conversation, it turned to Bush being at fault for, well, basically everything that has happened in the US over the course of the past 4-8 years. Now, yes, there are some things that happened that I cannot truly debate, but the topic switched to Katrina. Somehow, Bush is the entire reason why the devastation was so bad. It wasn’t local government, FEMA, or any other factor. It was BUSH. Obviously, this touched off a debate target for me, since I firmly beleive that nothing in recent history is the result of one man’s actions, not even the assassinations that have occurred (one person may have done it, but it was more or less a group that wanted it). My simple return question was, why? What made it Bush’s fault. The general response strictly goaded it further: It’s Bush’s fault because he should have had someone there to see what was really going on, or, It’s Bush’s fault because he’s the president and should know everything the moment it happens. Okay, point understood, but how does that make the entire thing Bush’s fault. Again, it was Bush should have known exactly what was going on. Now, anyone who has read the information, although there was plenty of it, knows that it was a long list of communication failures and old laws slowing down the process. How was it one man’s fault? I continued to press a little bit on it. It turned a little more towards the, “Well, Bush is just a jerk and a liar” thing, which tipped off more debate fodder, including “What politician ISN’T a liar?” and What is it that makes a stronger leader?
Unfortunately, at this time, an unexpected bystander came in and added a little to it, “It was Bush’s fault because it shouldn’t have taken months for anything to be taken care of.” At this point I had to pull up some research because I honestly didn’t know how long it took to get back to operational. Now, yes, there were people how still hadn’t gotten their money months later, but Bush declared a state of emergency for the ENTIRE REGION two days in advance, and had the Coast Guard, 400 units(!) stationed for assistance. There was also concern of the levees being topped, but not necessarily toppled. And, the majority of the refugees were being assisted within two weeks of the whole fiasco (although I was a little upset that it took that long to get everything straightened out communications-wise) As such, I push further as a debater would, adding these to the debate. By then, I guess it was assumed that I had “Lost” and was grabbing at straws. Ultimately, NO ONE can say why it was Bush’s fault. Ultimately, I “Lost” because no one wanted to debate it, and because I had two people trying to say that “IT’S ALL BUSH’S FAULT” obviously I “Lose”. Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but I feel that I have “Won” because no one could prove one simple point conclusively: How Was It All Bush’s Fault? Any takers?
Now, to clarify, I’m not a direct Bush supporter. I feel he was the better of two evils, but not the best for the country (at the time of the election, no one filled that spot). But, I am also not going to say that he was the entire reason for the war in Iraq, for oil prices breaking $100/barrel, for the economy not being as great as everyone wants, or anything else everyone is trying to say is ALL BUSH’S FAULT! I’m sure that there is more to add, but I’ll do it later.
Also, as an FYI, all parties that found themselves included were apologized to, as the intent was NOT to start a debate, but to just chat about stuff.
Tags: blinders, Bush, coast, concern, Day, debate, destruction, fema, guard, hurricane, ignorance, Katrina, Lone, New Orleans, Politics, President, Random, reaction, Thought, vote, voting, Wulf, year
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
The Wulf's Den -- Random Thoughts and Writings 
April 1, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Hi. I came across your article while surfing around the web and would like to just make a few comments –
I am in agreement that it is ridiculous that one man was faulted for things that were the result of faults of MANY people.
Now, first point – I live in Florida – we deal with many hurricanes here. I don’t really know if people comprehend this or not, however, it is NEVER, nor has it EVER been the responsibility of the President to handle such issues – it is up to the Mayor and Governor to conduct evacuation instructions and to keep people up to date with what is going on. I guess its just easier for people who don’t go through such an ordeal to blame Bush for it because they don’t grasp how these types of situations are handled.
Secondly, I remember watching the news before that hurricane passed by Florida and we all continued to watch even after we were no longer threatened by it (it became like an addiction for us here because of the severity of it) and the media REPEATEDLY told those people to GET OUT! I even remember a reporter asking people there why they were not leaving and the person told him to ‘F OFF.’ NOW, You cant force ANYONE to do ANYTHING that they don’t want to do. Many refused to leave and many stayed because of their pets. That is NOT Bush’s fault. IF you google the New Orleans Evacuation Plan – it CLEARLY outlines the way things SHOULD of been handled, HOWEVER, we were all mesmerized by all the school buses shown that were sitting under water. Instead- they led them to that super dome, which resulted in the horrifying experience that it did.
Thirdly, I noticed that it wasn’t highly mentioned in many of the media outlets, however, the red cross WAS there – they were DENIED entrance into the city by the NEW ORLEANS officials – They were there with food and water – I watched a representative on one of the few stations that reported on this and she stated that they were there but were DENIED entrance because they didn’t want to, more or less, cause more panic and chaos. Bush’s fault? Interesting.
Now, to blame Bush for the failures of FEMA and the failures of the local government there is just asinine. If you are a boss at a company and you leave someone else in charge in your absence and that person does not do what you require of them, who gets the scolding? Should YOU be scolded because you weren’t aware of the person you left in charge not handling things accordingly? Of course not – you hold the person responsible accountable. Why were these New Orleans officials given a pass? Oh, yea, they are Democrats, that’s why.
On to the Iraq war – Where were all these people that despise Bush so much over this war when EVERYONE under the Clinton administration- BEFORE Bush took office stated the same things? Google Clinton administration and WMD and you’ll find that they ALL said the very same things as Bush did – the problem is, that Clinton was too many getting his pipe smoked and not inhaling on other pipes to do anything. Remember the 93 WTC attack? Why was NOTHING done then? Where were these peoples hatred for Clinton when the USS Cole was attacked? The two US embassies in east Africa? The Kobar Tower attack? I’m just amazed that they have the audacity to pin this on one person when truth be told this was going on BEFORE he even took office. There is even a court document filed in NY which is an indictment against Bin Laden which was filed in 1998 – BEFORE BUSH. Also the UN Watchdog put an article out in 2004 about the ‘disappearance’ of the WMD – how they were ‘concerned’ over it. Also, IF he didn’t have them, how did he use them on his own people? You know, the mass graves they found over there – which again, the liberal media didn’t cover much of? I’m STILL waiting for a liberal to answer that one.
I just am trying to grasp the mentalities, or lack there of, of people who really have NO clue as to what’s going on in this Country. I do, however, realize that many people in this Country do not reflect back to past administrations, nor do they take the time to educate themselves, therefore, their only source of information is the wonderful media. IF that be the case, then, no wonder many people are so ridiculous in their thinking. I have heard accusations from CNN and went online and found similar things expressed and done by the Democrats – not only did I get enlightened by politics, I’ve also become aware of the games the media plays. They KNOW people in this Country are uneducated when it comes to politics and they play them for fools, like puppets on strings, just as the Democrats do. The media hated Bush – the moron liberals in Hollywood jumped aboard and of course, after hearing things repeatedly told to them, no wonder there is such hatred. Little do these people who hate know, they are the ones who are the idiots in the end.
As far as the economy being in the tank – AGAIN, look at those who were over Freddie and Fannie – BARNEY FRANK and the liberals. If you go on youtube, if you hadn’t already, you can find the video where the democrats stated there were NO PROBLEMS with Freddie and Fannie – YET, this is Bushs fault? AMAZING! Actually, Clinton signed the bill which merged the banks together to open the door to subprime mortgage lending!
When are people going to wake up in this Country? Im glad now, that the people who opted for Hussein Obama will have no other to blame now for his stupidity and the ignorance and stupidity of congress – his poll numbers slipping away. Those who voted for him will get what they deserve. Also, speaking of polls – no one found it interesting enough to report that all along the lib congress have an even lower approval rating than Bush? Where is the media reporting on how HORRIBLE Pelosis and Reids numbers are tanking in the toilet? Im still waiting for them to put an end to the war – you know – what they told everyone they were going to do if elected to congress? Suckers voted for them and – STILL no end to the war- as a matter of fact – more troops will be sent over there. The democrats ALSO authorized the war voted FOR the war and for the funding of it – MANY times. Are people THAT delusional in this Country? So, IF I get this correct – democrats want to set free terrorists in our Country, want to be more concerned about the enemies that we attack getting killed over their own who were killed here, all the while, supporting abortion, the killing of innocent babies and saving animals……to me, they are the LAST people on earth to have ANY ridicule for ANYONE else when their logic and reasoning is so whacked out – they make George Bush look like an angel.
I don’t always agree with everything he or the republicans say or do however, I’m in agreement with you – he was, as republicans are, the lessor of two evils.
April 1, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Just to be clear, when I wrote this, it was based strictly on the blaming of one man, versus political affiliation. To be honest, I’d feel the same way if GM failed and the media spun it and made it Obama’s fault. It wasn’t any one person’s fault, misstep after misstep caused them to lose customer faith (I’m not included in that). I do see your points, in that the media tends to twist away from Democrats in general, and I hope that that slant gets undone soon, but we are living in a time where media is incorporated, and they need to make their money as quickly as possible, so they will slam the loudest drums they can. We’ll see how the next few years pan out, see if anything gets better. Let’s all hope for the best and prepare (not expect) the worst.