Watching the president’s speech from New Orleans last night, I kept noticing how much it resembled a State of the Union address — without all those pesky interruptions of applause. The president talked about spending lots of money; there was no talk of how to pay for any of it; there were “big ideas” without any details or specifics; and it was all topped off with pleasant-sounding rhetoric.
In fact, as it turns out, it was practically a Democrat’s SOTU. Consider points Bush touched on: addressing poverty, supporting minority-owned businesses, tackling a “legacy of inequality,” laying out untold amounts of federal spending, describing a strong and active federal government, and offering a nod to labor unions.
Bush finally figured out how to get his presidency back on track — he’s decided to switch parties.
The remarks — which, as a matter of speechwriting, were quite good — were more notable for what they didn’t include. As far as the president’s concerned, the last few weeks haven’t been a disaster because they simply don’t exist in his mind. If Americans tuned in hoping to get a sense from their president about why the government’s response to the crisis was inadequate, they were out of luck. Bush isn’t going there.
There was also, predictably, no mention of sacrifice. In the pre-delivery talking points that went out to conservative talking heads, part of the evening’s message was Bush’s willingness to make “tough choices” and “difficult decisions.” And yet, the president chose the opposite path — we’ll spend lavishly, the already-enormous deficit will grow considerably worse, and everything will be fine because he says so. At least after 9/11, we were told we’d sacrifice by waiting in line at the airport a bit; this time, there’s no shared national sacrifice at all.
I was particularly struck by Bush’s remarks about his plans to improve his administration.
“I have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to undertake an immediate review, in cooperation with local counterparts, of emergency plans in every major city in America. […]
“When the federal government fails to meet such an obligation, I as president am responsible for the problem and for the solution. So I have ordered every Cabinet secretary to participate in a comprehensive review of the government response to the hurricane.”
There were bigger legislative initiatives that will require congressional approval — a Heritage Foundation-crafted plan for “opportunity zones,” for example — but when it came to improving a federal apparatus that failed miserably in the face of a massive disaster, Bush effectively ordered agencies to give themselves a good, long look in the mirror. That’s not a solution; it’s hardly a band-aid.
Review the emergency plans? That seems to badly miss the point. The problem wasn’t with the plans; it was with the political toadies in key positions of responsibility who failed to execute them. Indeed, the administration didn’t follow through on its own National Response Plan. Telling DHS to “review” these plans again is wholly inadequate. DHS and FEMA failed their test and now the president wants them to review their notes before the next exam.
If this is what Bush meant by taking “responsibility,” I’m not impressed.