Who's responsible for the Katrina response?

I really hope they "investigate" this with a congressional investigation. I think they're going to uncover lots of problems with local government there over and above inept governor and mayor. There's lots of money gets sent there for disaster preparation. Who knows where it goes? In that place, probably into the highest pockets.

Fortunately or unfortunately..the Federal Govt is reponsible for major disasters like this as they set up the plans for it and have to make sure it's followed. Is Bush personally responsible for the fed's actions? Definitely..he has a problem with hiring cronies into top postions that aren't qualified. Not all..as guys like Colin Powell to me is one of the best he's ever hired for a top position. But the fact 3 of the top 5 at FEMA weren't qualified for the job to me is totally Bush's fault.

Why did Bush admit fault? I'll bet you could trace that right to Karl Rove's save-face program after reports started coming out that the feds dropped the ball. This doesn't mean local officials didn't screw up, because they most doubtedly did. But I believe Bush only accepted responsibility because he had no other choice or someone to blame.

Geez..today's politics just plain suck. When was the last time we've had decent choices for positions of importance like the presidency? I hate having fo vote for the lesser of two evils and that's why I voted against Kerry last year.

That's simply WRONG, SK. Disaster planning is assisted by the feds, but it is the responsibility of local governments! Galveston county has routine disaster senario "games" all the time where local officials, local hospitals, mayor and councilmen go through the steps of what they do. They got their acts together. FEMA assists, comes in after the fact and offers low interest loans and such. The national guard moves at the request of the governor in each state.

How in HE11 can the feds evacuate 25,000 indigent people from a city like New Orleans, for instance? It ain't gonna happen. City busses, school district busses have to move. What's washington gonna do, put 'em all on C5As?

To the extent that relief was slow getting to the area after the winds died off (except for the coast gaurd), yeah, FEMA was 48 hours late to the scene. There were all sorts of reasons and that should come out.

Heck I've heard idiots claim that Bush CAUSED the hurricane.

You mean he didn't? Wow! better tell a whole lot of dumbocrats that do nothing about emergency planning themselves so they bear no blame.
Interesting that this AM the Gov. took the blame for the state and said SHE was at fault for not deploying resources sooner. Now, it has beecome popular for everyone to blame the "my fault" game. Oh, and Bush and her are tight now.

I'm not trying to blame Bush for the whole thing, but the feds are ultimately responsible. Did the locals screw up? Sure as heck did! They had all those buses that could've been used to evacuate thousands of folks who didn't have transportation. The blame game goes from top to bottom, but the feds are still ultimately responsible as they'll bear the brunt of the costs..er..us taxpayers will, but it's still the feds.

FEMA has there mandates of course, but I really never did read this in the constitution. I have read the tenth ammendment, though.

Actually, responsibility for one's safety in a storm starts with the individual. They tell you to get out and you don't, well..... I've never heard such political crap over a storm before. There was no FEMA when we last went through a storm this epic in '61 and a few years ago I never saw a FEMA before or after Claudette. They came in and set up an office for claims for low interest loans, but it was locals that cleaned up the mess. Never saw a coastie, a military truck, a man with a gun other than Port Lavaca cops and Calhoun County deputies and myself, of course.

Only in New Orleans, where tens of thousands of people feel like the world (read government) owes them a living, does such blame games occur. Of course, the Jesse Jacksons of the world are going to be johnny on the spot.

Guy on the HSN board the other day that works in an auto stereo shop says they put an expensive stereo in a car the other day. Lady pays for it with a FEMA DEBIT CARD!!!!!! That's how your tax dollars are currently being spent, thanks to all the whining. I doubt if a tenth of the money being given out to the survivors of the storm is going for anything like bills, getting back home, clothes, or what not. You can't buy beer, cigarettes, or firearms with it. Stereos ain't on the list, I reckon.

That just plain sucks. Those cards should be controlled like food stamps.

Yeah..FEMA is a very modern approach to disasters and it failed a huge test here. I wanna know why Bush appointed a man to head FEMA without being qualified for the job. He should've been fired outright instead being recalled and allowed to try and step down gracefully..if you could call it that.

That one's easy. It happens with every president ever elected. He was no doubt a chrony, a contributor to the cause. FEMA is a lesser post, so it was probably deduced that it'd be a good place to put him. Attorney General, for instance, has a tad higher standard for qualification. You need to at LEAST be a lawyer of some repute. That said, one of the biggest failures of the Clinton Administration was Janet Reno, outwardly apparent she was qualified, but on the job turned out to be a nightmare.

Unfortunately Jack, you're probably correct in your assessment and it's not limited to presidential appointments..happens here all the time...and it ain't just limited to government IMO..[for the lawyers out there] I also think that N O isn't the sole proprietor of ne'er do wells and layabouts, they're everywhere, all over, they know no state boundaries, international boundaries, no class boundaries. It's really easy to get caught up in the negative press for the *******s ripping the system off..but for every jerk out there there are folks out there in legitimate need..that should be the focus and the system should be able to deal with the abusers..and if it can't..fix the system..you couldn't elect the board of governors for Enron or WorldCOM or Bre-X ..look at how lives were impacted by these..with no say..you have a say in this. It'll all work out in the end

Oh..I know why Brown got the job, but it's been painfully clear that FEMA shouldn't be a lower tier job. Unfortunately you can't make most of those kind of jobs elected as most folks don't know squat when it comes to voting for those kind of positions. Question is..does Congress have any say on who's appointed as the FEMA honcho?

More news came out this morning blaming the locals. Seems $500k of money was sent by FEMA to Lousiana back in '97 to help setup an evacuatoin plan for just this kind of disaster. The money went to the friggin people on that 24 mile causeway bridge over Lake Ponchartrain..not for the evacuation plan Congress approved it for.

Cabinet members are appointed by the president and approved by congress; however, the top FEMA post is no longer a cabinet post. So, I don't know if congress has any say over it. The FEMA director was a cabinet post until they restructured it under homeland security, so Brown was most likely approved by congress, originally.

They can't make any cabinet posts or bureaucrat positions electable cause that'd be unconstitutional. Actually, there's nothing IN the constitution that even AUTHORIZES a FEMA. FEMA was created by Carter in 1979.