Tel-Chai Nation

What a shame. President Dubya has continued with an act he already played when it came to praising the PLO: he praised Michael D. Brown, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for helping in dealing with the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. But as Michelle Malkin reveals, Mr. Brown's track record is less than Olympian:

- He proved himself utterly clueless about the disaster unfolding in New Orleans. He claimed that the federal relief effort was "going relatively well" and that the security situation in New Orleans was "pretty darn good."

- He blamed the flood victims in New Orleans for failing to evacuate on time, even though local authorities failed to make municipal vehicles available to residents who could not drive or did not own their own cars.

"It took four days to begin a large-scale evacuation of people stranded in the Superdome stadium and to bring in significant amounts of food and water to an American city easily accessible by motorway," the [UK] Observer notes. "Relief agencies took half that time to reach Indonesia after the Boxing Day tsunami."

Although the delay was not entirely the fault of the Bush Administration, Brown's complacency clearly didn't help. And his bumbling statements after the hurricane struck have not inspired confidence.

This is not the time to give a weak performer the benefit of the doubt. The FEMA director's role in the ongoing recovery effort is too important to be entrusted to a clueless political hack with such poor judgment.

Rather than praise Michael Brown, Bush should fire him.

Agreed. And as for Dubya, the US public can justifiably blame him for putting Middle Eastern matters on a higher level of importance than people's lives and homes on the homefront, while being willing to treat the PLO as if they were a "friend", and the Iranian premier as an honored dignitary. Meanwhile, for years, little was done to maintain and stabilize the levee that kept the New Orleans shore line safe.

If Dubya is smart, he'll make sure to devote his full time to the needs of the people of New Orleans, ditto Condi.

For the real heroes of Katrina, NYgirl's got a list of all the real ones right here. (Hat tip: Basil's Blog.) If you're looking for the really inspiring stories that the MSM may not give, this is where you'll find them. (Also at My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.)

For more on the topic of Michael D. Brown, see also: Brendan Loy, Florida Cracker, Below the Beltway, Instapundit, J Rob's House of Opinions, The Moderate Voice, Rambling's Journal, Rod's Ramblings, Independent Sources, Scribal Terror, Unbearable Bobness of Being, Capital Region People, Zacht Ei, Beltway Blogroll, Americablog, Sierra Faith, Down With Absolutes.

Labels: United States, White House