Hit that monkey, BEAT that monkey... Kick him again

Blame game

getting nasty


By JIM VANDEHEI
THE WASHINGTON POST

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Louisiana officials pushed back hard against the White House yesterday, sharply criticizing President Bush for offering a tentative and insufficient response to the obliteration of New Orleans and then trying to shift the blame to the state and local governments.

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., accused Bush of failing to fund efforts to fortify the levee protecting New Orleans before Katrina hit and send troops, supplies and other assistance quickly enough in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. ''Would the president please stop taking photo-ops and please come and see what I'm trying to show him,'' Landrieu said on ABC's ''This Week.''

She threatened to ''punch'' Bush or anyone else who criticizes the response of the local sheriffs, one day after administration officials blamed state and local authorities for missteps in relief and rescue efforts.

Aaron Broussard, president of inundated Jefferson Parish, La., broke down in tears on NBC's ''Meet the Press'' as he chided officials. ''Nobody's coming to get us,'' Broussard said, his head sagging. ''The secretary has promised. Everybody's promised. They've had press conferences. I'm sick of the press conferences. For God's sake, shut up and send us somebody.''

In public statements and even more bluntly behind the scenes, Bush administration officials have questioned local efforts to rescue thousands of people who were stranded for days without food, water and shelter, resulting in death of an unknown number of Americans. The Bush administration says the death tolls will reach into the thousands by the time New Orleans is drained - and dispatched three top officials to survey the region.

''All that is still occurring, and people are now reducing it to politics and shifting it to the blame game. It's sad that human tragedy is being reduced to politics,'' said Denise Bottcher, spokeswoman for Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D).

Bush is trying to undo what many Republicans described as considerable damage to the White House inflicted by Bush's crisis management. ''Almost every Republican I have spoken with is disappointed'' in Bush's performance, said William Kristol, a conservative columnist with close White House ties. ''He is a strong president ... but he has never really focused on the importance of good execution. I think that is true in many parts of his presidency.''

As president, Bush typically has been loath to admit mistakes, and this situation is no different. A senior White House aide said there was no reason for Bush to return to Washington to deal with the disaster before Wednesday, though he was told of the gravity of the situation in briefings late into the night last Monday.

Bush cut short his working vacation in Crawford, Texas, but still spent the Tuesday night at the ranch. The aide said Bush wanted to allow his Cabinet and staff time to get back to Washington and in place to brief him.

Cheney returned Thursday

Democrats say Bush would have been better positioned to demand a speedier response if he were in Washington, or at least offered Americans a symbolic show of his involvement by cutting short his time away from the White House.

One reason for the slow White House response, said a Republican who has been in contact with several officials, is so many high-level officials and aides were on vacation. Vice President Dick Cheney, for instance, was in Wyoming and did not return until Thursday. Nicole Devenish, the president's top communications adviser, is getting married in Greece.

Bush's first speech to the nation has been widely criticized as unemotional and too bureaucratic in tone. In subsequent appearances, Bush seemed at times tentative and distracted - and not always sure of the message he wanted to leave.

Late last week, Bush said he was unhappy with the overall response, but the aide made it clear he was most upset with the local plan - not his own administration's efforts. Bush lost patience with local officials when he learned thousands of people were sent to the New Orleans convention center for relief only to learn their was no assistance for victims there, the aide said, calling this the ''tipping point.'' Bush infuriated Blanco and other local officials when he sought late Friday night to federalize the relief effort and seize control of National Guard and other operations. The governor refused and tensions between the federal and local officials worsened.


(Published: September 5, 2005)