Some are trying to say that the current oil spill in the Gulf is Obama's Katrina. Personally I'd have to disagree at this point. If it all "goes to hell in a hand basket" then maybe--but we won't know for some weeks to come.
You need to remember what got the Feds and the then President Bush in trouble was that they did not aggressively pursue the disaster response, and FEMA was weakened at the time from five years of neglect. I detailed my thoughts on the Katrina debacle in my Washington Post Op-ed of five years ago Destroying FEMA that appeared in the paper the day after the levees failed.
It is still early in this disaster. Today they had a good day with the winds and tides holding the oil out in the Gulf. That can all change rapidly and how the response and recovery is handled will be the legacy that the administration leaves in Louisiana.
They need to be careful and not take the eye off the ball in Tennessee. There is some significant flooding occurring there and FEMA will have the lead on that disaster response and recovery.
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You need to remember what got the Feds and the then President Bush in trouble was that they did not aggressively pursue the disaster response, and FEMA was weakened at the time from five years of neglect. I detailed my thoughts on the Katrina debacle in my Washington Post Op-ed of five years ago Destroying FEMA that appeared in the paper the day after the levees failed.
It is still early in this disaster. Today they had a good day with the winds and tides holding the oil out in the Gulf. That can all change rapidly and how the response and recovery is handled will be the legacy that the administration leaves in Louisiana.
They need to be careful and not take the eye off the ball in Tennessee. There is some significant flooding occurring there and FEMA will have the lead on that disaster response and recovery.
