...says the BBC r4 news tonight. And do what, I wonder? Put his thumb to his nose and go "nyah nyah, I'm floating around in a chopper and you're stuck in a flood"? How does this fit in with the other comment of his that they reported, that people should avoid unnecessary fuel use at the moment?
And just for balance, I'll also throw a brickbat at the ?Danish? env agency which has been shipping people off to Greenland for a jolly to look at retreating glaciers. Which is pointless. You can't *see* a glacier retreating from a visit, but you can by sitting at home comparing old and new photos. And you discover nothing about GW by looking at any one glacier. But option 2 isn't much fun and won't get you press coverage. It won't waste fuel and resources either, though.
He did land, but other than that staged hug session with a cute pair of teenage sisters, he had to avoid crowds due to the unsettled situation (to put it delicately). So, not exactly 9/11 redux as regards his performance. My impression of US coverage is that the trip did him little good, although of course it would have been worse had he stayed away longer. One way I can think of he could have have turned it into a real plus would have been to turn to the unqualified hack he appointed to head FEMA (part of undoing Clinton's professionalization of the agency) and fire the guy right there in front of the cameras. Instead, while having to admit that maybe things hadn't been quite perfect, Bush hewed to the Rove doctrine of keeping the Republican wagons circled and acribing no responsibility even where it was richly deserved. Probably smart of him, though, since if blame ever starts getting passed around people might wonder who was ultimately responsible for wrecking FEMA and gutting the budget for flood control in New Orleans. Politics as usual in the Arbustocene...
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Danes, I've actually been kind of taken with the idea that whichever glacier it was is moving at about an inch per minute, just fast enough to be visible to the naked eye. I imagine one could place a line of colored stakes near one edge of the glacier and another line in the center, then let the "ecotourists" watch the relative motion from the other side. (Exciting stuff!) Of course it might be a bit dangerous setting up those center stakes. Seeing as how he's given up the full-time septical environmentalist gig and maybe could use a little extra cash, let me suggest our favorite Dane for the position. :)
By the way, I've been listening pretty consistently to the BBC's Katrina coverage, and it's been a breath of fresh air compared to the cowed US mainstream media.
Re-the Presidential trip. Apparently, two separate German TV companies' reporters have stated in reports about how there was a staged recovery effort while he was in an area, that packed-up after he'd left.
ReplyDeleteSee here:
http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/002504.html