What I Hope President Bush Says In His Katrina Address to the Nation.
Below are some things that I hope to hear from President Bush Thursday night in his address to the nation from Louisiana.
1. Begin by saying that Katrina was the worst natural disaster in this country’s history, by far. Lay out the reality of the situation with facts and figures broken down by state. Show how extensive Katrina damage is by comparing it to previous hurricanes.
2. Thank and praise those who have risked their lives to save others in New Orleans, in some cases while facing unique challenges (such as incoming fire). Acknowledge and praise the generosity of the American people for their unprecedented charitable response to the hurricane.
3. Praise the incredible work being done by churches and other faith-based charities. Remind people that the government is not the only, and is often not the best, solution. Say that faith-based institutions are wonderfully suited to deliver aid, and that more ways should be explored to make the best use of those organizations.
4. Give the rundown of what FEMA and other federal authorities have done. Tell how many rescues have taken place, how many supplies have been delivered, how much money disbursed, etc. Let the American people know that the response of the federal government to Katrina was swifter than that to Andrew and Hugo and dozens of other hurricanes in recent memory.
5. Then make clear, as he has done in the past week, that even though many in the federal government are working around the clock and doing their best, that the response was not good enough.
6. Tell the American people, “To the extent that the federal government didn’t fully do its job right, I take responsibility” as he did in a news conference Tuesday.
7. Say that taking responsibility means more than accepting blame. Say that to take responsibility without doing anything to address what went wrong is not worth much. Say that in addition to finding out what went wrong, it is necessary to identify the things that went right so that they can be duplicated.
8. Briefly address the ridiculous, and vicious, charges of racism as he as done on several occassions already. Give examples that show the charge to be baseless.
9. Say that you are not interested in engaging in the “blame game” but that it is necessary to determine where the system broke down in order to address the problems that became evident in the Katrina response. In order to make those determinations, it is necessary to examine every link in the chain of response.
10. Discuss the relationship of the federal government to the state and local authorities. Urge those of all branches of government at all levels to join together to address the problems that exist. Acknowledge that emotions run high, but that now is the time to work together for the people affected by Katrina.
11. Show that he means business by listing some real, positive, proposals that could prevent some of the problems that existed in the Katrina relief effort. Let the public know what has be adjusted so far in the past week to make FEMA more responsive.
12. List some things that the average American can do to offer assistance to those affected by Katrina. Possibly refer to websites that identify charities involved in the relief effort.
13. Close with praise for the spirit of the people of the Gulf region and with a commitment to them that you will see that the federal government does all that it can do to help them recover and rebuild, but also mention that it will require the combined efforts of state and local, and public and private groups and individuals.
Of course, the speech will be most effective if peppered with first hand observations of the things he has witnessed during his visits to Louisiana and Mississippi. It would also be a good idea to paint a verbal picture of some of the acts of compassion and competence that the media may have missed in their hurry to paint Bush as a cold, racist murderer.
The Gateway Pundit thinks the “Democratic and MSM ploy to score points off of the suffering of others is over!” I am not so sure, but if the President does well in his speech tomorrow night, and if the video clips included in the post linked above get some widespread play, then he may be right.
UPDATE: Excellent comments to this post. This one can be added to the list:
I’d also like him to mention that in this era of uncertain times it is the duty of every citizen to prepare himself and herself to be a first responder or at least not a hapless victim. Ridge was mocked when he recommended that everyone assemble a disaster kit of food, water, clothing and items to maintain themselves and their family for at least 72 hours, a week being better. There’s a reason for that, as we’ve seen in Katrina it takes at least 72 hours before significant amounts of federal aid is on scene. That is the standard that cities and states are supposed to plan around. We neeed to pay as much attention to individual response as to government response. — Comment by Sam
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