Blame game cancelled - Bush forfeits
Reported by Chrish - September 13, 2005
Fox reporter Phil Keating, live in New Orleans, was still trying to spin the failures of FEMA last week even as he introduced the video segment of Bush taking responsibility for the government's poor response, today 9/13/05 on The Big Story.
Keating said "...the president at the White house, today for the first time to date coming as close to accepting any fault with any federal official in the Hurricane Katrina response; his White House news conference alongside the Iraqi president coming of course one day after FEMA director Mike Brown's resignation:"
The video clip showed Bush at a podium next to the Iraqi president at his own podium, in the White House. "Katrina exposed (biiiig inhale of breath) serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government. And to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility."
Comment: Well I'll be damned. Obviously the backlash is coming from the right as well as the opposition party and in enough quantity to force an admitttance of imperfection. Keating should have saved his hedging - in Bush terms this was a major acknowledgment. As Gibson put it, "Bush taking one for the team."
Keating further reported on baby-steps of progress being made in New Orleans and some advancements are being made well ahead of predicted schedules.
Mayor Nagin, holding a news conference this afternoon, would not comment on Mike Brown's resignation. According to Keating he was very conciliatory, saying a lot of the blame, a lot of the faults two weeks ago could really be shared.
But then we heard Nagin say "In the final analysis I think we all could have done things better. If I had known that the cavalry wasn't coming in three, two or three days, I would have probably planned things a little bit differently."
Comment: That doesn't sound too much like blame sharing to me - I think Nagin really holds the federal government at fault and only regrets he didn't know they were not going to get his back.
Keating continued with some reporting - a ship made it into the port of New Orleans today; the city is out of cash and trying to borrow to pay employees, and Gibson went to Janice Dean for a report on Ophelia.
