Salon asks readers to submit "responsibility" questions for Bush tonight

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/index.html?blog=/politics/war_room/2005/09/15/responsibility/index.html

Bush takes responsibility -- but for what?
George W. Bush said Monday that he will "take responsibility" for whatever the federal government might have done wrong in its response to Hurricane Katrina. That's great, as far as it goes. But when our kids try to worm out of trouble by saying they're sorry, we usually ask them to say for what. Shouldn't we expect at least as much from a president who talks so much about the importance of personal responsibility?

Perhaps the president will flesh out his acceptance of responsibility tonight when he speaks to the nation about Katrina. But just in case Bush hasn't planned a series of "I take responsibility for . . ." sentences as the centerpiece of his speech, we thought War Room and its readers might be able to lend him hand by offering examples of instances in which the federal government "didn't fully do its job right" in the wake of Katrina.

Maybe the president could say, "I take responsibility for failing to comprehend television reports that thousands of people were trapped at the New Orleans Convention Center." Or, "I take responsibility for using approximately 50 firefighters who could have been helping with search-and-rescue efforts as human props in photographs of me." Or, "I take responsibility for requiring 400 National Guardsmen to sit in New Mexico for four days after Gov. Bill Richardson authorized them to travel to Louisiana for hurricane relief work."

You get the idea. Send your suggestion -- with a supporting link, if you can -- to [e-mail]. We'll publish a sampling before the president speaks tonight.

-- T.G.
11:12 EDT, September 15, 2005

[npincus]

1. my questions (submitted to Salon):

Mr. President,

Have the folks at the Pentagon in charge of planning and executing the Iraq war ever worked for the International Arabian Horse Association, or have they had any prior experience in the military?

(follow up)

What are the skills one would acquire at the International Arabian Horse Association that would be required to lead the Federal government's response to a catastrophic event on our shores?

[Gogi]

2. Do you accept responsibility for placing political hacks in charge of ...

vital government functions?

Do you accept that it is your responsibility to stay in Washington and provide national leadership in times of crisis?

Questions the press should ask but probably won't:

Do you now understand that there are functions of government that can't be left to private charity or big business? (Apparently not, especially on that last part.!)

What did you think when you watched the DVD your staff burned for you so you would understand the depth of the crisis and why did they have to go to those lengths to get your attention in the first place?