Bill Clinton's FEMA handled disaster after disaster masterfully and never asked for political credit

[bluestateguy]

For 8 years, floods, hurricanes, fires, tornadoes, earthquakes and droughts. Over and over again, without making much political fuss, Clinton and James Lee Witt ran FEMA like a well-oilked machine. They did not care if the affected areas were blood red Republican, and they did not worry about press conferences and playing to the cameras. They did not pat themselves on the back for doing their jobs, and believe me, conservatives weren't about to give them credit for anything anyway. In the process, many lives were saved. That's real homeland security.

[Olney Blue]

1. Exactly. Government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

[progressivebydesign]

2. Completely and utterly true. Bush/McCain act like they want a medal for doing the right thing.

Makes me ill that they're using this for political gain. Al Gore, if I remember correctly, took a plane to NO after Katrina and evacuated people in medical need.. with no fanfare, no publicity. And the repukes criticized him as doing it for a photo op -- while grandmothers died on streetcorners in NO and the repukes in power did nothing. Oh.. wait.. Bush and McCAIN had a birthday party photo op that day.

[DinahMoeHum]

3. If I'm not mistaken, James Lee Witt and associates have a hand

in the emergency preparations going on right now. His firm has been consulting the Louisiana state government since the aftermath of Katrina.

General Wesley Clark is a partner in this firm.

www.wittassociates.com


:thumbsup:

[Bluzmann57]

4. Yep. Good example is 1993

Here in the Mississippi River town I live in, we had the worst flood on record back in 1993 and FEMA came through with flying colors. There was a lot of property damage, millions in lost income, and fortunately, no deaths that I remember. And the President, a fella by the name of Bill Clinton, instructed FEMA to give up the money to help this river city to help in recovery. He came around, visited a local farm, and left. In fact, our Blues Fest got displaced that year, and the farm he visited was around 5 miles away from the alternate site. The rumor was that he wanted to come and blow his sax, but the Secret Service said no. Too bad. We could have been the first and as far as I know, the only, Blues Fest to feature a sitting President sitting in on a song or two.

[EC]

5. And he didn't have to have Wal-Mart intervene

or have telethons...

[Triana]

6. Damn right. We NEVER had issues with disaster relief or FEMA during that time. ..

We knew we could count on them. After Katrina, we know we can't. Forget it. Under bu$hit, after 9-11, FEMA was 1) gutted then 2) moved under the DHS. Once that was done the agency was useless.

I hope Obama gets it OUT from under DHS and gets Witt, et al, to help restore the agency to what it was meant to be and what it needs to be.

Obama said during his acceptance speech that the job of gov't is to do what we cannot do for ourselves. Immediate and vital assistance after a national disaster is one of those things that is gov't's job. We pay taxes so that we HAVE that when we need it. It's expected to BE there. As our gov't is now, it cannot respond appropriately, or at ALL when needed by Americans after a disaster. This is just ONE of the failures of George W. bu$h.

[DeepModem Mom]

7. Yes! The first, most basic responsibility of government -- to protect the citizenry.

The Bush administration, with a goal of government small enough to drown in a bathtub, ended up drowning its own citizens -- as well as endangering us in countless other ways by their neglect of this most basic part of governing. They can use their chicanery to get elected. They cannot, or will not, govern.

[WCGreen]

8. that's what happens when the adults take over...

And not the petulant brats of inbred elitists.