Bush: "I, myself, thought we had dodged a bullet"

[Bronco_Beerslug]

His advisers actually had to put a DVD together and play it for him so he could understand how serious the damage was.

Bush: "I was -- I knew that a big storm was coming on Monday, so I spoke to the country on Monday* morning about it. I said, there's a big storm coming."

-------------------------------------------
The reality, say several aides who did not wish to be quoted because it might displease the president, did not really sink in until Thursday night. Some White House staffers were watching the evening news and thought the president needed to see the horrific reports coming out of New Orleans. Counselor Bartlett made up a DVD of the newscasts so Bush could see them in their entirety as he flew down to the Gulf Coast the next morning on Air Force One.

How this could be—how the president of the United States could have even less "situational awareness," as they say in the military, than the average American about the worst natural disaster in a century—is one of the more perplexing and troubling chapters in a story that, despite moments of heroism and acts of great generosity, ranks as a national disgrace.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9287434/



Q Did they misinform you when you said that no one anticipated the breach of the levees?

THE PRESIDENT: No, what I was referring to is this. When that storm came by, a lot of people said we dodged a bullet. When that storm came through at first, people said, whew. There was a sense of relaxation, and that's what I was referring to. And I, myself, thought we had dodged a bullet. You know why? Because I was listening to people, probably over the airways, say, the bullet has been dodged. And that was what I was referring to.

Of course, there were plans in case the levee had been breached. There was a sense of relaxation in the moment, a critical moment. And thank you for giving me a chance to clarify that.

Q Mr. President, where were you when you realized the severity of the storm?

THE PRESIDENT: I was -- I knew that a big storm was coming on Monday, so I spoke to the country on Monday* morning about it. I said, there's a big storm coming. I had pre-signed emergency declarations in anticipation of a big storm coming.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050912.html

[Meck77]

We all thought NO dodged a bullet monday. CNN, FOX, MSNBC, EVERYONE was reporting that we dodged a bullet. It wasn't until the levy broke did things escalate. Get the facts right slug.

[Bronco_Beerslug]

We all thought NO dodged a bullet monday. CNN, FOX, MSNBC, EVERYONE was reporting that we dodged a bullet. It wasn't until the levy broke did things escalate. Get the facts right slug.
Uh, this was THURSDAY when he finally realized what was happening, read the story!!

The levees were breached Monday, also.

Get the facts straight Meck.



Bush: "I was -- I knew that a big storm was coming on Monday, so I spoke to the country on Monday* morning about it. I said, there's a big storm coming."



http://www.danasoft.com/sig/IanBarbados.jpg

[Meck77]

Undisclosed aides broke the story huh? oh ok

You believe everything you read? Give me a break. No doubt the reaction was slow but to say Bush didn't know what was going on until thrusday is rediculous and just plain idiotic.

[Bronco_Beerslug]

Undisclosed aides broke the story huh? oh ok

You believe everything you read? Give me a break. No doubt the reaction was slow but to say Bush didn't know what was going on until thrusday is rediculous and just plain idiotic.

OK, you tell us why he didn't do anthing until Thurs.

-----------------------------------------------
TUES, August 30
11AM CDT – BUSH SPEAKS ON IRAQ AT NAVAL BASE CORONADO [White House]

WEDS Aug. 31
EARLY AM – BLANCO AGAIN TRIES TO REQUEST HELP FROM BUSH: “She was transferred around the White House for a while until she ended up on the phone with Fran Townsend, the president’s Homeland Security adviser, who tried to reassure her but did not have many specifics. Hours later, Blanco called back and insisted on speaking to the president. When he came on the line, the governor recalled, “I just asked him for help, ‘whatever you have’.” She asked for 40,000 troops.” [Newsweek]

4PM CDT — BUSH GIVES FIRST MAJOR ADDRESS ON KATRINA: “Nothing about the president’s demeanor… — which seemed casual to the point of carelessness — suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis.” [New York Times]

7PM CDT – CONDOLEEZZA RICE TAKES IN A BROADWAY SHOW: “On Wednesday night, Secretary Rice was booed by some audience members at ‘Spamalot!, the Monty Python musical at the Shubert, when the lights went up after the performance.” [New York Post, 9/2/05]

8PM CDT — FEMA DIRECTOR BROWN CLAIMS SURPRISE OVER SIZE OF STORM: “I must say, this storm is much much bigger than anyone expected.” [CNN]


THURS.7AM CDT — BUSH CLAIMS NO ONE EXPECTED LEVEES TO BREAK: “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.” [Washington Post]

http://tinyurl.com/b7389

[Rigs11]

Undisclosed aides broke the story huh? oh ok

You believe everything you read? Give me a break. No doubt the reaction was slow but to say Bush didn't know what was going on until thrusday is rediculous and just plain idiotic.

Do you have links to prove otherwise? I love how you guys always come in here and make statements with nothing to back them up.

[Meck77]

Do you have links to prove otherwise? I love how you guys always come in here and make statements with nothing to back them up.




You must be referring to slug as "you guys always come in here and make statements with nothing to back them up".

undisclosed people making comments is hardly proof that Bush slept thru the first week of Katrina. Finds some names and sources and you might have a thread worth discussing.

[Rigs11]

You must be referring to slug as "you guys always come in here and make statements with nothing to back them up".

undisclosed people making comments is hardly proof that Bush slept thru the first week of Katrina. Finds some names and sources and you might have a thread worth discussing.

We provide links to articles to support our statements. So in this issue we're supposed to believe that Bush knew what was going on because you said so?

[bronco_diesel]

We provide links to articles to support our statements. So in this issue we're supposed to believe that Bush knew what was going on because you said so?

links and articles are not valid sources, and are not proof. they may provide an opinion or point to certain proofs...but they shouldn't be revered as anything more than what they are - a link or an article.

[Rigs11]

links and articles are not valid sources, and are not proof. they may provide an opinion or point to certain proofs...but they shouldn't be revered as anything more than what they are - a link or an article.

now you're talking out your ais. So now news articles aren't proof? What is then? So Meck is right that Bush knew what was going on and yet provided not a single source to backup his statements?

[DBruleU]

now you're talking out your ais. So now news articles aren't proof? What is then? So Meck is right that Bush knew what was going on and yet provided not a single source to backup his statements?

I'm sure he was referring to the fact that most news articles these days are so slanted one way or the other, they cant be counted on to convy the facts in a truthfull matter.

[Rohirrim]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/katrina-timeline.php

[Rigs11]

I'm sure he was referring to the fact that most news articles these days are so slanted one way or the other, they cant be counted on to convy the facts in a truthfull matter.

Yeah but what is credible then? Which sources are the ones that do not lean one way or another? Can we just post statements without backing them up somehow?

[DBruleU]

Yeah but what is credible then? Which sources are the ones that do not lean one way or another? Can we just post statements without backing them up somehow?

Thats the problem, its hard to tell what you can and cannot trust anymore.

[bronco_diesel]

now you're talking out your ais. So now news articles aren't proof? What is then? So Meck is right that Bush knew what was going on and yet provided not a single source to backup his statements?

news articles may point to truths, but they are hardly ever the entire story. many times the writer takes bit's and pieces for his article, and often times to promote a political bias.

there are many details that we or a reporter will never know - so it is unlikely we can understand the full scope of what has been going on. we can speculate as can a writer...and this is where many times the slant or spin is put into place.

[bronco_diesel]

Yeah but what is credible then? Which sources are the ones that do not lean one way or another? Can we just post statements without backing them up somehow?

there are not many. and honestly, the one person here who probably posts the most writings without political bias is w*gs.

[Rigs11]

there are not many. and honestly, the one person here who probably posts the most writings without political bias is w*gs.

List the ones that are then. CNN? MSNBC? USAtoday?

[Rigs11]

Back to the main topic, I think Bush blew it either way. Either he knew what was goign on on Monday and failed to do anything, or he didn't know until Thursday and found out by having his aides make him a DVD. Either way it's total incompetence.

[Meck77]

Back to the main topic, I think Bush blew it either way. Either he knew what was goign on on Monday and failed to do anything, or he didn't know until Thursday and found out by having his aides make him a DVD. Either way it's total incompetence.


This post makes more sense to me then some secret source that said Bush didn't know wtf was going on while the biggest hurrican in history was rocking our coast....Hell the hurricane vicitims in SE Asia probably heard about Katrina by Tues. To say Bush had no idea and needed a DVD to realize what was going on is baseless. Unless these (secret aides) would care to give their name it is just another opinion like yours. Actually I value your opinion more than someone who doesn't even have the guts to state their opinion next to their name.

That is my point.

This thread is worthless.

[Bronco_Beerslug]

This post makes more sense to me then some secret source that said Bush didn't know wtf was going on while the biggest hurrican in history was rocking our coast....Hell the hurricane vicitims in SE Asia probably heard about Katrina by Tues. To say Bush had no idea and needed a DVD to realize what was going on is baseless. Unless these (secret aides) would care to give their name it is just another opinion like yours. Actually I value your opinion more than someone who doesn't even have the guts to state their opinion next to their name.

That is my point.

This thread is worthless.
Everyone heard about it about it is one of the points the other being Bush didn't act in a timely manner is the other (this thread). He admits it now as of today.

Interesting how threads are worthless if you don't approve of them. Are
you from the thread content police or just can't stand the guy you voted for being called a dummy?



Bush: "I was -- I knew that a big storm was coming on Monday, so I spoke to the country on Monday* morning about it. I said, there's a big storm coming."

[Rigs11]

25 Mind-Numbingly Stupid Quotes About Hurricane Katrina And Its Aftermath

1) "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." –President Bush, on "Good Morning America," Sept. 1, 2005, six days after repeated warnings from experts about the scope of damage expected from Hurricane Katrina (Source)

2) "What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle) – this is working very well for them." –Former First Lady Barbara Bush, on the hurricane evacuees at the Astrodome in Houston, Sept. 5, 2005 (Source)

http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/currentevents/a/katrinaquotes.htm

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Uh, this was THURSDAY when he finally realized what was happening, read the story!!

The levees were breached Monday, also.

Get the facts straight Meck.

Inconvenient facts never get in Meck's way when covering Bush's flank and/or attempting to squelch criticism of BushCo.

http://www.bartcop.com/rove-klown-spins.jpg

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Are you from the thread content police or just can't stand the guy you voted for being called a dummy?

Both.

He would probably feel much more at home living in some country like China where criticism of political leaders isn't allowed.

[W*GS]

25 Mind-Numbingly Stupid Quotes About Hurricane Katrina And Its Aftermath

You (amazingly, NOT!) "forgot" to list these, from the other side of the aisle:

"If one person criticizes [the local authorities’ relief efforts] or says one more thing, including the president of the United States, he will hear from me. One more word about it after this show airs, and I…I might likely have to punch him, literally." –Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), "This Week with George Stephanopoulous," Sept. 4, 2005

"Mayor Nagin and most mayors in this country have a hard time getting their people to work on a sunny day, let alone getting them out of the city in front of a hurricane." –Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), on why New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin failed to follow the city's evacuation plan and press the buses into service, "Fox News Sunday," Sept. 11, 2005

"You know, Tim, that's one of the things that will be debated." –New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, after being asked by NBC's Tim Russert why he didn't use buses to evacuate residents in accordance with the city's evacuation plan

[Rigs11]

You (amazingly, NOT!) "forgot" to list these, from the other side of the aisle:

"If one person criticizes [the local authorities’ relief efforts] or says one more thing, including the president of the United States, he will hear from me. One more word about it after this show airs, and I…I might likely have to punch him, literally." –Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), "This Week with George Stephanopoulous," Sept. 4, 2005

"Mayor Nagin and most mayors in this country have a hard time getting their people to work on a sunny day, let alone getting them out of the city in front of a hurricane." –Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), on why New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin failed to follow the city's evacuation plan and press the buses into service, "Fox News Sunday," Sept. 11, 2005

"You know, Tim, that's one of the things that will be debated." –New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, after being asked by NBC's Tim Russert why he didn't use buses to evacuate residents in accordance with the city's evacuation plan


Look everyone it's the mediator.By the way genius I believe the quotes you just posted were from the link that I provided. that's why I posted that link.The title of the article was "25 Mind-Numbingly Stupid Quotes About Hurricane Katrina And Its Aftermath", that means that besides 2 quotes that i posted there are 23 others, hence the link.

[Rascal]

He is criticizing who you targeted as they were only from one side of the isle. To show it wasn't just those on the right making idiotic comments he posted some from the left.

Is it that complicated?

[DBruleU]

It is that complicated for him. I love how he hand picks the quotes just from the right. And he doesnt understand why wigs posted the quotes he did? Laughable.

[W*GS]

He is criticizing who you targeted as they were only from one side of the isle. To show it wasn't just those on the right making idiotic comments he posted some from the left.

Is it that complicated?

Given that politicians are always making stupid comments, finding only 25 is remarkable. Now, of those 25, most seemed to me to come from either Bush or Brown. That doesn't mean that those two made more stupid comments.

Suffice to say that IMHO, there's more than enough blame to go around. It's not all Nagin's fault, it's not all Bush's fault, it's not all Blanco's fault. All levels are culpable for their mistakes.

[Rigs11]

He is criticizing who you targeted as they were only from one side of the isle. To show it wasn't just those on the right making idiotic comments he posted some from the left.

Is it that complicated?

I simply listed the first 2 on the article. That's why I posted the link, so that you could navigat to the original article.Next time I'll try to be more like the libertarian WIGS. rofl

[Rigs11]

It is that complicated for him. I love how he hand picks the quotes just from the right. And he doesnt understand why wigs posted the quotes he did? Laughable.

Hey Genius I posted the first 2 from the article. What's laughable is that you can't tell this by the numbers 1 & 2 before the quotes.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Bush's crony capitalism shows GOP's true face

Politically as well as physically, the destructive force of nature can rip away surfaces and expose layers of decay. With the floodwaters of Katrina receding, we can see beneath the veneer of modern conservatism and gaze upon its rotten center.

For in the nation's capital, at least, that traditional philosophy of society and statecraft appears to have degenerated into a public-relations scam.

The obvious fact is that Republicans are the party of big spending, big deficits and big government, no matter how indignantly their leaders profess to despise all those terrible things. Yet the history of the Bush administration and the G.O.P. Congress makes it equally obvious that they're also incompetent at governing. So the question that Americans now confront is why these fakers should be allowed to waste hundreds of billions of dollars, adding to the hundreds of billions they have already squandered, when the results of their exertions are so unsatisfactory--and so self-serving.

Although George W. Bush is universally acknowledged to be the most conservative President in recent memory, he is now doing exactly what he and his ideological allies have always mocked liberals for doing. In the classic right-wing cliche (which isn't heard much these days), he is "throwing money at the problem" of the hurricane's aftermath.

Continued: http://www.observer.com/opinions_conason.asp