Let Them Eat Cake
by digby
Republican presidential candidate John McCain took stock of still-hurricane-damaged areas of New Orleans on Thursday and declared that if the disaster had happened on his watch, he would have immediately landed his plane at the nearest Air Force base, drawing a sharp contrast to President Bush’s handling of the tragedy.
McCain called the response to Katrina “a perfect storm” of mismanagement by federal, state and local governments.
[…]
“Never again, never again, will a disaster of this nature be handled in the disgraceful way it was handled,” McCain declared.
He made the same pledge over and over during the day: “I promise you, never again.”
Please.
This is what was happening the day he and Bush were licking hot buttercream off each other’s fingers:
7AM CDT — KATRINA MAKES LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]
7:30 AM CDT — BUSH ADMINISTRATION NOTIFIED OF THE LEVEE BREACH
8AM CDT — MAYOR NAGIN REPORTS THAT WATER IS FLOWING OVER LEVEE
11:13 AM CDT – WHITE HOUSE CIRCULATES INTERNAL MEMO ABOUT LEVEE BREACH
MORNING — BROWN WARNS BUSH ABOUT THE POTENTIAL DEVASTATION OF KATRINA
MORNING — MAYFIELD WARNS BUSH ABOUT THE TOPPING OF THE LEVEES
MORNING — BUSH CALLS SECRETARY CHERTOFF TO DISCUSS IMMIGRATION
11AM CDT — MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY REQUESTS THAT DHS DISPATCH 1,000 EMPLOYEES TO REGION, GIVES THEM TWO DAYS TO ARRIVE
LATE MORNING — LEVEE BREACHED
11AM CDT — BUSH VISITS ARIZONA RESORT TO PROMOTE MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT
4:30PM CDT — BUSH TRAVELS TO CALIFORNIA SENIOR CENTER TO DISCUSS MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT
8PM CDT — RUMSFELD ATTENDS SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL GAME
8PM CDT — GOV. BLANCO AGAIN REQUESTS ASSISTANCE FROM BUSH
LATE PM — BUSH GOES TO BED WITHOUT ACTING ON BLANCO’S REQUESTS
McCain’s a conservative and that is precisely how all conservatives would respond. He would do the same thing.
“There are tough choices that are going to have to be made,” said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. “We’re going to have to cut unnecessary spending elsewhere in the budget to offset some of the cost with Katrina.”
[…]
McCain called on Bush to undo the Medicare prescription drug law, while a number of lawmakers said the costly benefit should at least be postponed from its January starting date.
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